North
Carolina
projected
to
have
less
than
half
of
the
nursing
education
faculty
needed
in
2020,
if
status
quo
holds
By
David
Boer,
MA
and
Jennifer
Nooney,
PhD
North
Carolina
will
struggle
to
prepare
enough
new
nurses
in
the
face
of
a
growing
nursing
shortage
over
the
next
decade.
Although
interest
in
nursing
education
programs
is
high,
North
Carolina
nursing
programs
turn
away
more
than
half
of
all
qualified
applicants
each
year.
The
situation
will
probably
get
worse
over
the
next
few
years
due
to
an
evolving
shortage
of
faculty
members
in
schools
of
nursing,
according
to
two
reports
recently
released
by
the
North
Carolina
Center
for
Nursing.
The
first
obstacle
the
state
will
face
is
a
lack
of
nurses
with
the
educational
preparation
necessary
for
faculty
positions
in
schools
of
nursing.
The
Center’s
first
report,
titled
Educational
Mobility
Patterns
Among
Registered
Nurses
in
North
Carolina*,
shows
that
very
few
registered
nurses
(RNs)
pursue
a
master’s
degree
in
nursing
or
a
doctoral
degree,
the
types
of
advanced
degrees
required
by
nursing
education
programs.
The
Center’s
study
tracked
education
progress
among
new
graduate
nurses
who
can
enter
the
nursing
profession
through
a
hospital
diploma
program,
an
associate
degree
in
nursing
(ADN)
program,
a
baccalaureate
degree
in
nursing
(BSN)
program,
or,
more
recently,
an
entry-level
masters
program.
Among
RNs
who
entered
practice
in
1983
or
1984,
only
11
percent
earned
a
graduate
degree
by
2003,
20
years
into
their
careers.
About
6
percent
of
RNs
who
entered
practice
in
1993
or
1994
had
earned
graduate
degrees
by
2003,
10
years
into
their
careers.
The
study
also
found
that
the
likelihood
of
earning
a
graduate
degree
is
strongly
shaped
by
where
nurses
start
their
nursing
education.
One
quarter
of
nurses
starting
in
a
BSN
degree
completed
graduate
education
20
years
later,
compared
with
only
five
percent
of
nurses
entering
through
diploma
or
associate
degree
nursing
(ADN)
programs.
Nurses
entering
practice
without
a
BSN
typically
attain
one
before
moving
on
to
graduate
education,
which
makes
the
pathway
to
the
master’s
or
doctorate
a
lengthy
process.
The
report
places
these
finding
in
the
context
of
historical
trends
in
nursing
education.
Since
the
1970s,
ADN
graduates
have
been
rapidly
increasing
as
a
proportion
of
all
new
nurses
in
the
state.
At
present,
nearly
two
thirds
of
new
graduate
nurses
in
North
Carolina
are
educated
in
ADN
programs.
This
has
had
the
unintended
consequence
of
limiting
the
state’s
production
of
graduate-prepared
nurses
eligible
to
fill
faculty
positions.
The
Center’s
second
report,
titled
Forecasting
the
Supply
and
Demand
of
Nursing
Faculty
in
North
Carolina:
2004
–
2020**,
paints
a
gloomy
picture
of
future
nursing
faculty
availability.
The
Center
projected
demand
for
faculty
assuming
that
student
enrollment
in
nursing
programs
will
increase
by
25
percent
in
RN
education
programs
and
8
percent
in
LPN
education
programs.
According
to
the
Institute
of
Medicine’s
Task
Force
on
the
North
Carolina
Nursing
Workforce,
these
enrollment
increases
are
necessary
if
the
state
is
to
avoid
a
catastrophic
nursing
shortage
in
the
future.
The
projected
supply
of
faculty
is
based
on
the
average
age
of
current
faculty,
the
expected
availability
of
graduate-prepared
nurses,
preferences
for
education
versus
practice
roles,
and
expected
retirement
patterns.
The
Center
estimates
that
North
Carolina
will
have
less
than
half
of
the
nursing
education
faculty
it
will
need
in
2020,
if
current
faculty-to-student
ratios
are
still
in
place
at
that
time.
The
shortage
of
faculty,
under
this
scenario,
would
begin
within
the
next
year
and
increase
rapidly
through
2020.
This
shortage
could
be
delayed
if
faculty
members
take
on
larger
classes
of
nursing
students,
but
the
projections
do
not
account
for
the
increases
in
faculty
dissatisfaction
and
burnout
that
might
result
from
the
increased
workload.
“The
emerging
faculty
crisis
is
among
the
Center’s
top
priorities
right
now,”
said
Executive
Director
Dr.
Brenda
Cleary.
“Our
research
shows
that
North
Carolina
faces
an
inadequate
supply
of
nurses
with
the
educational
preparation
needed,
and
interest
in
faculty
roles.
It
is
difficult
to
entice
well-educated
nurses
into
teaching
when
nursing
practice
often
pays
much
more.”
“We
need
to
get
behind
new
programs
that
support
nurse
faculty
preparation,”
Cleary
explained,
citing
a
proposal
in
front
of
the
legislature
for
new
scholarships
to
support
graduate
education
in
nursing.
“But
we
also
need
to
ensure
that
faculty
roles
are
attractive
to
nurses.
We
need
to
consider
ways
to
make
faculty
salaries
more
competitive
with
practice
salaries.
And
to
retain
current
faculty,
we
will
need
to
keep
their
teaching
loads
reasonable.”
Dr.
Cleary
noted
the
Center’s
recent
outreach
efforts,
including
a
“Back
to
School”
campaign
at
the
North
Carolina
State
Fair
last
October,
focused
on
encouraging
seasoned
nurses
to
continue
their
education.
Brenda
Lewis Cleary received a BSN and MSN from Indiana University and a PhD
in Nursing from The University of Texas at Austin. Until July of 1994,
Dr. Cleary was Regional Dean and Professor at Texas Tech University
Health Sciences Center School of Nursing. While at TTUHSC, she received
the Excellence in Teaching Award and the President’s Academic
Achievement Award. She currently holds the position of Executive Director
of the North Carolina Center for Nursing, a state funded agency committed
to assuring nursing resources to meet the health care needs of the citizens
of North Carolina. Dr. Cleary served as project director for a Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation (Colleagues in Caring) funded initiative, the
NC Nurse Workforce Planning Model, and currently serves as a Magnet
appraiser for the American Nurses Credentialing Center. She also serves
on the North Carolina Institute of Medicine, a gubernatorial appointment,
and is a Sigma Theta Tau Virginia Henderson fellow as well as a fellow
in the American Academy of Nursing.
Dr.
Cleary has published numerous articles and book chapters and is the
co-editor of a new book related to the nursing workforce and nursing
leadership. She is also published in the field of gerontology, her clinical
passion, having published a 2004 AJN Book of the Year on conducting
research in long term care settings.
