Preparing Nurse Educators to Confront the Nursing Shortage
In the Nurse Faculty Mentored Leadership Development Program, experienced faculty help new educators prepare for the challenges of teaching nursing.
The shortage of nurses in the United States could exceed one million by 2020, due largely to the scarcity of trained faculty, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.
US nursing schools turned away more than 42,000 qualified applicants in 2006-07 because of shrinking nursing faculty, a lack of facilities, too few clinical training placements and limited funds, JAMA reported.
To help retain nurse faculty and prepare the next generation, the Elsevier Foundation awarded a $200,000 grant to the Sigma Theta Tau International Foundation for Nursing (STTI) – the honor society of nursing – to support the Nurse Faculty Mentored Leadership Development Program. Early career nurse educators with an advanced degree were selected to receive 18 months of leadership training designed to help them overcome the challenges of transitioning from nursing practice to faculty.
The pilot program kicked off April 17 with a three-day workshop at STTI's headquarters in Indianapolis, where experienced faculty members from universities throughout the US worked face-to-face with their partner scholars.
The program reflects the Elsevier Foundation's effort to alleviate the nurse faculty crisis by providing knowledge, skill development opportunities and support to retain new nurse educators who have transitioned into the role. Research shows that new faculty members who have worked successfully with a mentor have higher job satisfaction, with increased promotions and mobility than those without mentors. Mentored faculty are also more productive in obtaining competitive grants, leading professional organizations and publishing in scholarly books and journals.
"The Elsevier Foundation understands the global nursing shortage can't be successfully addressed without building and retaining the next generation of nurse faculty," said David Ruth, Senior VP of Global Communications and Executive Director of the Elsevier Foundation. "Transitioning from nursing practice into a faculty role isn't easy, so we hope our joint effort to expand mentoring programs can go a long way to help new nurse faculty succeed."
A separate group of expert nurse program faculty designed the curriculum, which includes:
- Development of an individualized leadership progression plan
- Participation in online discussion forums with faculty
- Mentor/mentee collaboration to create an innovative educational project
- Dissemination of project results through the world-renowned Virginia Henderson International Nursing Library
During the kick-off workshop, scholars worked with their mentors to develop their leadership plans and educational projects.
"The commitment to the profession and the personal effort put forth by these highly qualified nurse faculty is truly inspiring," said Tom Reller, VP of Global Corporate Relations, who represented the Elsevier Foundation. "The Elsevier community can be proud to be associated with such an environment, where tomorrow's nursing leaders are being developed today."
Scholars will present their work at an invited poster session at the Sigma Theta Tau International Biennial Convention in November 2011.
