Additionally, thousands of qualified college nursing applicants are being turned away, left to find opportunities in other states or even to pursue other worthwhile occupations. The inability to educate the number of people needed, coupled with the forecast that 75% of current nurse educators will retire by the year 2019, will lead to the biggest nursing shortage ever.
There are many talented and dedicated nurses in the field with overwhelming conviction for their vocation, yet may feel stagnated with their current assignment.
The Pennsylvania Higher Education Foundation is searching for those nurses who have had rewarding careers and are searching for deeper fulfillment. You can give exponentially by becoming a nurse educator. By sharing your experience along with your knowledge to hundreds of nursing students, you will be helping to assure that care for the sick will not only continue but reach higher levels of quality care and medical assistance.
This is an opportune time for those looking for a new career path. You can affect the entire nursing industry and renew your vocation to nursing by choosing to become a nurse educator. Please give this opportunity serious consideration.
For information on continuing education, a list of graduate schools in Pennsylvania and financial aid, please click on the following website link: http://www.futuresinnursing.org/aid/special_programs_educators.shtml
by Jenn Foster
reJENNerate...
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog regarding the pending nursing shortage. Although I reluctantly admit that I am in my middle age years and I have been an LPN for 24of those years,I agree that many of the nursing educators are approaching the age of retirement.
Before my children were born I began a run at my RN completing more than half of the requirements needed, although it is what I consider the highest calling having and raising kids has a way of putting a crimp into our personal ambitions, so that dream was put on the shelf but now that the kids are stable enough to do for themselves I've decided to dust it off and go back to school to complete my RN.
I know from my years of work experience that I am quite capable of executing the duties of RN however considering my age mid 40s I ask myself the question
"How much longer do I want to maintain the level of physical high performance that is required of an RN on floor duty ?"
This is a factor that many lay folks don't realize, and even many doctors take for granted that nursing is a very physically challenging vocation as well as is needed a reasonably high level of intellect and an acute sense of intuitive response.
With this question before me I look ahead to what other options I may have in my future nursing career. Being certified as a trainer in CPR I find a personal level of achievment and satisfaction when conducting a training class.
This leads me to consider taking my nursing career in the direction of Nurse Educator.
My thoughts are that as I approach the later years of my career being a Nurse Educator would allow me to use my knowledge and experience to impact the newer generation of future nurses,providing me with the sense of achievment and satisfaction while going easy on the physical demand.
To me this path seems to be a very
achievable goal as well as a rewarding one.
The link you provided to the Pennsylvania Higher Education Foundation is very informative and it is reassruing to know that the PHEF is proactive in it's recruitment for someone like me who feels that it is time for new achievement and rededication to cast their net into new waters of their career.
reJennerate,
ReplyDeleteI am pleased that you are addressing this very important issue. I know that this is a very passionate issue for many nurses. I work in the cardiac intensive care unit in a large hospital. We are already starting to feel the effects of the nursing shortage. It's hard to imagine that the shortage will continue for many years. Staffing is always a big issue each night I go to work.
I think that there is a shortage of nurse educators for a variety of reasons. One reason is many nurses, who might consider a position as nurse educator, have been nurses for a long time. They have seniority. They have established themselves within the institution. Sometimes, it might involve less money or benefits to become a nurse educator. Many still have children in college. Although the offer is very attractive, it simply is not an option. Nursing programs should realize that these nurses could be an invaluable asset to the program. They have many years of experience that is very helpful during your clincal rotations and in the classroom setting. They need to make it a very easy decision to change postions by offering more incentives.
Another reason is many nurses place their education on hold when they have children. Nursing is a wonderful field in the sense that is gives you flexibility when you have a family. In today's society, usually both parents work. Nurses are raising families, working long hours with barely enough time to even sit down. Many are also running the household as well. It seems like a very difficult task to add finishing a degree on top of everything else. In my personal experience, the nurses that are returning to school are becoming nurse anesthetists or nurse practitioners. They might not want to continue bedside nursing, but they may want to keep some of their clinical skills intact. The nurses that do want to advance in the field choose these postions because it takes them away from the bedside. They also have a great deal of autonomy as well.
Whatever the solution is, I hope that it comes sooner than later. I know that staffing issues will only continue to worsen. Nurses take patient responsibility very seriously. Staffing issues affect the entire health care facility. It becomes increasingly stressful to work with very sick patients and not enough nurses to care for them.