CONTACT:
Robert Rosseter, (202) 463-6930, x231
rrossete@aacn.nche.edu
Nursing
Faculty Shortage Fact Sheet
Faculty shortages
at nursing schools across the country are limiting student capacity
at a time when the need for nurses continues to grow. Budget constraints,
an aging faculty, and increasing job competition from clinical sites
have contributed to this emerging crisis.
In an effort to
minimize the impact of faculty shortages on the nation's nursing shortage,
the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is leveraging
its resources to secure federal funding for faculty development programs,
collect data on faculty vacancy rates, identify strategies to address
the shortage, and focus media attention on this important issue.
Scope
of the Nursing Faculty Shortage
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According
to AACN's report on 2003-2004 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate
and Graduate Programs in Nursing, U.S. nursing schools turned
away 15,944 qualified applicants to entry-level baccalaureate nursing
programs in 2003 due to insufficient number of faculty, clinical
sites, classroom space, clinical preceptors, and budget constraints.
In 2002, a total of 5,283 students were turned away from all types
of professional nursing programs as well. Almost two-thirds (64.8%)
of the nursing schools responding to the 2003 survey pointed to
faculty shortages as a reason for not accepting all qualified applicants
into entry-level baccalaureate programs. www.aacn.nche.edu
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According
to a Special Survey on Vacant Faculty Positions released
by AACN in June 2003, a total of 614 faculty vacancies were identified
at 300 nursing schools across the country (52.7% response rate).
The data show a nurse faculty vacancy rate of 8.6%, which is an
increase from the 7.4% vacancy rate reported in 2000. Most of
the vacancies (59.8%) were faculty positions requiring a doctoral
degree. www.aacn.nche.edu
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According
to a study released by the Southern Regional Board of Education
(SREB) in February 2002, a serious shortage of nurse faculty was
documented in all 16 SREB states and the District of Columbia. Survey
findings show that the combination of faculty vacancies (432) and
newly budgeted positions (350) points to a 12% shortfall in the
number of nurse educators needed. Unfilled faculty positions, resignations,
projected retirements, and the shortage of students being prepared
for the faculty role pose a threat to the nursing education workforce
over the next five years. www.sreb.org
Factors
Contributing to the Faculty Shortage
Faculty age
continues to climb, narrowing the number of productive years nurse
educators can teach.
According to AACN's
report on 2003-2004 Salaries of Instructional and Administrative
Nursing Faculty in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing,
the median age of full-time nurse faculty is 51.5 years. The average
ages of doctorally-prepared nurse faculty holding the ranks of professor,
associate professor, and assistant professor were 56.8, 54.6, and
50.8 years, respectively. The average age for all faculty ranks prepared
at the master's degree level is 49.0 years. www.aacn.nche.edu
A wave of faculty
retirements is expected across the U.S. over the next decade.
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According
to an article published in the March/April 2002 issue of Nursing
Outlook titled The Shortage of Doctorally Prepared Nursing
Faculty: A Dire Situation, the average age of nurse faculty
at retirement is 62.5 years. With the average age of doctorally-prepared
faculty currently 53.5 years, a wave of retirements is expected
within the next ten years. In fact, the authors project that between
200 and 300 doctorally-prepared faculty will be eligible for retirement
each year from 2003 through 2012, and between 220-280 master's-
prepared nurse faculty will be eligible for retirement between 2012
and 2018. www.us.elsevierhealth.com/product.jsp?isbn=00296554
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According
to the report Oregon's Nursing Shortage: A Public Health Crisis
in the Making prepared by the Northwest Health Foundation in
April 2001, 41% of the faculty in baccalaureate and higher degree
programs in Oregon are projected to retire by 2005 with an additional
46% projected to retire by 2010. In associate degree programs, 24%
are expected to retire by 2005 with an additional 33% retiring by
2010. This retirement pattern will likely be experienced in other
parts of the country as well. www.nwhf.org
Higher compensation
in clinical and private-sector settings is luring current and potential
nurse educators away from teaching.
