Maryland Nursing Schools Turn

Away Applicants

Saturday, Dec. 11, 2004 - 4:19 PM

FREDERICK, Md - A lack of instructors and adequate classroom space forced Maryland nursing schools to turn away thousands of qualified students last year, officials said.

Nationally, more than 125,000 applicants were turned away from nursing programs at all levels, according to a preliminary report from 2004 survey by the National League for Nursing. Associate degree programs rejected 86,680 applications.

"What we're having is this huge upturn in applicants, and we can't admit students because we don't have enough faculty," said Dr. Janet Allan, dean of the University of Maryland School of Nursing. "It's kind of criminal that we are turning away qualified students in a time of shortage."

Frederick Community College's School of Nursing has already received more than 160 applications for next fall's program. But Jane Garvin, the school's director of nursing education, said only 64 seats are available.

But she said bigger classrooms won't necessarily solve the problem. "You need space on campus and in the clinical setting," Garvin told The Frederick News Post. "We're tripping over each other."

In 1999, 3,000 nurses didn't renew their licenses, and enrollment into nursing programs dropped 35 percent.

Interest in nursing has increased because of media attention and recruitment campaigns. But schools can't handle the rising number of applicants.

Nearly 2,000 qualified applicants were denied admission to associate degree and baccalaureate nursing programs in the state during the 2003-2004 school year, according to a University of Maryland School of Nursing informal survey.

Officials say a lack of qualified nursing instructors is the main reason schools can't keep up with the rising number of applicants; not enough nurses are interested in becoming teachers.

"While we've attracted people into direct patient care positions, we haven't attracted people in the area of teaching nursing," said Kathryn Hall, executive director of the Maryland Nurses Association.

Most nurses with master's or doctoral degrees want to be nurse practitioners or clinical nurse specialists. The reason is money. A nurse practitioner in Baltimore can make $80,000 to $90,000 a year; a nurse educator takes home close to $50,000.

Schools have been working with hospitals and nursing homes to share clinical nurses, so nurses can practice and teach at the same time.

The state is also trying to help. The Maryland Governor's Workforce Investment Board offers $1.6 million in scholarships to registered nurses who want to earn a master's degree to teach.

Since the shortage began in the late 1990s, nurse's salaries have increased and work environments have improved.

At Frederick Memorial Hospital a recent graduate made $16 an hour in 1999. A nurse with the same level of experience now makes $21.75 an hour.

Some hospitals have hired foreign-educated nurses to fill vacancies. Others brought experienced nurses back to work or asked older nurses to delay retirement.

But health officials warn that temporary solutions aren't going to solve the problem.

"There is no question that a shortage is looming. It is going to continue to grow because a rapidly aging population is putting more demand on the system," said Dr. Barbara Heller, executive director of the Center Health Workforce Development at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. "The demand will continue to succeed the supply of available nurses."

By 2012, the state could be short about 17,000 nurses, or 27 percent of what's need, Heller said.

The largest percentage of practicing nurses is expected to retire within the next six years, said Donna Dorsey, executive director of the Maryland Board of Nursing.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)