UF College of Nursing joins with other schools to address nursing shortage
The nation’s severe nursing shortage is getting worse, and this complex problem cannot be solved without addressing the growing nursing faculty shortage. In response, the University of Florida has joined other state universities to educate new nursing faculty members who will guide the preparation of new nurses.
This summer, nursing leaders at Florida A&M University, Florida State University and the University of North Florida finalized arrangements with UF to form a cooperative doctoral degree program in nursing science. Beginning this fall, students at FSU. UNF and FAMU – which do not offer nursing doctoral degrees -- will be able to access the UF College of Nursing doctoral program through sites in Tallahassee and Jacksonville via an interactive distance-delivery system. The University of West Florida may participate in this cooperative degree program in the future.
“This partnership will make a Ph.D. in nursing available in North Florida and potentially in the Panhandle, and will serve as a model of cost-effective program delivery,” said Kathleen Ann Long, Ph.D., R.N.C.S., dean of the UF College of Nursing, who also serves as president of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. “We will be preparing the faculty of the future in UF’s Ph.D. program. This is critically important in order to maintain and enhance education for the next generation of nurses, and it is a unique and important role for UF since our College of Nursing has an established and well-respected doctoral program.”
Using state-of-the-art technology, students on three campuses will attend classes simultaneously one day a week and engage in comprehensive research preparation. Students will have access to a rich array of expert faculty members at UF, as well as at FAMU, FSU and UNF, for nursing and related interdisciplinary study and research.
UF is one of four Florida universities that offer a doctoral program in nursing science.
“We are very excited to begin working with the University of Florida to expand the quality of nursing education offered in Tallahassee,” said Dianne Speake, Ph.D., R.N., associate dean of FSU’s School of Nursing. “This agreement will allow Tallahassee-area students to benefit from UF’s doctoral program while providing them with resources available on the FSU and FAMU campuses, including our enhanced technological equipment and extensive academic libraries.”
In the academic year 2000-01, U.S. nursing schools turned away almost 6,000 qualified applicants primarily due to an insufficient number of faculty, according to a report on nursing programs released by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. A separate AACN survey found that 64 percent of faculty vacancies in 2000 were for those with doctoral degrees.
Among the factors contributing to a severe faculty shortage is a competitive job market, which draws nurses into higher-paying clinical rather than academic jobs. A wave of faculty retirements expected across the country in the next decade will exacerbate the problem.
According to the Florida Hospital Association’s 2001 report on the state’s nursing shortage, the average age of nursing school faculty is 56, and one in four state nurse educators will retire by next year.
“This is an excellent opportunity for Florida A&M University to participate in a consortium that will enable our School of Nursing to increase its cadre of doctorally prepared faculty, and will make this level of education accessible and affordable,” said Margaret Lewis, Ph.D., R.N., dean of the FAMU School of Nursing. “In addition, this arrangement will ensure a pool of highly qualified minority faculty for our university and other North Florida institutions and will contribute positively to diversity issues in higher education throughout Florida.”
At many colleges, faculty cannot advance past a certain point without doctoral degrees. As a result, many faculty members in the nursing department at UNF have been stalled, desiring a doctoral degree but not having the time to attend classes in Gainesville because of career and family constraints, said Lucy Trice, Ph.D., A.R.N.P., director of the UNF School of Nursing in Jacksonville. “Many people who have been interested in furthering their careers in teaching and research have had to give up that dream,” Trice said. “Now they do not have to uproot their lives.”
Prior to the cooperative program, those wishing to work toward a doctoral degree in nursing at UF had to travel to and from Gainesville not only to attend core nursing classes but also to complete a necessary minor in another discipline. With the new program, students are able to attend the core classes at UF via distance delivery and may complete a necessary area of specialized study at their “home” university, significantly cutting down the amount of time and travel. “This program will expand the opportunities available for junior faculty members in North Florida and will offer master’s prepared nurses the chance to pursue doctoral education,” Speake said. “More doctorally prepared nurses have a direct impact on improving clinical education for new nurses in hospitals and other settings.”
While they only recently implemented their first-ever four-year bachelor’s degree nursing program, UWF is open to participating in the program sometime in the future, said Marilyn Lamborn, Ph.D., R.N., chair of UWF’s department of nursing.
“The options are limited for those in the Panhandle area pursuing nursing doctoral degrees,” Lamborn said. “I am greatly looking forward to when we can participate in this program, which will provide more nurses a distinct advantage.”
Better educated nursing faculty will lead to better prepared nurses, and that will lead to better patient care, UF’s Long said. “Ultimately, the real goal is improving clinical care for patients,” she said.