Who will educate the next generation of nurses? A looming faculty shortage

Nursing is a profession that has many career choices. This article highlighted some of the major issues that will affect practicing hospital nurses and nurse educators. The nursing shortage is no longer "impending"-it is here and there are no signs that there will be a reprieve for staffing at the bedside. The major point of concern made in this article is that we must prompt our best and brightest to consider a career in nurse education. We are leaving too many qualified applicants to nursing school behind due to a faculty shortage in U.S. schools and colleges of nursing. Every nurse is called upon to "think outside the box" and employ strategies of collaboration between the practice arena [whether hospital, long term care, or hospice] and the academic setting to manage the shortage of nurses and nurse faculty. Using existing resources in a different way may assist in educating our future nurses.