Orgs turn attention to solving nursing faculty shortage

Even with the crucial shortage of nurses, a staggering 2,300 students were turned away for the state's nursing schools for the last academic year. The primary reason Is the lack of nursing faculty, a problem that could lead to a critical lack of qualified nurses in the state's healthcare system. Nurses make up 31% of professionals providing healthcare services.

The Mississippi Hospital Association (MHA) is leading a group of professional associations to find solutions to this serious dilemma. Others in the forefront include the Mississippi Nurses Association (MNA), the Mississippi Office for Nursing Workforce (ONW) and the Mississippi Council of Deans and Directors of Schools of Nursing.

The consortium of healthcare groups released a white paper, The Shortage of Nursing Program Faculty in Mississippi, in which they state that the failure to address the trends identified in the study could lead to a critical lack of qualified nurses in the state's healthcare system. More importantly, they outline strategic ways of addressing the shortage.