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By Susan Feinberg
The shortage of nursing faculty in the United States is a critical problem that directly affects the nation’s shortage of professional nurses. According to the Florida Center for Nursing, 44 percent of qualified applicants to Florida nursing schools were unable to enroll in the 2007-08 academic year, due in large part to the lack of qualified nursing faculty members.
“At FIU, we have long recognized the critical need for more nursing educators,” said Divina Grossman, former dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CNHS). “The College of Nursing has developed innovative educational initiatives to respond to this need.”
In 2006, CNHS launched a unique collaboration with the nursing programs of Miami Dade College (MDC) and Broward College (BC) that recruits and financially supports highly qualified nurses who enroll in FIU’s Nursing Education Master’s track (MSN). Graduates of the program go on to careers as nursing faculty members.
Funded by an $820,000 grant from the Health Foundation of South Florida (HFSF), this program awards scholarships to 10 full-time students that cover all educational costs and provide a stipend, giving them the financial resources they need to pursue full-time study. To qualify for the program, candidates must be experienced nurses who are BSN graduates from South Florida nursing schools in the last 10 years. They must also commit to becoming nursing faculty in Florida after graduation. Eight graduates of this program are now nurse educators at Miami Dade College, and one alumna is teaching at Broward College.
“This program taught us that there are nurses interested in becoming faculty who need financial support in order to return to school and get their graduate degrees,” Grossman explained. “It’s hard for them to come back to school full-time and still support their families.”
Several years ago, CNHS launched another innovative academic initiative, funded by a $566,000 allocation from the Florida Legislature, that provides scholarships for BSN-educated nurses who want to pursue their studies at the master’s and doctoral levels and become nursing faculty members. Students who accept these scholarships must commit, upon graduation, to become employed as nurse educators in Florida nursing programs.
CNHS is also reaching out to nurses who have earned their master’s degrees in nursing with a clinical nursing specialty from NLNAC or CCNE-accredited programs. The one-year MSN Post Master’s Certificate in Nursing Education program, developed by Interim Dean Sherry Pontious, is funded by a $750,000 Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant.
The certificate program prepares students from diverse backgrounds with the knowledge and skills to enhance classroom and clinical teaching and learning. They learn how to teach classes to provide culturally competent care for diverse communities and are equipped with expertise in teaching technologically supported curricula that enhance learning. Graduates are qualified to sit for the NLN National Nurse Educator Certification.
FIU is committed to graduating practicing nurses and nursing educators. In both ways, CNHS is helping to address the critical shortage of nursing professionals.
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HEY MY NAME SHAKIERA IM A INCOMING 10TH GRADER IM VERY INTRESTED IN THE PRE COLLEGE NURSEING PROGRAM I WAS WONDER HOW I CAN GET INTO THE PROGRAM TO GET MORE LEARNIN OUT OF THE PROGRAM
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