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ANA has been working with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) to establish and fund a pilot project that would encourage retiring military nurses to pursue careers as nursing faculty. This "Troops to Nurse Teachers" (TNT) program is needed to help domestic schools of nursing expand their capacity in order to meet the growing demand for nursing services. The Shortage of Nurses & Faculty The nursing shortage is being felt particularly hard in the military. The Army, Navy, and Air Force are offering new lucrative RN recruitment packages that include large sign-on bonuses, generous scholarships, and loan forgiveness packages. Yet, neither the Army nor the Air Force has met their active service nurse recruitment goals since the 1990s. Last year, Army leaders warned the Senate Appropriations Committee that they were experiencing a 30 percent shortage of certified registered nurse anesthetists. In 2004, the Navy Nurse Corps recruitment fell 32 percent below target. This ongoing nurse shortage is creating real concerns about the ability to deliver needed health care to today's military. This shortage is complicated by the lack of faculty needed to train new nurses. The National League for Nursing recently released a survey showing a shortage of nearly 1,400 nursing faculty. This survey estimates the number of budgeted, unfilled, full-time nursing faculty positions nationwide in 2006 is 1,390. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing reported a 8.5 percent faculty vacancy rate for the 2005-06 academic year The shortage of nursing faculty is cited as the main reason that American schools of nursing are turning away qualified applicants. TNT Authority Motivated by the need to recruit new nursing faculty, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) attached the Troops to Nurse Teachers (TNT) amendment to the FY 2007 Department of Defense (DoD) Authorization bill (S. 2766, later incorporated into H.R. 5122). The TNT program establishes the authority for a pilot program beginning in FY 2007 and ending in FY 2012. It authorizes initial FY 2007 funding of $5 million. The Program encompasses two activities: 1) Transitional Assistance: For separating military nurses who possess a master's or doctoral degree in nursing or related field, the program would provide transitional assistance to expedite their transition into faculty positions. This includes career placement, transitional stipends, and training needed to secure employment as nursing faculty. Participants would be required to accept an offer of full-time employment as a nurse educator at an accredited school of nursing for at least one year. In addition, the nurse educator is required to act as a mentor and to encourage students' entry into the military. Assistance limited to $5,000. 2) Scholarship Program: The second program would create a scholarship fund for separating nurse officers or other commissioned officers with medical expertise to attend an accredited school of nursing with the intent of becoming nurse faculty members. Tuition, stipends, and financing for other educational expenses would be provided. Participants would be required to commit to teaching at an accredited school of nursing for three years upon graduation. Assistance limited to $30,000 annually. The TNT program was not included in the House version of the DoD Authorization bill (H.R. 5122). ANA is working to maintain the TNT amendment through the final conference negotiations on this bill. The bill is expected to be finalized by the end of September. TNT Funding After securing the TNT amendment in the DoD Authorization bill, Sen. Durbin began working to include funding for the pilot program in the FY 2007 DoD Appropriations Act (H.R. 5361). This funding is needed to begin implementation the TNT programs in FY 2007. ANA supported Sen. Durbin's effort to secure $5 million in FY 2007 funding. If allocated, this funding would allow the DoD to begin accepting applications for the TNT program in 2007. At press time, ANA had learned that the Senate Appropriations Committee agreed to include this funding in their version of the appropriations bill. The Senate will resume work on the DoD Appropriations bill when they reconvene on September 5. ANA will provide updates on this program in future issues of Capitol Update. |