The Reason Behind Texas’ Serious Nursing Shortage

There simply aren’t enough nursing educators to meet the demand.

By Alexandra HartMay 23, 2016 3:11 pm

There is a shortage of nurses in the state –its something we’ve been talking about for a while now. And the problem only seems to be growing. In fact, some hospitals around the state are so understaffed, they’re actually adding incentives like referral and signing bonuses just to try to attract more registered nurses. But it’s not for lack of interest, some say. In fact, nursing colleges in the US turned away 68,000 qualified applicants in 2014.

The reason? Lack of educators.

Dr. Mary Hamilton says this has to change. She is the founding dean of the College of Nursing at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, and she says that one of the big challenges is compensation. Nurse educators are actually paid less than nurses working in hospitals.

“There are going to have to be funds set aside for nurse educators … people thinking about going to into education will look at ‘I’m going to spend all this time, all this effort in getting my Ph.D or (Doctor of Nursing Practice) and then I’m going to wind up making less than if I worked in a clinic or some sort of hospital.'”

What you’ll hear in this interview:

– Why there aren’t enough educators

– How we can address the problem

– What will happen if we don’t