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Fact Sheet
Updated
September 2008
Nursing Faculty Shortage
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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.
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
- According to AACN's report on 2007-2008
Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs
in Nursing, U.S. nursing schools turned away 40,285 qualified
applicants to baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in 2007
due to an insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites, classroom
space, clinical preceptors, and budget constraints. Almost three
quarters (71.4%) of the nursing schools responding to the 2007
survey pointed to faculty shortages as a reason for not accepting
all qualified applicants into nursing programs.
- According to a Special Survey on Vacant Faculty Positions released by AACN in August 2008, a total of 814 faculty vacancies were identified at 449 nursing schools with baccalaureate and/or graduate programs across the country (71.5% response rate). Besides the vacancies, schools cited the need to create an additional 80 faculty positions to accommodate student demand. The data show a national nurse faculty vacancy rate of 7.6% which translates into approximately 1.8 faculty vacancies per school. Most of the vacancies (88.1%) were faculty positions requiring or preferring a doctoral degree.
- Worsening faculty shortages in academic health centers are threatening the nation’s health professions educational infrastructure, according to a report by the Association of Academic Health Centers released in July 2007. Survey data show that 94% of academic health center CEOs believe that faculty shortages are a problem in at least one health professions school, and 69% think that these shortages are a problem for the entire institution. The majority of CEOs identified the shortage of nurse faculty as the most severe followed by allied health, pharmacy and medicine.
- According to a study released by the Southern
Regional Education Board (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 workforce over the next five years.
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 2007-2008
Salaries of Instructional and Administrative Nursing Faculty in
Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing, the average
ages of doctorally-prepared nurse faculty holding the ranks of professor,
associate professor, and assistant professor were 59.1, 56.1, and
51.7 years, respectively. For master's degree-prepared nurse faculty,
the average ages for professors, associate professors, and assistant
professors were 58.9, 55.2 and 50.1 years, respectively.
A wave of faculty retirements is expected across
the US over the next decade.
- 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.
- 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.
Higher compensation in clinical and private-sector
settings is luring current and potential nurse educators away from
teaching.
According to the 2007 salary survey by ADVANCE for Nurse Practitioners, the average salary of a master's prepared
nurse practitioner is $81,517. By contrast, AACN
recently reported that master's prepared associate professors earned
an annual (calendar year) average salary of $73,575.
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
2007-2008 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate
Programs in Nursing report, enrollment in research-focused
doctoral nursing programs were up by only 0.9%
from the 2006-2007 academic year.
- Efforts to expand the nurse educator population
are frustrated by the fact that thousands of qualified applicants
to graduate nursing programs are turned away each year. In 2007,
AACN found that 3,048 qualified applicants were turned away from
master's programs, and 313 qualified applicants were turned away
from doctoral programs. The primary reason for not accepting all
qualified students was a shortage of faculty.
Strategies to Address the Faculty Shortage
- On August 1, AACN was invited to testify at the National Platform Hearing of the Democratic National Committee and share nursing education's perspective on healthcare reform. In the testimony, AACN articulated the direct link between a robust nursing workforce and access to safe, quality, and affordable health care. AACN urged legislators to place addressing the nurse faculty shortage high on the Committee's priority list. See www.aacn.nche.edu/Government/pdf/dnctestimony08.pdf.
- On July 30 , 2008, Representatives Tom Latham (R-IA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Nurses’ Higher Education and Loan Repayment Act of 2008 (H.R. 6652). The legislation would provide current students and graduates of nursing master’s and doctoral programs with reimbursement for student loans. Individuals receiving funding would be required to teach for four years in an accredited school of nursing. See www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/NewsReleases/2008/HigherEdAct.html.
- In March 2008, Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) introduced the Troops to Nurse Teachers Act of 2008 (TNT) which would permit active duty and retired Nurse Corps Officers to serve as faculty in schools of nursing. Modeled after the Department of Defense’s Troops to Teachers program, TNT would create a fellowship program for Commissioned Officers with a graduate nursing degree; a scholarship program for Commissioned Officers who have served at least 20 years of active duty as a nurse; a transitional assistance program for Nurse Corps Officers who have served at least 20 years and are already qualified to teach; and a program for retired Nurse Corps Officers who can serve as full-time faculty in a accredited school of nursing. See www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/NewsReleases/2008/TNTAct.html.
- In February 2008, AACN and the Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing’s Future announced the first scholarship recipients for the newly created Minority Nurse Faculty Scholars program. Created to address the nation’s shortage of nurse educators and the need to diversify the faculty population, this program provide financial support to graduate nursing students from minority backgrounds who agree to teach in a school of nursing after graduation.
- In February 2008, AACN held its annual inaugural Faculty Development Conference in Nashville, TN aimed at helping nurses transition to faculty roles in baccalaureate and higher degree programs. More than 250 new and future faculty attended this event titled "Transforming Learning, Transforming People." AACN plans to repeat this program in 2009.
- In January 2007, Reps. Nita Lowey (D-NY), Peter King (R-NY), and Lois Capps (D-CA), introduced the Nurse Education, Expansion and Development Act (NEED Act) in the House and a companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL). The NEED Act would amend Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act to authorize Capitation Grants (formula grants) for schools of nursing to increase the number of faculty and students. Capitation grant programs have been used to effectively address past nursing shortages. See www.aacn.nche.edu/Government/pdf/CapGrants.pdf.
- In February 2006, AACN and the California Endowment launched a scholarship and mentorship program to increase the number of minority nursing faculty in California. Through this program, nursing students from underrepresented backgrounds are eligible to receive up to $18,000 in funding support to complete a graduate nursing degree. In exchange, students engage in leadership development activities and commit to teaching in a California nursing school after graduation. See www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/CAEwinners.htm.
- In August 2005, the U.S. Secretary of Education
designated nursing as an "area of national need" for
the first time under the Graduate
Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program. As a
result of this AACN led lobbying effort, a new funding stream
for PhD programs in nursing was created. In April 2006, $2.4 million
in grant funding through the GAANN programs was awarded to 14
schools of nursing.
- In June 2005, AACN published an updated 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 an AACN 2003 Hot Issues Conference.
- In June 2005, the US
Department of Labor awarded more than $12 million in grant-funding
through the President's High Growth Job Training Initiative, $3
million of which will help to address the nurse faculty shortage.
This latest round of funding brings the DOL's commitment to health
care workforce through the High-Growth program to more than $43
million.
- In September 2004, Independence
Blue Cross (IBC) in Philadelphia announced the establishment
of the IBC Nurse Scholars Program, a $2.25 million scholarship
initiative to combat the critical shortage of nursing educators
and nurses in Southeastern Pennsylvania. G. Fred DiBona, Jr.,
IBC's President and CEO, said "by focusing a large portion
of our investment on attracting new teachers, we believe we ultimately
can put more nurses on the front lines - and more nurses corresponds
to better care."
- In March 2004, AACN launched an online resource
to support nurses considering full- or part-time teaching careers
called Faculty Career
Link. This information clearinghouse features a nurse educator
career profile, academic programs that prepare faculty, financial
aid opportunities, and links to faculty development programs.
Faculty Career Link also includes the most comprehensive list
available of faculty vacancies in US nursing colleges and universities.
- 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 the Nurses
for a Healthier Tomorrow Web site.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Last Update: September 29, 2008
CONTACT:
Robert Rosseter
(202) 463-6930, x231
rrosseter@aacn.nche.edu
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