Yves is here. Due to Covid burnout and fear of infection, the number of nurses is shrinking, and the United States cannot even replace them. And you can be sure that those hospital system executives who refuse to pay hard wages also believe that they can of course hire enough people in the future because of the market.

Although it is possible to increase the ranking of doctors by hiring more medical doctors who have obtained degrees overseas, how many nurses will move abroad, abandon family and friends, and live in an increasingly third-world United States, and the conditions are not very good Paid work?

Author: Rayna M. Letourneau, Assistant Professor of Nursing, University of South Florida.Originally published on dialogue

Despite being a country U.S. nurse shortage, Exceed American nursing school does not accept 80,000 qualified applications According to data from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, in 2020.

This is Mainly due There is a lack of nursing professors and a limited number of clinical internships, and nursing students receive practical job training. Additional constraints This includes lack of experienced practitioners to provide supervision during clinical training, insufficient classroom space, and insufficient financial resources.

Although 80,000 May not account for For students applying for multiple nursing schools, this clearly shows that not all eligible students can be admitted to the nursing school.

I am a nurse researcher, Professor of Nursing And founding directors electric wire, An office at the University of South Florida that focuses on the well-being of health care workers.I find that the shortage of care is a complicated issue Many factors are involved -But the main one is the lack of teachers to train future nurses.

The demand for nurses continues to grow

New nurses entering the U.S. healthcare system each year are not enough to meet the country’s requirements Growing demand. This can have serious consequences Patient safety and Quality of care.

Nationwide, the number of registered nurse jobs is Expected to grow by 9% between 2020 and 2030.

Due to population and demand, some states expect higher demand for registered nurses.For example, Florida will need The number of registered nurses increased by 16% In the next ten years.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there will be approximately 194,500 job openings For the next ten years, services will be provided to registered nurses every year to meet the needs of the growing population and replace nurses who have retired or exited the industry.This means that the U.S. will need approximately 2 million new registered nurses By 2030.

In addition to the shortage of registered nurses, there is also a shortage of nurse practitioners.Practicing nurses are recognized as The second fastest growing occupation In the next ten years, after wind turbine technicians, it is expected to grow by 52.2%. Compared with registered nurses, practicing nurses have a wider range of practice. They must complete additional clinical time, obtain a master’s or doctorate degree in nursing, and complete additional certifications to work with specific patient groups.

The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified Health problems of nursing staffDespite these problems, the student enrollment rate of the nursing school Increase in 2020The pandemic has not caused people to give up their desire to pursue a career in nursing. However, if there are not enough nursing staff and clinical sites, there will not be enough new nurses to meet the country’s healthcare needs.

Need more nursing colleges

Currently, the whole country The nurse teacher vacancy rate is 6.5%. This is a slight improvement over before The interest rate in 2019 is 7.2%. More than half of the nursing schools Report vacant full-time teacher positions. What is needed most is the nursing items Western and Southern States.

Nursing education in the clinical environment requires a smaller teacher-student ratio than many other occupations to maintain the safety of patients, students, and staff.The regulatory agency recommends at least one faculty member No more than 10 students Engaged in clinical learning.

The shortage of teachers is also affected by many existing nursing faculty and staff. Reach retirement age. Proportion of full-time nursing staff 60 years old and above This has increased from approximately 18% in 2006 to nearly 31% in 2015.

The American Association of Schools of Nursing reports average age The ages of postdoctoral nurses at the professor level, associate professor level and assistant professor level are 62.6, 56.9, and 50.9 years old, respectively.

Another factor leading to the shortage of nurses is also the most critical issue Related to teacher recruitment, Is compensation. The salary of nurses with advanced degrees is much higher in the clinical and private sector than in academia.

According to a survey by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, Average salary of nurse practitioners, Across settings and professions, is $110,000. In contrast, AACN reported in March 2020 that Average salary of master assistant professors The cost in nursing school is slightly less than $80,000.

Solve the problem of teacher shortage

Innovative strategies are needed to solve the problem of shortage of nursing teachers.This Chapter 8 of the Nursing Staff Reauthorization Act of 2019 It’s a beginning. The bill provides funding for the development of nursing colleges, scholarships and loan repayments for nurses, and grants for advanced nursing education, nursing diversity initiatives, and other priorities.

Rebuild better actions Pass the U.S. House of Representatives Funding for November 2021 includes helping nursing schools across the country recruit and retain diverse nursing teachers, as well as recruit and retain nursing students. The bill is now submitted to the U.S. Senate.

In addition to national strategies, individual states are also addressing shortages at the local level.For example, the State of Maryland grants $29 million in grants Go to the 14 higher education institutions in Maryland that offer nursing courses to expand and increase the number of qualified nurses.

Finally, providing teacher salaries comparable to clinical settings may attract more nurses to use their expertise to train and expand the next generation of health care workers.