The United States has endured multiple periods of nursing shortages. However, experts predict the impending shortage will be unlike any that has been seen previously.
According to employment projections for 2012-2022 from the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, the total employment of RNs and APRNs by 2022 will increase by more than 570,000 jobs. But taking into account the landfall retirement of baby boomers, there will be a need of 1.13 million new RNs by 2022.
With this enormous void quickly approaching at a time when the need for healthcare is exploding, solutions need to be found quickly. But one huge stumbling block in training new nurses is the significant lack of faculty to teach potential students.
According to the National League of Nursing (NLN), 64 percent of all nursing programs in 2011-2012 turned away qualified applicants. Prelicensure nursing programs turned away 72 percent of qualified applicants due to limited space. These statistics clearly demonstrate that there are willing, qualified students, but not enough educators to train and teach them.
With the current deficit of nursing faculty, the future continues to look bleak. According to a recent survey of 821 nursing schools by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), as of October 2016, there were a total of 1,567 faculty vacancies and a need to create an additional 133 positions to accommodate demand. Currently the national faculty vacancy rate is 7.9 percent.
Factors that have contributed to the faculty shortage include:
- Aging faculty with narrowing productive years for teaching
- Wave of faculty retirements has began with 200-300 eligible for retirement annually
- Higher compensation in the private sector than academics
- Not enough nurse educator programs to meet the needs
- Salary is not comparable to the cost acquired for higher education
As the need for more nursing faculty becomes evident, the solutions need to be comprehensive and sustainable if the catastrophe is to be avoided. Unfortunately, there is no one simple solution or silver bullet.
To overcome this significant and complex challenge, innovative initiatives will need to be considered. In a profession that prides itself in the tradition of academia, new frontiers and ideas will need to be envisioned and embraced, and the "old ways" abandoned.
Potential solutions to address the impending faculty shortage:
- Address faculty salary disparities — The median salary for nursing instructors in May 2016 was $69,130, just above the average salary of all RNs ($68,450). Yet at the same time, their peer advanced degree counterparts are averaging over $90,000. For a nurse to consider academics and the cost for further education, the salary has to equal the education and cost assumed to obtain that education.
- Facilitate transitioning nurses to faculty roles — Providing mentorship opportunities along with satisfying work environments will be a huge draw for nurses looking to leave the bedside.
- Implement educational partnerships — In an effort to sustain nursing education programs, nurses may need to look toward their physician colleagues. By implementing a blended model of education and faculty practice, the best of both worlds is accomplished — the practitioner remains current and funding is funneled to the program. Again, innovative thinking with need to see outside the status quo.
- Loan forgiveness programs — Considering it is unlikely salaries will skyrocket anytime soon, a reprieve from student loans could be an attractive incentive to those who have a desire to teach.
The nursing profession is certainly facing a turbulent time. But the beauty of nursing is its resiliency and the ability to get it done.
