The nursing shortage in the United States is rapidly wreaking havoc on the healthcare industry, thanks to baby boomers, the Affordable Care Act and a lack of qualified nurses. Baby boomers, the largest generation in our nation’s history, are reaching an age that typically requires increased medical care. That same group of people makes up over half of the nursing workforce and are retiring and leaving holes in the workforce. Add in the 32 million Americans who have new insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act and you have a perfect storm rocking the healthcare community.
“According to the 2015 National Nursing Workforce study conducted by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and the National Forum of State Nursing Workforce, 50 percent of the registered nurses surveyed were 50 years or older. While this number is slightly decreased from the previous study, it is still a significant indicator that we will continue to see a nursing shortage as older nurses retire from practice,” said Kelly Harden, dean and professor at Union University School of Nursing. “While nursing is a rewarding profession, the hours can be challenging. Most bedside nurses work 12-hour shifts and that includes weekends and holidays. Many hospitals also currently have mandatory overtime. Burn out occurs quickly. Many nurses leave the hospital for jobs that offer a nine to five Monday through Friday schedule so they can be with their families more. In addition, some nurses leave West Tennessee for metropolitan areas, where they believe the pay will be higher.”
Along with the aging of the Baby Boomer generation and work environment issues, educational related factors have contributed to the looming shortage. Nursing school enrollment is not growing fast enough to meet demand and there is a shortage of qualified nursing educators. A 2010 report in The Future of Nursing, recommended that 80 percent of nurses should have Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees. However, as of its publishing, only 50 percent of RNs had completed a BSN degree or higher. Colleges are rapidly working to meet the demand but they are up against some stark statistics. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts there will be 1.05 million RN job openings through 2022. Of those openings, as many as 300,000 won’t be filled in time with current graduation trends, according to a 2012 study by the American Journal of American Medical Quality (AJMQ). The nursing shortage is projected to hit the hardest in the South and West, with Tennessee expected to have the highest nursing shortage in the Southeast.
In West Tennessee, both Union University and the University of Memphis – Lambuth are working to address the issue of educating more qualified nurses. Both schools offer a wide range of degree options designed to meet the growing needs of the field and students looking to pursue a BSN or advanced nursing degree.
“At Union University, we seek to address this nursing shortage by offering multiple tracks into the nursing profession including an accelerated BSN program (15 month track) and a traditional BSN program,” said Harden. “Additionally, our goal is not to simply tackle the nursing shortage but to also improve patient care by offering an RN-BSN program; graduate nursing programs including administration, nurse education, CRNA and nurse practitioner tracks; and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice program. Our RN to BSN program is offered totally on line, which enables those students to continue working.”
Another issue facing nursing today is the higher acuity of hospitalized patients and increased nurse patient ratios. In other words, nurses are being required to do more with fewer resources. “There are not as many nurses’ aides, and clerical help is also at a minimum as hospitals face decreasing reimbursement,” said Harden. “At Union, we only offer a BSN program for entry level nursing because we believe that the BSN nurse is well equipped to handle these situations with their additional training in leadership, prioritization, delegation, and community resources. Additionally, we believe that all knowledge comes from God and therefore strive for excellence in all that we do. This includes offering comprehensive simulation training for students and the use of human gross anatomy with cadavers in our program to further reinforce information from class and clinical. Additionally, we teach our students the role of nursing as a mission and not simply a job yielding nursing students who approach nursing with a passion and high level of excellence.”
“We also need to increase our nursing student and workforce diversity by attracting a more diverse group of applicants to nursing programs. Research indicates that individuals tend to receive better quality care when nurses mirror the backgrounds of their patients,” said Christie Schrotberger, director, Lambuth Nursing Program and Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Memphis –Lambuth Campus. “One of the core values of the Lowenburg College of Nursing is diversity. Strategies, such as increased funding for scholarships, are needed to help us attract, retain and graduate students from diverse and underrepresented groups.”
A recently announced $2.5 million endowment, funded by West Tennessee Healthcare, will provide scholarships to students enrolled in the Loewenberg College of Nursing at The University of Memphis Lambuth. The nursing scholarships will be available to students pursuing a traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree as well as students pursuing an RN-BSN degree. Recipients of the scholarship will be residents of Jackson-Madison County or a contiguous county. In a press release on the Endowment University of Memphis President, M. David Rudd, noted that this gift provides advanced training, which will prepare our West Tennessee nursing practitioners to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing healthcare industry.
Bobby Arnold, president and CEO of West Tennessee Healthcare stated in the press release, “As the largest provider of healthcare services in West Tennessee, it is essential that we have an available, highly skilled and educated nursing workforce. West Tennessee Healthcare’s investment in the endowment creates an opportunity for local individuals to obtain their nursing BSN degree here at the University of Memphis Lambuth and for employment opportunities in Jackson.”
“We need to create a more highly educated workforce. Research demonstrates that more highly educated nurses were associated with lower rates of morbidity and mortality. We need to increase the number of RNs with BSN degrees and bringing the Loewenberg College of Nursing's BSN program to Lambuth is one way we are trying to address this need. We are committed to increasing enrollment in all of our nursing programs and currently have the capacity to do so. Offering flexible options, such as our online RN-BSN program, which is ranked 14th nationally, as well as an increase in scholarships help as well. This endowment means an additional $80K in scholarships for our students starting in the fall semester of 2016,” said Schrotberger. “The application will be on the U of M Lowenburg College of Nursing website or interested students can call the College of Nursing at Lambuth.”
The U.S. Government projects a shortfall of 800,000 nurses by the year 2020. Tennessee will be able to meet only half of the demand for RNs by 2020, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration. Because of this crisis, it is important to increase the number of qualified nurse educators, help retain nurses by creating a positive work environment and give nursing students more educational opportunities in clinical settings.
Information on each nursing program is available online at the school’s website or by calling the admission offices.
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