Addressing
the Nursing Shortage
School of Nursing Dean Lucy Marion has been appointed to chair the University System of Georgia Board of Regents’ new Task Force on Nursing Education. The 12-member group is charged with increasing the number of registered nurses in Georgia by focusing on the efficiency of the university system’s nursing programs.
The group also aims to boost the number of students who earn advanced degrees and return to the classroom to teach, increasing the number of university system nursing faculty and promoting cooperation between system schools with nursing degree programs.
The state is projected to need at least 20,000 more nurses by 2012 to eliminate the growing shortage. “While our charge is about increasing the number of nurses, it’s also about making sure that, as a system, we are doing all we can to address an impending health crisis,” said Dr. Marion. “This task force is aimed toward making sure we are fully preparing our students to be the best practicing clinicians.”