Critical Shortage of Nurse Educators

Sally Lundeen, dean of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Nursing was recently quoted in USA Today as saying "so we have ourselves a crisis nationally." What she is referring to is the bleak fact that U.S. nursing schools couldn't find enough teachers and were forced to turn away tens of thousands of qualified applicants in 2005. Nursing schools were forced to reject more than 41,000 qualified applicants according the annual survey data from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

What makes it such a crisis is our country is experiencing a nationwide shortage of nurses. As more of the baby boom generation retires and ages that shortage will only increase. The Department of Heath and Human Services projects today's 10% vacancy rate in registered nursing positions will grow to 36%, representing more than 1 million unfilled jobs by 2020.

To help combat the overwhelming shortage of nurse educators various institutions are allocating more dollars and sweetening the pot in an attempt to lure current nurses into a teaching role. In fact the U.S. Senate amended the 2007 defense appropriations bill to include $500,000 to encourage former military nurses to become instructors in nursing schools.

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