ATLANTA — More than 100 nursing educators gathered here this week to determine ways to find ways to better inform the public and elected leaders about ways they can help end the shortages of nursing faculty members — a central reason for the overall nursing shortage across the nation.
The Southern Regional Education Board’s Council on Collegiate Education for Nursing held its annual meeting this week and focused on the theme of placing nursing education on the "public agenda" in the 16 SREB states.
By some estimates, the shortage could grow to more than one million nurses nationwide by 2020. SREB states and the District of Columbia alone are projected to have nearly 40,000 job openings for RNs every year through 2014, according to a recent Council report. Yet a Council survey found that an additional 26,000 qualified applicants could have been served by nursing schools in the region in 2006 if not for the shortage of nursing faculty and clinical training facilities.
The nursing shortage threatens the safety of hospital patients, said Dr. Dennis S. O’Leary, the president of the Illinois-based Joint Commission, the nation’s leading health care standards-setting and accrediting organization. Hospitals now encourage patients to have a relative or friend stay with them because of the safety concerns, he said. He called the attrition rate in nursing "staggering." And the demand for nurses will grow, as the largest portion of the population continues to age, more patients have chronic diseases and the nation has a lack of capacity to deal with the mental health issues of its aging population. Foreign-born nurses now account for more than half of the new nurses hired in the United States each year, he said.
Dr. Daniel W. Rahn, the president of the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta and the senior vice chancellor for health and medical programs for the University System of Georgia, spoke of his state’s Task Force on Health Professions Education. The panel’s goal is to increase by 50 percent the number of new registered nurses prepared by the state by 2010 — which would mean an additional 800 to 900 nursing students each year. Despite the great need, the total number of nursing degrees conferred by the state university system declined by 23 percent from 1996 to 2006, he said. Even at its lowest estimates, the U.S. nursing shortage is enough to incapacitate the nation’s health care system, he said. The nation needs at least 340,000 and possibly 1 million additional nurses, he said. The nursing shortage directly impacts the availability of nursing faculty members, which in turn worsens the nursing shortage, he suggested. "Where are those who will follow behind us?" he asked.
Dr. Harold Lee Martin, the senior vice president for academic affairs of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, spoke of the Task Force on the North Carolina Nursing Workforce. The task force found that the state would see a nursing shortage of up to 18,000 by 2020. Nursing faculty members are aging and many will retire within 10 years, he said. Salaries must be improved, and greater attention will be needed to attracting faculty to some community colleges, especially in rural areas. The state also needs to improve working conditions for nurses and to increase diversity in the nursing workforce — since only 9 percent of registered nurses in the state are African-Americans and few are male. Each state university’s nursing schools plan to increase the number of graduates substantially over the next few years, he said.
A panel of experts also discussed ways to raise the profile of nursing education among the public and elected leaders. Peggy O. Hewlett, the dean and professor of the University of South Carolina College of Nursing in Columbia, and Marcella McKay, the vice president for nursing and professional affairs at the Mississippi Hospital Association, spoke on the conference theme of placing nursing on the "public agenda" in each state. The panel presented plans for raising public awareness, such as meetings with elected leaders, work with legislative staff members, building a presence in the news media and more. They stressed the importance of the cause as something that will save lives and that should transcend political views.
Janet Allan, dean of the University of Maryland School of Nursing in Baltimore, said her state needs an additional 1,000 nurses each year but is turning away about 2,300 qualified students each year because of the lack of available space in nursing programs. Several state initiatives, which were advocated by nursing educators and other advocates, are now addressing the shortage.
Kathleen Ann Long, the dean and a professor at the University of Florida College of Nursing in Gainesville, told the audience how she and other deans of public and private colleges worked together to develop programs to curb her state’s nursing shortage. The state is dedicating nearly $5 million over two years to help raise the number of graduate degrees earned at Florida colleges, she said.
A leading advocate for nursing education for more than 40 years, the SREB Council on Collegiate Education for Nursing works to expand and strengthen schools of nursing at colleges and universities throughout the region, develops strategies to expand enrollment, and tracks current legislation on nursing issues. Its members include representatives from regionally accredited colleges and universities that provide programs of study leading to an undergraduate or graduate degree in nursing.
For more information about the nursing and nursing faculty shortages, contact SREB Communications.
SREB, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, advises state education leaders on ways to improve education. SREB was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to help leaders in education and government work cooperatively to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region. SREB has 16 member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Each is represented by its governor and four gubernatorial appointees.
