Vanishing pediatric nursing faculty

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Many of us have “known” for some time the now widely acknowledged problem of the vanishing of pediatric nursing faculty. Pediatric nursing faculty positions are left unfilled for years, as there are few available candidates to fill them. According to a recent survey by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the mean age of assistant professors is nearly 50 years. Part of the problem is that so few nurses have advanced degrees, and this is certainly true for the subspecialty of pediatric nursing. Nationwide, significant percentages of faculty members are slated to retire within the next decade, and that will only exacerbate the serious shortage of nursing faculty.

A recent report by the National Research Council found that the median age for a National Research Service Award for doctoral students in nursing is higher than in other fields of students. The median age for nurses completing a PhD is 41 years compared with 30 years for doctoral students in biomedicine and 32 years for students from the behavioral and social sciences (National Research Council, 2001).

Diminishing numbers and altered career paths of nursing faculty are serious professional concerns for all pediatric and child health nurses. This workforce shortage will affect not only the education preparation of nurses who work with children in a variety of settings but also the quality of services they receive, the research conducted to enhance our understanding of children and their families in need of health care services, and the policies formulated to ensure that all children have access to health care. Obviously, many nursing organizations have undertaken efforts at the national, state, and local levels to address this growing problem. However, this impending crisis looms larger, and one day, it may become the predominant issue in health care not ... enough nurses anywhere.

A forthcoming editorial will be dedicated to remembering two very important nursing leaders who have contributed so greatly to pediatric nursing, who just recently passed away, Florence H. Erickson, PhD, RN, and Corrine M. Barnes, PhD, RN, FAAN. Dr Erickson founded one of the first graduate programs in pediatric nursing, at the University of Pittsburgh, and was the founding editor of the Maternal-Child Nursing Journal. Dr Barnes was a founding member of the editorial board of the Journal of Pediatric Nursing, a former Editor in Chief of the Maternal-Child Nursing Journal, and a founding member of the Society of Pediatric Nurses. Both will be missed but their legacy to pediatric nursing will live on forever.

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References 

1. National Research Council . Addressing the nation's changing needs for biomedical and behavioral scientists. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2001;
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