How the Lack of Higher Education Faculty Contributes to America’S Nursing Shortage, Part I
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HOW THE LACK OF HIGHER EDUCATION FACULTY CONTRIBUTES TO AMERICA’S NURSING SHORTAGE, PART I FIELD HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON SELECT EDUCATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION November 30, 2005 in Greeley, Colorado Serial No. 109-29 Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and the Workforce ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/house or Committee address: http://edworkforce.house.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 25-552 PDF WASHINGTON : 2006 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:44 May 11, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 F:\DOCS\EWDOCS\25552.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE JOHN A. BOEHNER, Ohio, Chairman Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin, Vice Chairman George Miller, California Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon, California Dale E. Kildee, Michigan Michael N. Castle, Delaware Major R. Owens, New York Sam Johnson, Texas Donald M. Payne, New Jersey Mark E. Souder, Indiana Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey Charlie Norwood, Georgia Robert C. Scott, Virginia Vernon J. Ehlers, Michigan Lynn C. Woolsey, California Judy Biggert, Illinois Rube´n Hinojosa, Texas Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania Carolyn McCarthy, New York Patrick J. Tiberi, Ohio John F. Tierney, Massachusetts Ric Keller, Florida Ron Kind, Wisconsin Tom Osborne, Nebraska Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio Joe Wilson, South Carolina David Wu, Oregon Jon C. Porter, Nevada Rush D. Holt, New Jersey John Kline, Minnesota Susan A. Davis, California Marilyn N. Musgrave, Colorado Betty McCollum, Minnesota Bob Inglis, South Carolina Danny K. Davis, Illinois Cathy McMorris, Washington Rau´ l M. Grijalva, Arizona Kenny Marchant, Texas Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Tom Price, Georgia Tim Ryan, Ohio Luis G. Fortun˜ o, Puerto Rico Timothy H. Bishop, New York Bobby Jindal, Louisiana John Barrow, Georgia Charles W. Boustany, Jr., Louisiana Virginia Foxx, North Carolina Thelma D. Drake, Virginia John R. ‘‘Randy’’ Kuhl, Jr., New York Paula Nowakowski, Staff Director Mark Zuckerman, Minority Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON SELECT EDUCATION PATRICK J. TIBERI, Ohio, Chairman Cathy McMorris, Washington Vice Chairman Rube´n Hinojosa, Texas Mark E. Souder, Indiana Danny K. Davis, Illinois Jon C. Porter, Nevada Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Bob Inglis, South Carolina Tim Ryan, Ohio Luis P. Fortun˜ o, Puerto Rico George Miller, California, ex officio John A. Boehner, Ohio, ex officio (II) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:44 May 11, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 F:\DOCS\EWDOCS\25552.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK CONTENTS Page Hearing held on November 30, 2005 ...................................................................... 1 Statement of Members: Musgrave, Hon. Marilyn N., a Representative in Congress from the State of Colorado ..................................................................................................... 1 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 2 Porter, Hon. Jon C., a Representative in Congress from the State of Nevada ........................................................................................................... 3 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 5 Statement of Witnesses: Carparelli, Sue, President & CEO, Colorado Center for Nursing Excel- lence, Denver, CO ......................................................................................... 6 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 9 Dierker, Lynn, R.N., Director for Community Initiatives, Colorado Health Institute, Denver, CO ................................................................................... 12 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 14 Lowe-Vaughn, Elise, Operations Director, Workforce Development Pro- grams, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Denver, CO .... 16 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 18 Norton, Kay, President, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO ..... 20 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 23 (III) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:44 May 11, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 F:\DOCS\EWDOCS\25552.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK VerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:44 May 11, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 F:\DOCS\EWDOCS\25552.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK HOW THE LACK OF HIGHER EDUCATION FAC- ULTY CONTRIBUTES TO AMERICA’S NURS- ING SHORTAGE, PART I Thursday, November 30, 2005 U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Select Education Committee on Education and the Workforce Greeley, Colorado The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a.m., at the Uni- versity of Northern Colorado, University Center, Panorama Room, 2045 10th Avenue, Greeley, Colorado, Hon. Marilyn Musgrave pre- siding. Present: Representatives Musgrave and Porter. Mrs. MUSGRAVE. A quorum being present, the Subcommittee on Select Education of the Committee on Education in the Workforce will come to order. We are meeting today to hear testimony on how the lack of high- er education faculty contributes to America’s nursing shortage. I am very pleased to be here in Greeley today, and I’m eager to hear from our witnesses. But, before I begin, I ask for unanimous consent for the hearing to remain open for 14 days to allow Mem- ber statements and other extraneous material referred to during the hearing to be submitted in the official hearing record. Without objection, so ordered. STATEMENT OF HON. MARILYN N. MUSGRAVE, A REPRESENT- ATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF COLORADO Mrs. MUSGRAVE. I’d like to thank all of you for being here today, and I certainly would like to extend my appreciation to Congress- man Jon Porter for traveling to Greeley, and I do apologize for the weather, Congressman. It’s a bit brutal today. Mr. PORTER. It’s a beautiful day. Mrs. MUSGRAVE. And I’m glad that he’s here to learn much about this urgent matter. He has been a leader on this issue, and I’m very grateful for the insight that he has. We all know that our country is facing a nursing shortage that will have a significant impact on healthcare in our country. Last year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that more than one million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2012. According to a 2002 health report, 44 states are expected to have shortages of registered nurses by the year 2020. In Colorado, the (1) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:44 May 11, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\EWDOCS\25552.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK 2 lack of registered nurses is twice the national average. The nursing shortage in our state is currently estimated to be 11 percent short of demand, and is expected to nearly triple to 30 percent by 2020 if current trends continue. This is a growing problem that demands our urgent attention. Demand for nurses is projected to increase as population grows, baby boomers enter retirement, and medical advances extend our lifespans. In contrast, the supply of nursing professionals is ex- pected to decline, as the number of nurses leaving the profession exceeds the number that are entering. What many Americans do not realize is that this shortage is not simply a matter of inadequate enrollment in nursing schools. Thou- sands of qualified applicants to graduate nursing programs are turned away each year because there is a shortage of graduate- level nursing faculty. A report by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing shows that U.S. Nursing schools turned away 32,797 qualified ap- plicants from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in 2004 due to insignificant number of faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, and budget constraints. More than 2,600 applicants were turned away from the nursing program in Colorado—from nursing programs in Colorado, in 2003. Three quarters of the nursing schools point to faculty shortages as a reason for not accepting all qualified applicants into nursing programs. This academic year, 66 percent of nursing schools report that they have vacancies and they are in need of additional nursing faculty to meet additional demand. Colorado’s shortage of qualified nursing faculty at its 2 year nursing schools is three times the national average, and nearly double the national average at its 4 year schools. We anticipate this faculty shortage to escalate in the next decade due to budget constraints, increased job competition from clinics sites, and the retirement of a greying professional of the nursing faculty. A wave of faculty retirements is expected within the next 10 years, between 200 and 300 doctrinally prepared faculty will be eli- gible for retirement each year from 2003 through 2012. I am anxious to hear the testimony from our witnesses today. I very much appreciate your expertise and I’m proud of the efforts that are going on in Colorado to address the nursing shortage. Colorado educational institutions and health care providers are working together to pursue strategies, to strengthen faculty re- cruitment and retention, and it’s important for all of us that these efforts are