High Demand for Nursing Educators: Help Curb the Nursing Shortage

Currently, the United States is experiencing a moderate nursing shortage; however, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this is expected to become a severe shortage by the year 2020. In 2020, if the current trend continues, they expect the number of nurses needed within the workforce to be approximately 2.8 million, but only having 1.8 million working nurses. This leaves a shortage of one million nurses within the next 10 years.

There are several reasons for this, but one of the most prominent is the lack of nursing educators to teach new nurses. In 2007, According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, U.S. Nursing schools turned away over 42,000 qualified applicants due to a shortage of faculty, clinical sites, classroom space and preceptors.

Who can help prevent the nursing shortage?

The key to insuring the best healthcare available to the U.S. population, through an adequate number of working nurses, is to increase the number of nursing educators that can train and teach our future nurses. People pursuing a career as a nursing educator can come from several different sources and/or experience levels.

One of the best drawing pools available to find nursing educators is our aging nurses. According to the federal Division of Nursing the average age of an RN is 46.9 years old. As nurses become older it becomes more difficult to care for patients and to meet the physical demands of the job. Most nurses do not want to leave their career or cannot afford to, but feel that they do not have other options within their level of training. With the advent of online degree programs it is now possible for a working nurse to continue full-time employment while pursuing a degree as a nursing educator. This allows the nurse to pursue a career in the same field, without giving up their current income. It also allows them to find an alternate position before they become forced to leave nursing due to the physical aspects required. If more of our aging nurse population were to become nursing educators, then each one could potentially use their education and experience to train hundreds of new nurses during their career as a nursing educator. What a fantastic way to give back to a career that has supported them most of their lives.

People just entering the nursing career field provide another pool of potential nursing educators. This position attracts students who want to become teachers as well as people who want to enter nursing. For anyone that wants to become a teacher, what better people to educate than those that will save lives and make a real difference to hundreds in the future? With the great demand for nursing educators there is a large market for jobs within the field with a great deal of potential employers available.

Flexibility in the nursing educator's career.

Nursing educators have several different choices when it comes to a workplace. Some teach in colleges or universities, hospitals, or clinical education. However, with the advent of online nursing programs, many Nursing Educators can even work from home the majority of time.

Nursing educators, who wish to continue doing patient care, can work part time as a nursing educator as well as working part time as a nurse. The high demand for educators allows those in the field a greater ability to find the position that best fits with their schedule and needs.

How to become a nursing educator.

Today potential students will find several colleges that offer an M.S. in Nursing Education. Campus based and Online programs are available that allow the student to continue working while pursing this degree. With online classes, the student works on courses when it is convenient for them. No more trying to schedule classes around their employment, driving to a busy campus, finding a place to park, walking across a busy campus, or spending hours in lecture halls. Students log in to their classes at anytime day or night, from the comfort of their own home.

Taking the first step.

The first step to becoming a nurse educator is to discover what colleges offer programs, and if you would like to attend the program online or on campus. Start by requesting information from those colleges that you would like to know more about. Look over each college and make sure to ask the right questions such as: accreditation, clinical hours, testing or proxy sites, and transfer credits.

The projection of the nursing shortage in the near future is directly linked to the low number of nursing educators. In order to prevent this devastating shortage, we need more educators to train nurses. Nursing educators are the key to a future of healthcare that can meet the demands of our population. Without more educators, nurses will continue to be overwhelmed with patients and the standards of care will fall. Choosing a career as a nursing educator is one of the greatest gifts a person can give to society. Training hundreds of future care givers will make a difference in thousands of lives over the years. If you want to truly make a difference for others, then this is the career for you. It is not just the life of the nurse you are teaching that will be changed; it is the life off all their patients for years to come.

Schools offering degrees for Nursing Educators