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Despite the shortage, nursing schools still have to turn
applicants away due to the shortage of nursing faculty. In an
American Association of Colleges of Nursing survey, 38.8% of
responding schools cited faculty shortages as a reason for
rejecting qualified applicants from entry-level baccalaureate
programs.
Another study released by the Southern Regional Board of
Education documents an average 12% shortfall of nursing educators
– higher, even, than the average nursing vacancy rate. This is
particularly difficult problem for nursing schools, because a low
faculty/student ratio is necessary to ensure proper education in
the field.
The shortage is also due to the increasing number of career
options for women and job options for nurses. In the days of
Florence Nightingale, nursing was one of the few careers for
women. Although nursing is still widely regarded as a female-only
profession (only 5.4% of RNs in 2000 were male), the multitude of
options available to women has diminished its draw.
Furthermore, the problems with HMOs and the demands for better
health care have led to more private health care organizations,
which remove another chunk of the available RN workforce.
Nursing administrators are not sitting idly by, however. A
number of plans to address the shortage on a national level are
in the works. These include:
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Call to the Profession:
a group of top leaders working together to address the causes
and effects of the shortage.
www.ana.org |
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TriCouncil for Nursing:
an alliance of four nursing organizations working together to
address the shortage.
www.aacn.nche.edu/Publications/positions/tricshortage.htm |
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Nurse Reinvestment Act:
signed by the President on August 1, 2002, this law provides
for scholarship money for new students, a Faculty Loan
Cancellation Program to remove financial barriers to faculty
careers, funding for better practices, and public service
announcements to champion nursing careers.
www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/shortageresource.htm#legislations |
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Nurses for A Healthier
Tomorrow: a coalition of 40 organizations working
together to raise interest in nursing among middle and high
school students |
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States are taking their own initiatives as well. In
Massachusetts, legislators are pushing for the Clara Barton Act,
which would provide $25,000 starting bonuses over several years
to new nurses in the top 15% of their classes. In Texas, the
Nurse Shortage Reduction act has been introduced, which would
double nursing school capacity during the next five years in a
state where thousands of qualified applicants are being turned
away.
In addition, the current state of the economy means that more
students will be thinking creatively about career opportunities,
and the initiatives falling into place will bring up nursing in
their minds as a viable option. Moreover, the supply of nurses
has actually increased during the past four years, just at a
slower rate than in the past. In operating rooms, the shortage is
almost nonexistent. The number of male nurses was only 5.4% in
2000, but that was up from 4.9% in 1996 – a 10%
increase over four years. This changing perception of
the nursing profession, coupled with federal and state
initiatives establishes that in the years to come the rewarding
profession of nursing will only continue to prosper.
To learn more about the Nursing Shortage, visit NurseWeek.com.
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the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc.
