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Nurse Educators: One Thing We Need Even More Than Nurses

Anyone who doesn’t know that our nation is in dire need of nurses must be living in a cave, on top of a mountain, without any form of communication from the outside world. The topic of the nursing shortage and the efforts to recruit individuals to the nursing profession, has been publicized everywhere — from T.V. to radio to newspapers and magazines.

The goods news is that the communications are working. The interest in nursing careers is growing and more people are applying to nursing school. The bad news — they are being turned away. Over the past three years, thousands of would-be nurses have been rejected from nursing schools, primarily due to an insufficient number of faculty . As it currently stands, the biggest cause of the nursing shortage lies within the nursing field itself. We need nurses, but what we need even more is nurse educators.

The Best Nurses can be Lousy Teachers

You can be a stellar example of a nurse in a clinical setting but you walk into a classroom and things can change dramatically. The truth is it takes more than a good clinician to be an educator. There is a core of knowledge and skills that is essential if you want to be effective and achieve excellence in the role.

As a nurse educator, you must be able to facilitate learning, design appropriate learning experiences and evaluate learning outcomes. Nurse educators are critical players in assuring quality educational experiences that prepare the nursing workforce for a diverse, ever-changing healthcare environment. They are the leaders who guide students through the learning process.

Choosing to be a nurse educator does not mean you have to give up your clinical role. A growing number of nurse educators teach part-time while working in a healthcare facility. This gives them the opportunity to maintain a high degree of clinical competence while sharing their expertise with nursing students.

Going from Nurse to Nurse Educator

A nurse educator is a registered nurse who has advanced education, including advanced clinical training in a healthcare specialty. Nurse educators serve in a variety of roles that range from part-time clinical faculty to dean of a college of nursing. Professional titles include Instructional or Administrative Nurse Faculty, Clinical Nurse Educator, Staff Development Officer and Continuing Education Specialist among others.

There is a lot of satisfaction that comes with the above titles, in particular having a direct impact on the future of nursing. But earning one of theses titles also means a lot more time in school. At a minimum, nurse educators who work in academic settings must hold a master's degree. In order to be promoted to the upper academic ranks, such as associate professor and professor, and to be granted tenure, academic faculty typically must hold an earned doctoral degree. Nurse educators who work in clinical settings must hold the minimum of a baccalaureate degree in nursing, but more and more institutions are requiring the master's degree for such appointments.

Holding a master’s degree or a PhD isn’t the end of the line. Nurse educators have to be committed to lifelong learning. It is imperative that they stay current and informed on the latest trends in the industry and their specialty area. They need to anticipate innovations in nursing science and ongoing changes in the practice environment.

Where Are All The Teachers Going?

Research has shown that there are many factors contributing to the lack of nurse educators, including f aculty age, inadequate compensation and lack of master's and doctoral programs in nursing.

• A wave of faculty retirements is expected across the United States over the next decade. According to a March/April 2002 Nursing Outlook article, "The Shortage of Doctorally Prepared Nursing Faculty: A Dire Situation," the average retirement age for nurse faculty is 62.5. 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. ¹ ( www.us.elsevierhealth.com/product.jsp?isbn=00296554)

• Higher compensation in clinical and private-sector settings is luring current and potential nurse educators away from teaching. The average salary of a master's-prepared nurse practitioner working in her/his own private practice was $94,313, according to the 2003 National Salary Survey of Nurse Practitioners completed by ADVANCE for Nurse Practitioners magazine. In contrast, AACN reports that master's-prepared nurse faculty across all ranks earned an annual average salary of $60,831. ¹ ( www.advancefornp.com/common/editorial/editorial.aspx?CC=27756) 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 percent or 251 graduates; graduations from doctoral programs decreased by 9.9 percent or 44 graduates. (www.aacn.nche.edu) ¹

If It’s Not One Shortage, It’s Another

Efforts to reduce the nursing shortage are being made across the board — from the United States government to large corporations, such as Johnson & Johnson, to small community hospitals. It seems that everyone is doing their part to attract attention to the nursing profession. But while we’re all trying to solve this issue, who’s concentrating on getting nurses to continue on in their education and become the educators of tomorrow?

Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow along with its 43 member organizations are committed to alleviating the shortage through their new faculty recruitment campaign. Organizers are looking to inspire a new generation of nurse educators to pursue the unique rewards and benefits associated with preparing the future nursing workforce. Their efforts include:

• Four colorful ads depicting Nurse Educators which encourage teaching careers
• An outreach campaign to nursing journals and the mass media
• A newsletter with campaign updates
• A section of their website dedicated to information about nurse educators, including a career profile
• And, of course, a way to donate and join the effort as a patron or a sponsor.

Johnson & Johnson is also doing their part on the nurse educator end, raising more than $5 million to date towards student scholarships, nurse educator fellowships and nursing school grants. The NLN Foundation for Nursing Education, an affiliate of National League for Nursing (NLN), awarded scholarships in the fall of 2003 to 25 nursing students who will pursue careers as nurse educators. The Promise of Nursing Regional Faculty Scholarship Program, which is supported by the fund-raising events sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, is administered by the Foundation of the National Student Nurses' Association. Both the National League of Nursing and the National Student Nurses' Association are Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow members. ¹

Many federal and private sources of funding exist to assist students looking to pursue graduate nursing education. The recently passed Nurse Reinvestment Act includes a student loan repayment program for nurses who agree to serve in faculty roles after graduation. Similar programs also are available through the National Health Service Corps and the Bureau of Health Professions.

As you can see plans are in action to recruit new nurse educators. You don’t need a big pocket book to join the cause. You can help simply by spreading the word that nurse educator is an exciting and rewarding career choice.

1 Information provided by Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow