Editorial: Professors’ low pay aids nursing crisis

Wednesday, July 27, 2005 | 9:29 a.m.

At a time when there is a critical shortage of nurses both nationwide and locally, the Community College of Southern Nevada this summer turned down 111 highly qualified students who wanted to enroll in its nursing program for the fall semester. The college had applications from 215 students who were assessed as highly qualified, but it could accept only 104. The college was forced into this situation, as it was unable to attract enough nursing professors. The reason is that a CCSN nursing professor with a master's degree earns $45,000 a year, far less than a nurse with a master's degree would earn elsewhere.

CCSN President Richard Carpenter says the college is "getting pummeled" as it tries to recruit and retain nursing professors. "We just can't compete," Carpenter told the Sun this week. The college's Health Sciences dean, Fran Brown, agreed. She said it's difficult enough just to hire a qualified nursing professor. After that, she said, the college must contend with the private sector and other public institutions in Southern Nevada whose salaries are often too attractive for the professors to resist.

Even after hiring 16 nursing professors since January, the college still has four positions open. It may be able to hire some part-time instructors, but in all likelihood the current faculty will have to cover for the openings, stretching them thin and limiting the total number of classes that can be offered.

With a total of 474 nursing students, the community college is the primary nursing school in Southern Nevada. The Nevada State College in Henderson and UNLV also have nursing programs and they, too, are finding it difficult to maintain full nursing staffs. "Every school has a shortage, so when we make an offer to faculty members, they have three other offers to look at," said UNLV's School of Nursing Dean Carolyn Yucha. "So we get into price wars to get them."

Unfortunately for CCSN, price wars are not an option. The state schools can negotiate because they have salary ranges, but CCSN's salaries, by state mandate, are inflexible. Because nurses, who fill one of the more vital roles in society, are in such short supply, it's a shame that CCSN must turn away large numbers of qualified students interested in nursing careers. The state should recognize CCSN's difficulty in recruiting and retaining nursing professors, and authorize flexible salary adjustments to alleviate the problem.