Indianapolis, Sept. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Indianapolis, Indiana -

One of the main causes affecting the national nursing shortage is a lack of nurse educators available to train new nurses. The University of Indianapolis is opening a new online Master's of Science in Nursing - Nurse Educator program to help fill the gap of qualified instructors.

The nursing profession was already expected to grow significantly over the next decade due to changes in population, namely the Baby Boomer generation growing older and requiring more medical care. And training new nurses had not kept up with the need for the past years.

But then the pandemic happened and accelerated the crisis. Many current nurses retired or otherwise left the profession due to physical and mental exhaustion.

The high-paying job openings that were left were too tempting for many college and university nurse educators to pass up. Many nursing school teachers, educators, and professors went back to work at the bedside. And the same Baby Boomer generation that is currently serving as faculty members are also nearing retirement, adding more strain to the faculty numbers.

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, over the past 10 years, nursing schools have opened up more nursing faculty positions - growing from 14,393 full-time faculty positions in 2013 to 22,574 in 2021. But hiring has not kept pace. In 2021, there was a record high of more than 1,800 open positions (8% of all nursing faculty) compared to the next highest year below 1,600 in 2017. The current 8% of open positions is the second highest in the past ten years behind only 8.3% in 2013.

The main reason this is having such an impact is the credentialing bodies for nursing schools require certain student-to-faculty ratios. Many institutions cannot enroll more nursing students without filling vacant faculty positions or adding additional positions.

Perhaps there is an opportunity to retain some of the existing nursing workforce and train them to become educators for the next generation of nurses across the country.

The University of Indianapolis online MSN-NE program prepares students holding a BSN degree to be leaders in nursing education, teaching them how to assess the qualities of good measurement, analyze trends for educational best practices, and identify issues between education and nursing practice. UIndy is an accredited, nationally-ranked university currently seeking nursing education applicants for enrollment starting January 2023 and beyond.

https://onlinenursing.uindy.edu/programs/online-msn-nurse-educator

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For more information about University of Indianapolis, contact the company here:

University of Indianapolis
Ashley McGuire
ashley.mcguire@keypathedu.com
1400 E Hanna Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46227. USA

CONTACT: Ashley McGuire