Washington and Alaska by the fall of 2026. The program is designed for nurses who already have a bachelor’s degree or higher in nursing. Nurses that graduate with an associate’s degree from community colleges are already pretty well incented to get their bachelor’s degree. “That’s where the upward mobility is,” explains Hull. “Certain hospitals only want to hire nurses with a bachelor’s.” Summer, the recent graduate from PCC, is already planning for hers. She’ll start working as a nurse in telemetry while taking OHSU bachelor’s-level classes online. The recently passed SB 523 aims to make it easier and less costly for future community college graduates to get their bachelor’s, particularly for students in rural areas. “The bill tries to capture students who wouldn’t continue on or [would] do it through an out-of-state, for-profit option,” explains John Wykoff, deputy director of the Oregon Community College Association. “This cost-effective option should be more attractive to students.” The program could also help keep rural students in rural communities, where the need is greater. But the bill does not wow PCC’s Hull. “I haven’t explored what SB 523 would mean for us,” she says. “I can’t even find enough instructors for our associate’s program.” None of these efforts, however, address the pay disparity between educators and practitioners. The OLDC study analysis found that increasing wages by $6,139 for nine-month nursing faculty would incent and entice instructors. The report stresses that schools should collaborate on pay increases statewide to avoid creating competition between programs. Where that money would come from presents another issue. Proposed legislative action, HB 3323, would create a stipend for nurse educators. Hull was a bit more excited about this bill. “Washington state already does something like this. It could be a possible solution.” The bill, however, was still in committee when the House adjourned in June. Backer at PCC suggests that some faceto-face recruiting with nurses could help sway them over to teaching. “I see nurses at hospitals that are so good with students,” she says. “We should seek these people out and show them why teaching is a worthy career. We need to advertise to them, let them know it can be fun.” As far as finding more clinical space, Backer suggests looking for new opportunities outside of hospitals. “What about addiction clinics or homeless shelters? They have to be places where the student is getting nursing experience.” While these are all good steps forward, fixing the nurse/nurse-educator shortage will be an uphill battle. Burnout among current nurses is extremely high. About 100,000 registered nurses left the workforce during the past two years due to stress, burnout and retirements, and another 610,388 reported an intent to leave by 2027, according to a study released by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and reported by the American Hospital Association. Perhaps this is because of a system that needs nurses yet undervalues their contributions. “The system values doctors because hospitals can bill for their work,” Summer says. “They see nurses as a money-suck even though we are essential for patient care.” Still, Summer holds a lot of admiration for the nurses who helped her along the way. She would like to teach eventually, saying it is on her long-term trajectory. But she’s come across so many nurses suffering from compassion fatigue that she wonders. “I chose nursing because I can keep learning. There are a lot of fields to go into, and you can’t do bedside forever,” she says. “Teaching would be a great trajectory. They just need to be paid more.” “I chose nursing because I can keep learning. There’s a lot of fields to go into and you can’t do bedside forever. Teaching would be a great trajectory. They just need to be paid more.” — CESA SUMMER, RECENT PCC NURSING PROGRAM GRADUATE 25
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