| Learning Objective #1: Describe the framework needed for a successful partnership between schools/colleges of nursing, health care institutions, and the business community to provide “loaned” faculty to expand undergraduate student enrollment | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Identify the benefits and challenges of adding an educational role for nurses whose primary commitment is to the clinical role |
Problem: Texas currently needs 28,000 RN’s to meet the national ratio of nurse to population criteria. The Gulf Coast area, which includes the Texas Medical Center with 6,000 patient beds, has set a goal of doubling the current number of 800 entry-level RN graduates per year. The business community and the health care community have teamed together to develop a comprehensive plan to solve both long and short term problems of attracting potential students, providing educational opportunities for students and the problem of faculty recruitment and retention.
Action: The Greater Houston Partnership and the Gulf Coast Workforce Board formed a Health Services Steering Committee to address common workforce opportunities including marketing of nursing as a career choice, expanding nursing education capacity, work environment changes, and government assistance. As a result of this and other efforts, the Texas legislature allocated an additional 26.2 million dollars to nursing education for the biennium of 2002 and 2003.
Because faculty shortage was a major reason limiting enrollment expansion, the hospitals “loaned” nurses qualified to teach in the 13 nursing schools in the area. Over the past two years, 2001-2003 a total of 170 individuals employed by 29 different hospitals donated 24,000 hours of teaching over the 2-fall and 2-spring semesters.
Results: Since fall 2000, the nursing schools in the greater Houston area were able to expand enrollment by 20% or 463 students. Plans to continue expansion are in place. Student evaluations of the clinical agency faculty have been very positive. Benefits to the hospitals include increased exposure to student body from a school of nursing, increased recruitment pool for nurse technicians, actual recruiting of nurse technicians and relationship building. Additional collaborative projects have been developed which have brought more interaction between nursing service, nursing education and the business community.
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