There is no doubt that nursing education is racing to the future as fast as nursing practice. If we want more nurses and better-educated nurses at the bedside in California, it is important to understand the challenges that confront our educational system and how we can help our colleagues who are working as hard as they can to educate tomorrow's nurses.

Despite record numbers of applications and increasing financial support by hospitals for California's schools of nursing, enrollment continues to be severely limited by inadequate faculty resources and a general lack of support for nursing education by the leadership of our community colleges and universities. They simply do not have the sense of urgency that we have, despite the considerable advocacy efforts of our nursing deans, directors and faculty. The ultimate (and expensive) ripple effect of our shrinking nursing workforce is simply not understood by educational administrators and policy-makers. Even our governor and Legislature have failed to provide the appropriate level of support to address California's nursing educational crisis.

Recent experience with successful hospital-academic relationships has taught us that a relatively small investment in our nursing programs can dramatically affect enrollment capacity. As individual nurses, we need to deliver the message to decision-makers that the expansion of our nursing educational pipeline is critical to the health and well-being of our health care delivery system, as well as to every citizen of the state.

You may be wondering what you can do. Here are some suggestions:

• If you already have students within your workplace, welcome them with open arms and ensure they are exposed to nursing practice that embraces accountability and excellence. Support and guide students and their clinical faculty. Make room within your work unit for as many students as you can possibly handle. Schools are having trouble finding clinical sites for their students.
• If you do not have students within your workplace, work with your employer to call the colleges and universities within your community and offer yourself and your patients to them. Affiliation contracts are easy to negotiate; you should be able to have students by next semester.
  
• Faculty shortages are severe, so if you have an interest in teaching, combine your job with a part-time clinical instructor role at a local nursing program. Your clinical skills and enthusiasm for nursing practice will prove invaluable to new nursing students.
• Student attrition levels are rising; get your colleagues together and create a mentoring program for nursing students who rotate through your workplace.
• Do you work with LVNs or other staff that would make great nurses? Help them access your employer's tuition assistance program and be their champion as they apply and work through their classes to become a nurse.
• Did you go to nursing school in California? If so, call your alumni association and find out to whom you can send a letter of concern. Ask your school's president/administrator to increase capacity in their nursing program.
• Write your legislator and governor. Tell them nursing is in crisis and they need to legislate the expansion of nursing education. The UC, CSU and community college systems need to see nursing as a priority program. If a university invests in a medical school, they should be investing in nursing. Schools also need to ensure that nursing faculty salaries are competitive within the marketplace of nursing.

Yes, each of us can make a difference. If we each put a little effort into building our own workforce, perhaps there will be someone there to fill our shoes when we retire.

Discuss this and other topics with your colleagues at www.nurseweek.com/rnvillage