According to the
2003 National Salary Survey of Nurse Practitioners completed by ADVANCE
for Nurse Practitioners magazine, the average salary of a master's
prepared nurse practitioner working in an emergency department was
$80,697. In contrast, AACN reports that master's prepared nurse professors
earned an annual average salary of $60,357 in 2003.
www.advancefornp.com/ and www.aacn.nche.edu
Master's and
doctoral programs in nursing are not producing a large enough pool
of potential nurse educators to meet the demand.
According to AACN's
2003-2004 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate
Programs in Nursing, graduations from master's programs were down
2.5% or 251 graduates; graduations from doctoral programs decreased
by 9.9% or 44 graduates. www.aacn.nche.edu
Strategies
to Address the Faculty Shortage
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In
March 2004, AACN launched an online resource to support nurses considering
full- or part-time teaching careers called Faculty CareerLink. This
information clearinghouse features a nurse educator career profile,
academic programs that prepare faculty, financial aid opportunities,
and links to faculty development programs. Faculty CareerLink also
includes the most comprehensive list available of faculty vacancies
in U.S. nursing colleges and universities. www.aacn.nche.edu/CareerLink
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In
February 2004, Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow (NHT), a coalition
of 43 leading nursing and health care organizations, launched a
new public awareness campaign to generate interest in careers as
nurse educators. The campaign consists of four print advertisements
and a flyer that may be downloaded for free from the NHT Web site;
a career profile on the nurse educator that has been posted online;
and a national public relations. For more information on the campaign
and how you can support this effort, see www.nursesource.org/campaign_news.html
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In
May 2003, AACN published a comprehensive white paper titled Faculty
Shortages in Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Programs: Scope
of the Problem and Strategies for Expanding the Supply. This
publication summarizes the faculty shortage issue, identifies factors
contributing to the shortfall, and advances strategies for expanding
the current and future pool of nursing faculty. The white paper
includes an appendix with examples of successful strategies to address
the faculty shortage suggested by schools at AACN's 2003 Hot Issues
Conference. www.aacn.nche.edu/Publications/WhitePapers/FacultyShortages.htm
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In
April 2003, a joint task force of the University HealthSystem Consortium
and AACN released a white paper that examined how schools and practice
partners can work together to address common concerns, including
the shortage of faculty. The paper, titled Building Capacity
through University Hospital and University School of Nursing Partnerships,
recommends sharing clinical faculty, preceptor training, and increasing
access to clinical sites among various long- and short-term solutions
to the faculty shortage issue. www.aacn.nche.edu/Publications/WhitePapers/BuildingCapacity.htm
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In
February 2003, Congress appropriated $20 million in funding for
new programs created under new Nurse Reinvestment Act. Designed
to address the nursing shortage, this legislation includes $3 million
for a Nursing Faculty Loan Program that provides loan forgiveness
for students in graduate programs who agree to work as nurse faculty
upon graduation. Funding through this program will be dispensed
by schools of nursing to students pursuing a faculty career. www.bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/reinvestmentact.htm
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In
October 2002, AACN released an Issue Bulletin titled Using Strategic
Partnerships to Expand Nursing Education Programs, which explores
how nursing schools use partnerships to build student capacity and
fill faculty slots. The bulletin includes a section on "Bridging
the Faculty Shortage Gap" that illustrates how institutions
in five states are using collaborative ventures to augment the faculty
supply. www.aacn.nche.edu/Publications/issues/Oct02.htm
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In
a January 2001 article in the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing,
Dr. Ada Sue Hinshaw outlined several strategies to address the faculty
shortage including retaining productive senior faculty, factoring
retirement trends into recruitment schedules, and supporting federal
funding for doctoral programs. The article is titled A Continuing
Challenge: The Shortage of Educationally Prepared Nursing Faculty.
www.nursingworld.org/ojin/topic14/tpc14_3.htm
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According
to an April 1999 Issue Bulletin titled Faculty Shortages Intensify
Nation's Nursing Deficit, nursing schools across the country
are seeking creative solutions to the faculty shortage including
joint appointments, aggressive internal and external marketing,
financial incentives, compressed education programs, and legislative
advocacy. www.aacn.nche.edu/Publications/issues/IB499WB.htm
Last Update:
March 8, 2004
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