Program Aims to Curb Mississippi Nursing Shortage

There is a problem in Mississippi: nurses are in short supply. As of 2007, state hospitals were reported to have an 8.7 percent nurse vacancy rate, over half a percent higher than the national average, and things are only getting worse. A number of factors seem to be contributing to the shortage, and experts estimate that the situation could soon become dire if these conditions do not improve.

"There's a shortage in the country," said Ricki Garrett, executive director of the Mississippi Nursing Association. "We are probably going to go from about 7-8 percent to 29 percent by 2020 nationally - that's a shortage of half a million nurses."

An aging overall population requiring care is one factor in the gap, but so is the aging of nursing faculty, as they move closer to retirement. Right now, the average age of nursing faculty in Mississippi is 58, said Garrett.

Faculty leaving the profession is a problem for increasing student numbers. Mississippi's 21 nursing program must all comply with state College Board standards requiring 15:1 student-to-teacher ratios.

Add these problems to a troubled economy making it difficult for would-be nursing students to return to school, and it's easy to see why the nursing profession is in a slump. However, the state of Mississippi is hard at work with solutions to the problem. Short term solutions include software to help current nurses communicate between facilities for maximum care dispersal, but long term solutions have more to do with increased funding and scholarships for higher-level nursing degree programs across the state -- with an heightened emphasis on teaching along with practicum.

The long-term solution of generating more faculty is trickier. Garrett said that she has talked with the IHL about pushing for more academic scholarships for masters and doctoral students, rather than predominantly assisting undergraduates financially.

"It won't do them [the undergraduates] any good if there are no faculty to teach them," she said.

In light of negligible salary differences, selling the benefits of the university versus the clinical setting is also important, said James.

The current state of health care may be in peril, but with a few good men and women ready to join the cause, its future (and the job market!) looks brighter than ever. If it sounds like something you'd like to answer the call of duty to, check out the many top nursing schools available at Get Degrees!