Colleges around Rhode Island are experiencing nursing faculty shortages that are exacerbating the staff shortages at hospitals around the state, according to an Oct. 8 WPRI-TV report.
"Right here at Rhode Island College, I have about five [full-time] positions that are open and just in the past six months, three of those are related to retirements," Carolynn Masters, PhD, dean of Rhode Island College’s nursing program, told WPRI-TV.
Dr. Masters added the college lacks qualified candidates to fill the open positions and that, in most cases, it can take up to a year to fill the spots.
“If we could create more positions for faculty, you’d be able to create an environment that allows people to get through the system and nurses back into the hospitals,” Lynn Blais, a registered nurse and president of United Nurses and Allied Professionals, told WPRI-TV. “It would help alleviate the shortage.”