Nurse Educator Loan Forgiveness Program

I recently read a story that came down from the Associated Press that noted how Tennessee is developing a student loan forgiveness program for registered nurses who are looking to pursue an RN to MSN degree. The state is doing this in an attempt to shore up the nursing shortage crisis that partially stems from the nurse educator shortage. Governor Bredesen believes the new loan forgiveness program to encourage RNs to pursue master's degrees should help alleviate the nursing shortage in Tennessee. The state needs to fill 383 nurse educator positions by 2010.

Nurses participating in the program would have a quarter of their student loans forgiven for each year they teach at a Tennessee nursing school. So essentially a nurse who elects to teach for four years at a Tennessee nursing school would achieve 100% loan forgiveness. This is one of the best ideas I've read about since I began covering the nursing shortage crisis. This new program is a great way for nurses to pursue an advanced degree, for what could be free, while also taking positive steps forward in solving the nursing shortage problem. I see it as a win for all parties involved.

About one million ($1M) of the one point four ($1.4M) million dollars needed to launch the program has been raised from the health care industry. Governor Bredesen said the state would take over the funding for future years. The program will initially pay for 100 registered nurses to obtain the two-year graduate degrees they need to qualify for nurse educator positions.

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