National nursing educator shortage critical, Pohl says

A shortage of nursing educators threatens to stifle efforts to graduate more students from nursing programs, Associate Dean of Nursing Joanne Pohl told a Capitol Hill audience last week.

At a Sept. 8 briefing sponsored by Americans For Nursing Shortage Relief, Pohl said many nursing faculty members are nearing retirement, and without more resources there will not be enough replacements to train the nurses of the future.

"Out of 50 tenure-track faculty at U-M, 40 percent are 60 years of age or older and approaching retirement," Pohl said. "These are the faculty preparing the next generation of faculty."

Pohl blamed the small financial incentive for nurses to become faculty members, and pointed to recent state budget cuts in Michigan and elsewhere to demonstrate a lack of funding to increase faculty size.

She lauded a U-M program led by the Office of the Provost designed to add junior faculty positions at the School of Nursing.

Pohl joined other presenters in urging congressional staff to support increased federal funding for advanced nursing education programs.

Without such help, Pohl and others say, many qualified potential nursing students will join other fields.

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