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Colleges, universities struggle to train more nurses

Colleges and universities across Minnesota are struggling to find enough faculty to train more nurses.

2007-01-10
By Robb Murray, Free Press Staff Writer [published in The Free Press, Mankato, MN 1/9/2007]

MANKATO — By now, everyone knows there's a nursing shortage.

But what everyone might not know is how quickly Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system schools, including programs at Minnesota State University and South Central College, are turning out graduates to meet the demand.

During the last five years, MnSCU schools have increased their nursing graduate output by 74 percent. In 2005, the system granted diplomas to 3,800 nursing students, up from 2,186 in 2001.

And from 2001 to 2005, nearly 14,000 students graduated with degrees in nursing. MnSCU produces about 80 percent of the state's nursing graduates, 92 percent of which are from outstate schools.

That's a lot of nurses. But it still might not be good enough to deal with the demand for nurses.

The Healthcare Workforce Collaborative says there are about 1.5 million baby boomers in Minnesota. At the same time, the state is trending upward in the nursing vacancy rate. Boomers make up a third of the state's population, and as they age, the health-care services they'll require will grow, adding more stress to the nursing shortage.

Last year, South Central College greatly expanded the number of nursing students it accepts into its programs from 150 per year to 200 between its North Mankato and Faribault campuses. Still, about 70 students this year who applied to the program were denied. At MSU, roughly 200 students apply each year, only half of whom are admitted.

So why, when there's a shortage of nurses, aren't the MnSCU schools seizing an opportunity to fill a niche and bring in more tuition revenue by letting everyone in?

The answer isn't nearly as easy as the question.

Right now, a nursing shortage isn't the only thing plaguing the industry. There is a nurse educator shortage as well.

"A lot of times students just say, 'You've got all these students, just take more in,'" said Sandy Nichols of South Central's nursing program. "We're constrained by clinical sites and qualified faculty who can teach."

Besides SCC and MSU, there are other colleges seeking hospital and clinic settings for students to complete their training. Gustavus Adolphus College, Rasmussen  College and Presentation College in Fairmont all have nursing programs as well.

Faculty can be hard to come by as well. In many cases, colleges struggle to find qualified instructors, partly because the wages for part-time instruction fall below what a nurse can make working for a hospital or clinic.

"I am still trying to find instructors for spring semester. It's difficult to find them," said Mary Bliesmer of MSU's nursing department. "They take a pay cut to do this."

MnSCU, though, seems committed to keep plugging away at the nursing shortage issue. The system will seek $3 million from the Legislature to:

• Increase the number of nursing graduates, particularly with four-year degrees, by 25 percent during the next two years;
• Retain more frontline caregivers in Minnesota's longterm care facilities;
• Recruit and retain more underrepresented students in nursing and allied health fields;
• Provide instruction for health-care students in electronic medical record technology.

"Solving the shortage of health-care workers is challenging," said Mary Rothchild, the system's assistant director for workforce development. "That's partly because health-care education programs are expensive to operate. Tuition typically covers less than one-third of the cost of providing healthcare programs in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system."

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