Nursing Schools Rejected 41,000 Qualified Applicants Over Lack of Educators

Hey Trauma- yep it's sad that so many wonderfully qualified nurses such as you can not afford to come back & teach. It's the profession's loss. I teach because of a couple of reasons. With the nursing shortage- I feel a personal obligation to this area. I went LPN>ADN>BSN>MSN yet one of my NP professors was upset that I decided to teach & not practice as FNP fulltime. Until I reminded her that her future NP students, well she might not have as many if I did not help them become Rn's first. The BON requires a MSN to teach. Now come on, we all know there are terrific teachers of all types of degrees out there. When I take my students to clinicals, well they are being taught by real nurses, without anyne asking if they are ADN/BSN etc.
I do not know what the solution will be but yes more money is a start. I have had 3 FNP's teach for one semester then they went back to private practice. Teaching is hard work. But very, very rewarding.

I too did the LPN-ADN-BSN-MSN-post-MSN certificate! (You'd think I could have gotten it right the first time - lol). However, I also incurred lots of debt for my BSN/MSN, post-MSN and oh did I say that I had to pay over $8k back to my employer when I left because they didn't have any APN positions?

Many of my PhD, masters nurses were very poor teachers. They could barely construct a power point presentation, run a lecture, or write an exam. When these instructors are getting their PhD's, do they have any classes on teaching or education? It seems they just learn higher theories on nursing, and then they struggle with how to teach it. I paid an enormous amount of money to bascially teach the material to myself. And then when I started my first nursing job, I was grossly underprepared clinically. (And I have a BSN from a Big Ten university.)

My point is - in reality, having a PhD or masters doesn't constitute a good teacher. Why not let BSN's, ADN's and especially the awesome diploma nurses teach - at least the clinical portions. The best instructor I ever had was "only" a BSN (but the univ let her teach because she was working on her masters). She was a great teacher because she just had the right personality and communication skills - and years of knowledgeable experience.

And with any industry market, if you want to fill more postions you have to pay more. I've heard this doesn't happen because universities would then have to increase the salaries of their other professors. Can't hospitals, health insurance companies, the government, pharmaceutical companies kick in more to nursing instructor salaries, and not make the universities responsible for coming up with this extra money? (But, good luck getting them to do it.) At least with hospitals it would behoove them to contribute - right now they're losing a ton of money paying out sign-on bonuses to attract nurses, and paying overtime to fill holes in the schedule (and thus overworking and burning out our existing workforce, making nurses leave the profession sooner.) Then let the master's, PhD instructor teach the classroom lectures (but of course pay them a competitive salary and require they sharpen their teaching skills - not so much their nursing theory skills.)

It's not that people don't want to be nurses. The lack of instructors absolutely is the core of this problem, and the nursing shortage is only getting worse. This is not new news, and there are mutliple solutions to fix this - it's just schools are so stuck in their ways and inflexible, they can't move fast enough to address it - and thus the problem continues.

I, too, looked at teaching at the local university where I live. There are many community colleges within an easy commute. Someone tried to recruit me to teach while I was working not that long ago. But the reality of it is I work because I need to work.

To teach at the local university would mean half the salary I currently enjoy. That is just more than I can give up, even if it means ushering in the next generation of nurses.

Now that my kids are grown up, they are going to college and I have to pay that. In addition, my husband does a lot of construction projects at the local university. They are spending tons on purely decorative items for the campus. While a pretty campus is nice, if they really wanted to hire instructors the money is already available on the college campus.

I Work In A Rehab Where We Have Alot Foriegn Nurses That Are Rn's. My Biggest Problem Is ' Is That Play Dumb When They Make A Mistake They Always Say I Did Not Know. Now If If I Made The Mistake Of Giving 5mg Of Haldodl Instead Of 0.5mg I Would Loose My License. Are We As A Society That Hung Up On Initials That We Do Not Care Where They Come From. Most Lnp's Are Very Smart Just Because We Spend 32 Hours A Week In The Field . Get Rid Of The Tech's And Put Us Back In The Hospitals Where We Trained To Be In The Fist Place. Lpn Does Not Stan For Little Play Nurse.

Thank you! I am one of those diploma nurses. But, according to the Powers That May Be, my 36 years experience in just about every specialty area doesn't amount to a hill of beans without that sheepskin (no offense to those of you who are degreed, OK?). Just last summer I was being considered for a faculty position for a LPN program at a local technical school. I made it as far as the interview when I was asked: "When are you planning to get your degree?" So much for that idea.

Are we going to have to go back to diploma programs? If this continues hospital will have to train nurses again which will mean free employment

I have just been turned down after my second time applying to the nursing program at my school. I have been taking classes for 2 1/2 years while working full-time as a Paramedic. My sister-in-law got into the program on her first attempt. She is a stay-at-home-mom whose kids are all in school, which affords her plenty of quiet study time. Meanwhile, between EMS runs, I am studying my butt off and have a 3.0 GPA and I can't even get accepted into the program. I know that I can do it. I have been taking care of patients for over 10 years. And, to top it all off, my new past-time is explaining procedures and physiology of disease processes to my sister-in-law to help her through school. Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge her anything. She worked hard to get in too. It just ticks me off because I am helping her and I can't even get in myself!!! I know I can make it through the program, if they will just give me a chance.

I am just 30 and I have already pretty much given up on the idea of becoming a nurse educator. i would have to get my masters after my ADN and take time off of work to do so, then take a pay cut, yet work more hours. Unless my schooling was fully paid for it just wouldn't be a fiscally responsible decision for my family. My hat is off to all of you who teach us young "nurses".

Whole situation seems like a catch 22