Nursing Education Programs 2005 - 2006
September 2007 (download pdf file)

Archive: 2004 - 2005

Abstract & Background | Types of Nursing Program Capacity, App, Enrollment

Licensed Practical Nurse | Registered Nurse | Graduate Nursing

Comparison of Students | Faculty | Issues & Discussion

Conclusion & References

Issues Affecting Program Capacity
Survey respondents were asked which, if any, of the following issues are of concern for their program during the 2005-06 school year. Respondents reported most often difficulty filling faculty positions, followed by the lack of available clinical sites for clinical placements for nursing students, and the lack of classroom space. The predominant issues identified by the institutions surveyed indicate
• Five out of eight programs report difficulty filling full-time faculty positions and
• Five programs report a lack of clinical sites for student clinical placements and a lack of faculty for clinical placements.

Table 11 highlights the percentage of nursing programs reporting a lack of resources to run programs.

TABLE 11: PERCENTAGE OF NURSING PROGRAMS LACKING RESOURCES, 2005 - 2006

**Access to clinical sites such as hospitals, long-term care facilities, outpatient centers, and home & hospice care agencies

Of those nursing programs reporting difficulty in filling fulltime faculty positions, the frequency of difficulty in filling the following specialty areas was; medical/surgical 50%, pediatrics 38%, obstetrics 25%, and mental health 25%.

Although no vacancies were reported by nursing programs some programs report difficulty in filling adjunct faculty positions, the frequency of difficulty in filling the following specialty areas was; medical/surgical 38%, pediatrics 38%, mental health 38%, and obstetrics 13%.

Discussion

In 2005 the Hawaii State Legislate supported funding for nine additional faculty positions for UH nursing programs and $20,000 in scholarships and loans for students. Comparisons between 2004-05 school year and 2005-06 year indicate the number of qualified applicant not offered a slot in the BS programs have dropped however remain high in AS programs.

There continues to be more qualified applicants who are not being enrolled into programs. The exception is the BS programs offering the RN to BS program, which report fewer applicants than slots available. The ladder programs report not only more qualified applicants than the number of admission slots, but also that a number of available slot go unfilled. A number of factors may contribute to difficulties filling admission slots in the ladder and RN to BS programs. These may include factors related to the immediate capacity of the program (e.g., lack of availability of faculty, facilities, or clinical placement sites to support the approved admission slots), to factors related to the applicants (e.g., too few qualified applicants, affordability of the program for the applicant, enrollment of the applicant in another program), or to a combination of factors. The explanation may differ for different education institutions.

Between 2006 and 2018, demand for RNs in Hawaii is expected to grow by 24%, while supply of RNs is expected to grow by 7.1%. In relative terms, the shortfall in demand will increase from about 11% to 23%. The supply of registered nurses is said to be dependent upon the number of new nursing graduates entering the profession, and the number of existing nurses remaining in the workforce.8 Projected RN workforce figures for Hawaii 2005 – 2018 indicate the state has a current shortage of 960 nurses. This is projected to climb to 1,447 by 2010, 1,984 by 2014, and 2,453 by 2018. As Figure 5 demonstrates, nursing programs are going to have to experience an aggressive growth in capacity to produce enough graduates to significantly impact the shortage.

Figure 5: The Projected Shortage and Growth in Educational Capacity to Meet Need