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| Media contacts: Tia Webster, 404-727-5692, twebste@emory.edu Kathi O. Baker, 404-727-9371, kobaker@emory.edu Janet Christenbury, 404-727-8599, jmchris@emory.edu |
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ATLANTA -- Creative efforts by nursing administrators to recruit more prospects into nursing are helping to ease the nursing shortage. But now, the state of Georgia and the surrounding region need additional faculty to accommodate the increasing enrollment at nursing schools. In response, Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing is introducing a new program aimed at preparing expert clinicians in less than three months to teach at academic institutions. A survey last year by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Council on Collegiate Education for Nursing affirmed the need for long-term strategies and short-term solutions to the nursing faculty shortage. Based on the responses of the nursing institutions represented, approximately 10% of the total nursing educator faculty was lost to retirement or resignations during the 2001-2002 academic year. And of the almost 4,500 full-time budgeted positions reported by the responding institutions, eight percent were unfilled during the 2001-2002 academic year. Emory University nursing administrators designed the innovative Emory Summer Nursing Teaching Institute a post-master’s certificate program -- in response to the pressing need for nursing educators. The fast-track course offers masters-prepared clinicians an efficient program to become skilled educators. The teaching practicum will build on the clinical knowledge of nurses and ensure that participants learn the techniques to deliver educational materials in a skilled and effective manner. Nursing Professor Helen O’Shea, who will direct the nurses training program, says, "Faculty in nursing programs are a special breed of nurse. They are, first, expert clinicians able to master clinical situations, and second skilled educators who are adept at the design of courses, utilizing various teaching and learning strategies and selecting appropriate ways to evaluate learning and skills acquisition." Participants in the 2003 Emory Summer Nursing Teaching Institute may complete all or part of the program. Upon completion of the entire sequence, participants will earn twelve graduate level academic credits (nine semester hours in the summer and three semester hours in the fall). This year’s program is limited to 25 participants. Classes will be held in workshop format at Emory from June 9-20, followed by on-line activities and assignments until August 1. The program participants will conclude with a preceptorship at their employing agency or institution from September to December. During their preceptorships, they will participate in both classroom and clinical instruction under the direction of a faculty preceptor, who will provide guidance, critique and support. Funding for the 2003 Emory Summer Nursing Teaching Institute will be provided by the Georgia Student Loan Repayment Commission for qualified students, the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, and the schools and employing institutions of the participants. To be eligible, participants must have a master's degree in nursing with clinical specialization. Preference is given to those affiliated with a nursing education program in Georgia. For additional information on the 2003 Emory Summer Nursing Teaching Institute, contact the Office of Admissions at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at (404) 727-7980 or via email at admit@nurse.emory.edu. Scholarship information is available through the Georgia Student Loan Commission. |