Cincinnati.com: Demand for nurses outstrips supply. So why can't Cincinnati area nursing schools keep up?
UC College of Nursing interim dean says a nursing shortage means a faculty shortage
A variety of factors are contributing to a nationwide shortage of nurses. Those factors include burnout spurred by the pandemic and a large wave of retirements due to the aging of Baby Boomers.
Cincinnati.com reported that to help fill the gaps, employers are turning to nursing programs to churn out more graduates, but there's a problem: nursing shortages mean nursing teacher shortages, too, and some programs just don't have the capacity to bring in more students.
Denise Gormley, PhD, interim dean of the UC College of Nursing was one of those interviewed for the story.
Denise Gormley, PhD, interim dean of the UC College of Nursing/Photo/Colleen Kelley/UC Creative + Brand
"We're seeing more and more retirements," Gormley said. "It is an issue and I think it very well could get worse. If we've got a nursing shortage, then we're going to have a faculty shortage. Because our faculty have to be nurses."
At UC, Gormley said nursing is the most popular major among undergraduate applicants. The program is expanding to hopefully offer 180 direct admissions in fall of 2022, compared to the typical 150 freshmen admitted to the nursing major each year – "which we hope will help with the (nursing) shortage, over time, at least locally and regionally," Gormley said. The university had been planning to expand for years before COVID-19 exacerbated the nursing shortage.
Lead photo of UC College of Nursing students and instructor/Colleen Kelley/UC Creative + Brand
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