The report in summarizing NACNEP's activities
this past year highlights its interdisciplinary
work and its review of approaches to ensuring
an adequate supply of RNs for the delivery
of safe, effective care to the nation's
population. It itemizes strategies that
need to be considered as efforts are made
to alleviate the current nursing shortage
and examines the crucial elements necessary
to ward off a future nursing shortage.
NACNEP's recommendations are presented
from two perspectives. The first set of
general recommendations reflect NACNEP's
consideration of its on-going and future
activities and its ability to continue
to provide advice and recommendations
pertaining to the nurse workforce, education,
and practice improvement. The second set
of specific recommendations is directed
at the acute and severe nursing faculty
shortage. The recommendations are made
in acknowledgement of the changing environmental
context, which includes external threats
of terrorism and an awareness of patient
safety and quality issues. Nurses and
nurse faculty are critical elements of
our preparedness as a nation to address
these external issues.
General Recommendations:
- The Division of Nursing should have
flexibility in determining the direction
of program funding with consideration
of the advice of NACNEP and the final
report on the Funding Allocation Methodology.
- Continue to use Title VIII appropriations
to support interdisciplinary faculty
development and COGME /NACNEP on-going
collaborative activities.
Specific Recommendations for the Nurse
Faculty Shortage:
- Provide funding for the Division of
Nursing to assist schools of nursing
in developing and expanding programs
to educate nursing faculty.
- Give priority to projects in the Title
VIII Advanced Education Nursing (AEN)
program that prepare nurse faculty.
- Fund demonstrations of creative approaches
to increasing nurse faculty such as
promoting early recruitment of baccalaureate
students into academic careers; developing
mentoring programs for new faculty;
developing the teaching assistant role
in nursing education; developing innovative
doctoral programs that prepare clinically-expert
faculty to teach at all levels.
- Expand the Nursing Education Loan
Repayment Program (NELRP) to include
(a) clinical preceptors who will work
as faculty and (b) schools of nursing
as acceptable service sites.
- Provide mid-career fellowships for
academic faculty in educational institutions
and clinical faculty in both service
facilities and educational institutions
to fast track through doctoral preparation.
- Eliminate the 10 percent cap on the
number of doctoral students eligible
to receive Advanced Education Nurse
Traineeships.
- Fund studies to identify best practices
associated with the appointment of retired
faculty to mentor new faculty and to
retain expertise on faculty.
- Increase the use of informatics in
assisting faculty to carry out their
role through providing funds to develop
and validate informatics infrastructure
in nursing education programs and simulation
technology to teach clinical segments
of the nursing pro grams, and for faculty
development activities in the use of
informatics and simulation technologies
as teaching tools.
Conclusion
In concluding its observations NACNEP
especially recognizes and commends the
passage of the Nurse Reinvestment Act,
P.L. 107-205, enacted August 1, 2002.
The Act, which amends Title VIII of the
Public Health Services Act, includes major
new authorities for programs. These new
authorities respond to a number of the
recommended actions suggested in NACNEP's
first report and issues raised in this
report as critical in alleviating the
nursing shortages. The Act puts forth
such new authorities as the grants for
public service announcements, for the
development and implementation of internships
and residencies to encourage mentoring
and development of specialties, for nurse
faculty loans and those related to enhancing
the nurse's role and environment in the
practice arena that add to the ability
of ensuring adequate, qualified, registered
nurse resources for the country through
Title VIII. NACNEP looks toward sufficient
funding for these new initiatives and
the other portions of Title VIII so that
this legislation can effectively contribute
to the alleviation of a crisis in the
nation's delivery of quality health care
to its population.
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