Contact: Gina Dennik-Champion
608-228-3300
MADISON, WI – The Wisconsin Nurses Association (WNA) and the Administrators of Nursing Education in Wisconsin (ANEW) want to express appreciation to Governor Evers for creating a Task Force on Caregiving in Wisconsin. “Nursing care delivered by registered nurses in many practice settings are dependent upon the availability of caregivers to support their practice. The quality and competence of caregivers requires education, training, direction and support provided by RNs,” states Linda Gobis, RN, MSN, JD., WNA President. Caregiver shortages are requiring RNs to perform the duties of the vacant caregiver position. This is undesirable as it leads to increased labor costs, i.e. RN vs. caregiver salary, and RNs retention issues.
ANEW and WNA want to make you aware that Wisconsin is facing a nurse educator shortage. “The demand for nurses exceeds the capacity of schools of nursing to admit. Individuals wanting to become nurses are met by waiting lists due to faculty shortages,” states Dr. Linda Young, RN, PhD., ANEW President. One other factor that is creating caregiver shortages is the shortage of qualified nursing instructors.
ANEW and WNA are asking that dollars be allocated in the 2019-2021 State Budget that support RNs receiving graduate or PhD level nursing education. Dollars will be used to provide scholarships, stipends, loan forgiveness and/or fellowships to nurses who commit to working as a nurse educator for three years in a Wisconsin School of Nursing. To find out more about the Nurse Faculty Shortage go to: https://www.wisconsinnurses.org/nurse-faculty-shortage/
