NEW ONLINE RESOURCE TO ADDRESS THE NATION’S SHORTAGE OF NURSE EDUCATORS
Faculty CareerLink Highlights Opportunities in Nursing Education
In response to the growing shortage of nurse educators, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing has created an online resource to support nurses considering full- or part-time teaching careers. Called Faculty CareerLink, this information clearinghouse features a nurse educator career profile, academic programs that prepare faculty, financial aid opportunities, and links to faculty development programs.
This resource, found at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/CareerLink, also includes the most comprehensive list available of faculty vacancies in U.S. nursing colleges and universities with more than 250 teaching opportunities highlighted from 41 states, the District of Columbia, Virgin Islands and Canada.
“Resolving the shortage of registered nurses is not possible without sufficient numbers of faculty to prepare the nursing workforce,” said AACN President Kathleen Ann Long, PhD, APRN, FAAN. “AACN created Faculty CareerLink to provide nurses with the information needed to make decisions about teaching careers, explore education options, and locate institutions seeking faculty.”
Recent AACN data show that more than 11,000 applicants were turned away from baccalaureate nursing programs last year due primarily to a shortage of faculty. With the average age of doctorally-prepared faculty currently 54.1 years, a wave of retirements is expected within the next ten years. In fact, AACN projects 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.
“The faculty retirement pattern, coupled with an insufficient number of students enrolled in graduate nursing programs, presents a tremendous challenge to nursing schools to increase or even maintain student capacity,” added Dr. Long. “Employers must remove barriers and encourage nurses to continue their education to feed the pipeline of future faculty and ensure the availability of nurses to provide direct patient care,” added Dr. Long.
AACN expanded Faculty CareerLink to support a national campaign launched by Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow (NHT) to address the nurse educator shortage. NHT, a coalition of 43 leading nursing and health care organizations, is working to generate interest in teaching careers through a public awareness campaign that includes Internet-based resources found at www.nursesource.org; four print advertisements and a flyer that may be downloaded for free from the Web; and a national public relations campaign coordinated by Hetrick Communications. Distribution of the advertisements through formal and grassroots methods began this month with major support from the campaign’s platinum sponsor, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
“AACN applauds the work of Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow and their collaborative work to address the faculty shortage and ensure a healthy future for the nursing profession,” said Dr. Long.
AACN’s Faculty CareerLink is online at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/CareerLink and will be updated monthly.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing is the national voice for university and four-year-college education programs in nursing. OHSU School of Nursing is a member of AACN.
(Reprinted from AACN Web site at: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/NewsReleases/2004FacultyCareerLink.htm)
Last
updated
January 26, 2005
by OHSU School of Nursing Web Managers.
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