The American Hospital Association announced in 2007 that over 116,000 nursing positions are vacant across the United States and that this number is rising.,”Colleges and hospitals across Wisconsin and the United States are working to address the shortage of graduate level nursing faculty through collaborative programs and alternative adult learning curriculum.

The American Hospital Association announced in 2007 that more than 116,000 nursing positions are vacant across the United States and that this number is rising.

According to American Association of Colleges of Nurses, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2016 nursing will become the nation's top profession in terms of projected job growth. Five hundred and eighty seven thousand new positions will be created, a 23.5 percent increase from current job levels.

The AACN reported that huge numbers of qualified, graduate level nurses are being rejected for baccalaureate and graduate programs across the United States due to a lack of qualified faculty.

AACN President Kathleen Ann Long said, "The faculty retirement pattern, coupled with an insufficient number of students enrolled in graduate nursing programs, presents a tremendous challenge to nursing schools to increase or even maintain student capacity."

Margaret Callahan, dean and professor of the College of Nursing at Marquette noted that the lack of nursing faculty does affect the quantity of nursing students admitted every year, but she also credits the limited clinical placement opportunities as a factor. She also says the lack of grant funding for part-time students is a problem.

"The AACN needs to work to modify the language in legislation so that some of this federal funding can go to part time students," Callahan said. "We are looking at the curriculum to reframe the way we teach (to better suit nurses who want to teach) but that cannot happen over night."

Children's Hospital of Wisconsin is working with local colleges to address the growing need for graduate level nursing instructors.

Shelly Malin, director of Advanced Practice Nursing and Research at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and associate clinical professor in the College of Nursing, said 650 nursing students have been placed in jobs at Children's, including 50 to 60 graduate level students.

Malin said the nurse and nursing faculty shortage exists mostly due to age. She also noted that many nurses are choosing alternative adult learning approaches to going back to school including taking online courses.

While Children's Hospital is affected by the nursing shortage, Malin feels that pediatric nurses tend to focus early and are in greater supply than other specializations, especially at a magnet hospital like Children's, making the shortage less of a problem for these institutions.

According to Malin, the SWIFT Program, State of Wisconsin Initiative to Fast Track Nurse Educators, pairs the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with Children's Hospital.

"SWIFT prepares nurses to be able to do clinical teaching at the master's level," Malin said. "With this program, when these graduate student finish they are available for three years of clinical teaching, although most stay on for much longer."

The College of Nursing is focusing on training nursing faculty as well.

"Our doctorate of nursing focus in not only on research, but also on creating teacher-scholars," said Callahan. "We are educating our PhD students to be teachers."

Another similar project that brings together local universities, nursing organizations, and local foundations is called Partner's Investing in Nursing Future led by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Susan B. Hassmiller, a senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said that the quality of healthcare provide nationwide heavily depends on the education available to nurses.

"While the nursing shortage is a national issue, community interventions are necessary to finding solutions that work in different health care environments," Hassmiller said. "[Partner's Investing in Nursing's Future] was designed to bring regional philanthropies together to address the nursing shortage on a community-level, fostering innovations beyond what any one foundation can do alone."

Other universities are taking steps to offer alternative educational options to nurses who want to further their education.

Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash. is now offering an online Master of Science in Nursing. This program is designed for nurses who want to further their administrative or education related careers in the field of nursing. In addition to the online class work, students are required practicum experience that takes place in an education setting, such as a teaching hospital.

“