Eileen Zungolo

The Predicament of Nursing Education: The Faculty Census

In a time when enrollments appear to be turning around, and measures taken to address the nursing shortage are attaining some inroads, we may not have the faculty to prepare the next generation of nurses. With this issue, the NLN unveils information from the 2002 Faculty Census. While elements of the report will provide interesting insights, and the full report will substantiate many elements that we have feared for some time, the bottom line of this document is that nursing education faces a serious predicament. In a time when enrollments appear to be turning around, and measures taken to address the nursing shortage are attaining some inroads, we may not have the faculty to prepare the next generation of nurses. For example, although nurse educators have long known that the ranks of part-time faculty were expanding, the extent of this trend was considered variable. However, here it is spelled out that the ratio of parttime faculty to full-time faculty has been increasing to its present level of one part-time faculty member for every 1.7 who are employed full time. While the impact this trend is difficult to estimate, it is evident that the burden of the ongoing work of the academy increases for full-time faculty proportionately to the addition of part-time members. Furthermore, without strong central support and rigorous orientation programs, the responsibility for coaching these part-timers becomes an onerous task for the full-time employees. Another area of concern is the reported vacancy rate within faculty ranks. Each type of program leading to licensure as an RN identifies unfilled budgeted positions. However, in light of the recent decline in enrollment in these programs, it is well known that many nursing schools lost positions. Thus, the identified vacancy rates reflect only vacancies in the current level of budgeted positions, not in the number of faculty needed to respond to the increases in enrollment, nor the number of faculty needed to conduct the work of the total academy. On further analysis, it becomes evident that schools have been using part-time faculty to supplement their full-time complement and reduce their vacancy rates. Understandable though this may be, it is essential that nursing schools continue to have sufficient resources in full-time faculty to address the leadership, scholarship, and academic goals of the institution. One final area of concern relates to the distribution of nursing faculty by rank. …

The NLN: Exploring International Opportunities

Abstract The last four years have witnessed momentous changes within the NLN. Organizational changes have taken place under the leadership of new staff committed to working with the membership and the Board of Governors to carve out a vision consistent with the history and traditions of the organization. Together, the Board of Governors and the senior staff have worked diligently to develop a strategic plan that provides direction and focus for the organization.

The Preparation of Nurse Educators: Developing the Knowledge Base to Transmit the Discipline of Nursing

Abstract This issue of Nursing Education Perspectives contains the full text of the National League for Nursing Position Statement on the Preparation of Nurse Educators approved by the Board of Governors on May 18, 2002. The statement will be the focus of a panel discussion that takes place this month during the NLN Education Summit 2002.

Paradox, Incongruity, and a New Vision for Our Profession: Remarks from the Opening Session of the NLN Education Summit 2002

Abstract The NLN Education Summit 2001 gave witness to the resilient and enduring spirit that operates within the nursing community. Beginning just one week after the horrific events of September 11, our Summit in Baltimore drew more than 90 percent of the original registrants. While the sadness that haunted our land hovered over the proceedings, the meeting was permeated with a sense of commitment to righting the wrongs of the past, demonstrating courage under fire, and refusing to allow evil forces to disrupt the good that must prevail.

Nursing Organizations: Visiting the Past/Envisioning the Future

Abstract Fifty years ago this month, the existing nursing organizations culminated two years of discussion and negotiation to forge two organizations: the American Nurses Association and the National League for Nursing. Key words were selected to delineate the respective province of each organization. For the American Nurses Association, the key words were “Nursing practice, the responsibility of the individual nurse in practice.” • For the NLN, the framework was institutional. The title originally proposed for our organization was “Nursing League of America,” and our function was the “determination of community and institutional patterns and standards for nursing service and nursing education.” From this conceptualization, consumers and others interested in nursing found a place at the table in nursing.

Imbedding Care in Armed Conflict

Abstract Each May, During Nurses Week, we formally, on a national level, celebrate our work and our profession. Given recent events and the military action in Iraq, it seems timely and appropriate to pay special attention to the fine work of the nurses in the military — to the contributions they make to our national safety and well-being, and to the powerful contributions they have made to the development of the profession. The present action in Iraq places many men, women, and children in harms way, including those Americans who are there to provide care and foster and protect the values of our society.