Kelli Fuller DNP, RN, ANP-BC

Educational Requirements for Baccalaureate Nursing Faculty: How do the States Differ?

Tags: Baccalaureate Nursing Faculty educational requirements nursing faculty nursing shortage requirements RN shortage state by state undergraduate

Nursing shortages have plagued the United States for the past several decades. By 2020, the deficit of Registered Nurses (RN) is projected to exceed 1.2 million (AACN, 2012). One important factor is the shortage of qualified nursing faculty. Every year many qualified applicants are denied admission to nursing programs due to nursing faculty shortages (AACN, 2012). Nursing programs can only accommodate as many students as they have faculty to teach. State Boards of Nursing (SBN) throughout the country are collaborating with colleges and universities to fill nursing faculty vacancies utilizing a variety of creative strategies. An educational research team, at a private university in the Midwestern section of the country, examined each state’s SBN rules and regulations related to pre-licensure faculty requirements for baccalaureate nurse educators. The researchers found that there were vast differences in the educational requirements allowed by individual State Boards of Nursing for Baccalaureate nurse educators.