Faculty members in the College of Nursing (AUCON) received a Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to increase the number of qualified nursing faculty. Professors on the team included Amy Curtis, Eleanor Howell, Caralise Hunt, Chris Martin and Kelley Noll.
“With the NFLP grant, we plan to increase enrollment of qualified nurses into the nurse educator courses, especially those from diverse populations, expand academic practice partnerships with community colleges for placement of nurse educator students, and establish a tailored mentorship role for all NFLP recipients,” said Caralise Hunt, associate dean for academic affairs at AUCON.
In October 2022, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing reported an 8.8% faculty vacancy rate across the U.S. with the southern region vacancy rate being higher than the national at 9.8%.
“The vacancy rate is a primary reason nursing programs turn away qualified applicants,” said Hunt. “The AACN reported that U.S. nursing schools turned away more than 91,000 qualified applicants in 2021. The lack of nursing faculty perpetuates the nursing shortage. The purpose of this grant is to increase the number of nurse educators prepared at the doctoral and master’s levels by providing loans to nurse educator students who are enrolled in AUCON’s Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD), Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), and Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) programs.”
“With tailored mentorship, we will be able to match students and mentors based on common research and/or teaching interests and goals. Once a mentor-mentee team is paired, they will meet to establish an agreement that details goals, roles and responsibilities, accountability, and confidentiality. The mentor will provide feedback to the mentee at the end of each semester in the program. Additionally, the mentor and mentee will complete a reflection periodically to reflect on the relationship and determine if both parties are continuing to meet the expectations determined in the agreement,” Hunt added.
The Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) seeks to increase the number of qualified nursing faculty nationwide by providing low interest loans for individuals studying to be nurse faculty and loan cancellation for those who then go on to work as faculty. Loans will be cancelled for nurse faculty loan participants who serve as full-time faculty for up to a four-year period at an accredited school of nursing.
