Nurse Anesthetist Programs, Lack of Faculty Contributes To Nurse Anesthetist Shortage

While there are currently around 80 accredited nurse anesthetist programs, America is well on it’s way to facing a nurse anesthetist shortage that is threatening the quality of health care for patients. A major factor to this serious problem is a nationwide shortage of faculty in nurse anesthetist programs. Although the number of potential students applying to undergraduate nurse anesthetist schools is rising, many are being turned away. With insufficient faculty, the rate of these qualified applicants being denied access into nurse anesthetist programs is nearly twice as high as those being accepted. The nursing faculty shortage limits student capacity at a time when the health care system demands more. According to a Vanderbilt School of Nursing study, the nursing shortage is expected to approach more than 800,000 positions by 2020. In acknowledging the current nursing shortage crisis and the need for more Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), experienced nurse anesthetist educators, hospitals and universities are relying on help from unconventional sources including corporations like Johnson & Johnson, which launched a national campaign to strengthen the nursing industry by enhancing the image of the profession, recruiting new nurses and faculty, and retaining nurses currently in the profession. “Too many qualified nursing school applicants are being turned away due to lack of faculty,” said Andrea Higham, director of The Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing’s Future. “These numbers are staggering. The nursing profession needs assistance in recruiting educators, who will train and prepare new nursing students, all in hopes of beginning to address the nursing shortage crisis.” To help raise funds for nurse anesthesia school grants, scholarships and faculty fellowships, the campaign sponsors Promise of Nursing galas, which have helped in raising more than $7 million. By supporting graduate nursing programs, the Campaign is helping to supply teachers and mentors to prepare the next generation of nurse anesthetist. The health and future well-being of the nation depends on anesthetist nurses, so the current faculty shortage must be a priority for nurse anesthetist programs, health care officials, local, state and the federal government. What's great about fungal nail infection | Info on How to Stop Aging | Hot Water Cooler Tags: Education, Healthcare, Jobs, Nurse Anesthetist Programs, nursing This entry was posted on Sunday, July 10th, 2011 at 1:53 am and is filed under Education, General, Medical, Reference. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.