School of Nursing, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, USA.
J Prof Nurs. 2012 Nov-Dec;28(6):377-80. doi: 10.1016/j.profnurs.2012.04.015.
The nursing shortage remains an acute problem at the national level and significantly endangers the provision of safe and effective health care. One of the most significant problems fueling the nursing shortage in the United States is the lack of faculty to educate the number of qualified individuals applying to nursing programs. A major factor driving the shortage of faculty emanates from the current trend in basic nursing education that is increasing the proportion of nurses with an associate degree in nursing (ADN) as their terminal professional education. Community colleges, that offer the associate degree, play a crucial role in providing access to nursing education. However, they now account for more than 2/3 of all new nursing graduates in the United States. With over 2/3 of our new nurses completing only associate degree programs, the faculty pipeline continues to decrease. This also means fewer bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) and higher-degree-prepared nurses available for advanced clinical practice, management roles, and public health services. It is therefore critical to identify and implement new pathways to increase the number of ADN graduates who complete baccalaureate education and, thereby, increase the percentage of BSN-prepared nurses. This article describes the development and implementation of a model in North Carolina to regionally increase the number of baccalaureate-prepared nurses through the development of partnerships between community colleges and universities.
护理人员短缺仍然是一个全国性的严重问题，严重威胁着安全有效的医疗保健服务的提供。导致美国护理人员短缺的最主要问题之一是缺乏师资来教育申请护理项目的合格人数。师资短缺的一个主要原因是基础护理教育的当前趋势，即增加具有护理副学士学位（ADN）作为其终端专业教育的护士比例。提供副学士学位的社区学院在提供护理教育方面发挥着至关重要的作用。然而，它们现在占美国所有新护士毕业生的三分之二以上。由于超过三分之二的新护士仅完成副学士学位课程，师资队伍继续减少。这也意味着可供高级临床实践、管理角色和公共卫生服务使用的理学学士护理（BSN）和高学位准备护士的人数减少。因此，必须确定并实施新途径，以增加完成学士学位教育的 ADN 毕业生人数，从而提高 BSN 准备护士的比例。本文描述了北卡罗来纳州发展和实施一种模式的情况，该模式通过社区学院和大学之间建立伙伴关系，在区域范围内增加获得学士学位的护士人数。
