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Nancy Ray, MA, RN, chief nursing officer and associate administrator for University Health System in San Antonio, Texas, was instrumental in contacting hospitals and nursing schools and putting together a partnership program that would fill teaching needs while preparing future nurses to alleviate clinical staffing shortages.

"In essence, University Health System spends $250,000 to $300,000 a year on supporting its own master's-prepared nurses who teach in schools of nursing so that more students can be enrolled."

One of those who went back to a classroom setting to teach was Pamela Mann, MA, RN, who had eight years' experience as a clinical psychiatric nurse and who has spent the last 10 years as a learning consultant for UHS.

While retaining her position with UHS, she's teaching a back-to-back "Fundamentals of Nursing" clinical course to two groups of 10 students each. She spends 13 hours a week for five weeks on the course and has enjoyed the new role.

"The essential thing is having communication skills, both written and oral. They keep you sharp," said Mann, adding that the experience has been satisfying.

"The University of Texas Health Science Center needs a psychiatric instructor for the spring semester, so I'll be doing that, and hopefully they will ask me back next year," Mann said. "The need for instructors isn't going to go away and for those of us who qualify to teach, there's going to continue to be a need for what we're doing."

With the baby boom generation nearing retirement, Ray said that creative solutions must be sought to attract, retain and reward professors and to inspire more nursing graduates to go on and obtain advanced degrees. "The average age of the faculty is still 55 and that's not a very good sign," she said. "The UT Health Science Center is searching for a dean for the School of Nursing and the majority of applicants are in their 50s as well. What this says to me is, 'Where's the new blood?' "

In the 15-county Southwest Plains area of West Texas, a strong community coalition and an alliance of four nursing schools have been successful in increasing student enrollment and adding clinical instructors. Through a $2.9 million technical training grant from the U.S. Department of Labor and $2.1 million in contributions from community supporters, more than $1 million in scholarship money will go toward helping 240 new students become RNs. Other grant money is aimed at adding nine nurse educators. The grant was awarded directly to the regional workforce board and subcontracted to the coalition members.

Faculty finder

Alexia Green, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, dean of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing and coordinator for the Community Coalition, said two approaches work to increasing faculty. The first is paying salaries for additional faculty from the South Plains Workforce grant money, and the second is to support nurses with bachelor's degrees who want to earn a master's degree in nursing education. "We gave $16,000 scholarships this year to each of 12 students who have committed to staying in the community and teaching at one of the nursing schools," Green said.

The state Legislature also has responded to an extensive research study by the Texas Nurses Association showing that 28,000 RNs were needed in the Lone Star State to meet the national ratio of nurse per 100,000 population criteria. The passage of the Nursing Shortage Reduction Act included giving an additional $26.2 million for nursing education for 2002-03.

Green said Texas Tech benefited by receiving $250,000 to retain disadvantaged enrolled students. The school also was given $150,000 for "dramatic growth" to increase faculty. One problem, Green said, is that only about 5 percent of RNs have a master's degree, making recruitment of new instructors difficult.

Texas Tech "hit the ground running" when the grant money was released in June and received funding to hire four nurses with doctorate degrees, Green said. To do this, a nurse recruiter was retained who found and hired two Ph.D. instructors during the summer and two more in the fall-all from out of state.

University a magnet

The University of Washington's School of Nursing hasn't felt a faculty shortage because it's always been a magnet for people who want to be nursing professors, according to Assistant Dean Julie Katz, M.Ed., RN. However, the school is emphasizing programs for higher degrees so that there will be a future supply of teachers.