Florida鈥檚 public university system is developing a program to address a shortage in nurses. The American Academy of Nursing has projected a shortfall extending through 2030.
Florida鈥檚 population is growing. It鈥檚 also getting older. And more people have health insurance. That鈥檚 driving demand for healthcare services, and just as there is a need for more physicians, there鈥檚 also a need for more nurses. 10 of Florida鈥檚 12 public universities offer nursing programs. And many of the state鈥檚 community colleges do too. But Ed Morton, a member of the state鈥檚 university system has some questions for those presidents:
鈥淲e鈥檙e critically short of doctors, we鈥檙e critically short of nurses. I looked at 12 work plans, I didn鈥檛 see anyone talking about registered nursing. We鈥檝e ceded to other schools and universities one of the fundamental, critical needs of the state of Florida," he said.
There鈥檚 a big demand for nurses with bachelor鈥檚 degrees. And while there are programs in nearly every college, each is different. Then there鈥檚 the problem of finding teachers. To teach a nurse you have to be a nurse. And to recruit teachers you have to pay them, says Kathy Robinson, a registered nurse and board of governors member.
鈥淲e鈥檙e starting them around $50 [thousand dollars], which is what our baccalaureate graduates get. A top professor could earn maybe $120 [thousand] to $130 [thousand], which isn鈥檛 hard for a nurse practitioner to earn in regular practice,鈥� said Robinson.
She says a nurse recently turned down a teaching offer because the salary was too low: There are also problems with access to clinical training spaces鈥攑rivate, for-profit schools often pay for space for their students, but then those students are restricted in what they can do. Universities can do a lot in simulation labs, but their students need real-world training. Meanwhile, board member Deborah Jordan notes the nursing and physician shortage is not just a Florida problem.
鈥淚 know in Massachusetts, where I have two friends who are nurses, they can--to your point Kathy--They can go wherever they want and work and ask for and demand a salary because they鈥檝e been doing it a long time and they鈥檙e valued. They鈥檙e [Massachusetts] is just not producing enough nurses.鈥�
The Board of Governors plans to ask the Florida legislature for a one-time influx of $15 million for a nursing faculty incentive program. The money would go toward recruiting and keeping nursing faculty at the state鈥檚 public universities.
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