Answering the call for more nursing faculty

Imagine going to the local hospital, but
there are no nurses to help…the scenario
may be exaggerated, but according to the
Center for Health Workforce Studies,
New York has substantially fewer registered
nurses per capita than the national
average. In ten years. New York State will
need more than 100,000 additional nurses
to provide quality care.
Underpinning the problem is a shortage
of space and qualified faculty at nursing
. schools, limiting the admission of new
students, according to a new report
released by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
“The root of the problem is that nursing
institutions across the state lack the faculty
and space they need to train the next
generations of nurses we need to provide
quality care,” said Senator Gillibrand.
“My plan will deliver the right mix of
incentives and resources to make sure
every comer of New York has the nurses
we need to provi3e quality health care to
our children and families over the next
decade,” she continued.
New York currently offers two important
incentives to encourage nurses to
begin or continue careers as teachers at
nursing schools across the State: the
Nursing Faculty Loan Forgiveness
Incentive Program and the Senator
Patricia K. McGee Nursing Faculty
Scholarship Program.
Both nursing faculty incentive programs
are administered by the New York
State Higher Education Services
Corporation (HESC), the State’s student
financial aid agency that helps people pay
for college.
The Nursing Faculty Loan Forgiveness
Incentive Program provides annual
awards to licensed registered nurses who
hold a graduate degree and who teach in
the field of nursing. Last year, HESC
awarded $275,000 to 40 program recipients.