Healthcare Workforce Summit

POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS:

>> Consider teams of 2 nurses who can team up to train a class by sharing the burden. >> The New York State Office of the Professions can help determine where nurses have left or retired from. Can we entice those nurses to come back into the field as educators? >> Use legislation to facilitate true physical and financial support for nurse educators. >> Solutions must be focused on health equity, and as a result there is a need for a shared agenda among health professionals, educators, and employers. >> There is a need for academic practice partnerships that are bi-directional. Why would a staff nurse who would love to teach take a pay cut to do it? That is one barrier that must be eliminated. >> Clinical instructors are asked to do a lot of extra things that can feel overwhelming for a new instructor. Creating an apprenticeship for new educators to work with established/seasoned instructors would help nurses feel more comfortable making that leap. ◆ The work environment and academic partners can help with systems support like clerical and technical support and other resources, that will allow the educator to focus on being the content expert. ◆ “Culture will eat strategy day after day” Dr. Debbie Stamps. >> Create a transition to practice by building opportunities for nurses to grow – even for those who want to go back to school and then stay on their units; LPN ->school->RN. >> The conversation around nurse educators should include an approach for making all other allied health professionals available so that nurses are allowed to nurse; not do radiology or respiratory therapy or other therapies they are currently asked to do. >> Solutions will need to be multi-faceted, so there must be representatives not only from healthcare, education, and employers – but legislative bodies will also need to be at the table. >> A path specifically to become a nurse educator could be provided as a growth/career path for nurses who are interested in moving into the educational environment. We need to figure out what that career ladder looks like within nursing. ◆ Launching later in 2023 will be a nurse faculty mentorship program for those who want to participate and is focused on professional development. >> There should be a concerted effort to understand the business side of partnerships. Can professional organizations help, and how can we provide resources back to those organizations as well as the academic side? >> Tax and other monetary incentives can help narrow the pay differential. Can loans be forgiven for faculty? >> Engage with car salesmen in the community for participation in programs that help get nurses where they need to be. Work with those in housing and create relationships that will create support networks for nurses/nurse educators.

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Finger Lakes Workforce Development Center