National Teacher Appreciation Day

Today we celebrate teachers across the nation. Without them, no other profession would exist. They are taking today’s young minds and providing them with tools to shape tomorrow’s leaders. They don’t pursue millions of dollars. Instead, they pursue what they love. Almost any teacher will say that the face of a child who just grasped a lesson is worth more than millions of dollars. Given there is such a great number of teachers to thank in every aspect of education, today we will dedicate this moment to specifically thank our nursing instructors.

Nursing Instructors

Nursing Instructors teach students the skills and knowledge they’ll need to pursue and maintain a career in the nursing industry. This can start as early as high school, when students are receiving basic information to achieve their CNA (certified nursing assistant) license. Students can continue their education by pursuing the necessary courses available to also achieve their LPN (licensed practical nurse) and RN (registered nurse) license.

According to nursingeducation.org, the following is a list of job duties that nursing instructors may hold:

  • Collaborate to develop a full curriculum
  • Plan individual courses based on current best practices
  • Develop courses based on the plan
  • Provide education to students
  • Develop evaluation materials to determine competency of students
  • Instruct students in hands-on care of patients
  • Evaluate the students’ progress toward their goal
  • Maintain own clinical competency by continuing clinical work and participating in ongoing continuing education
  • Consult and collaborate with other instructors to evaluate content and teaching strategies
  • Serve on academic and community committees to review policies and procedures
  • Conduct or participate in research studies
  • Publish research

Florida is Not Meeting the Demand

The Florida Hospital Association predicts that the state will face a shortfall of 59,100 nurses by 2035. One of the key factors that contribute to this is an ongoing shortage of nursing instructors. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), U.S. nursing schools turned away 80,407 qualified applicants in 2019 due to faculty shortages. This is leading to the current nursing instructors we have, the average age being 55 years old, feeling an overwhelming sense of stress and emotions. This can be contributed to the fact that some nursing instructors feel they are not doing enough with an ongoing shortage of nurses, they are not properly being provided with the tools necessary to succeed, and anxiety due to the lack of time they are able to provide to each individual student.

Indian River State College is one school that is taking proactive steps in contributing to a solution for the nursing shortage. They have announced plans to double the number of graduates in its nursing programs and launch the construction phase of a project that moves the IRSC School of Nursing to its Pruitt Campus in Port Saint Lucie by Fall 2023.

YouTube video

YouTube video

With a massive shortfall approaching our state, along with a shortage of nursing instructors available to combat it, today is an opportunity for all of us to reach out to a nursing instructor and show them our appreciation. This can be done in several ways.

  1. Write a letter or pay a visit to a nursing instructor expressing to them how much you appreciate their contributions to our future
  2. Offer assistance to a nursing instructor by helping to grade papers, clean their classroom, or volunteer to be a part of a presentation or demonstration
  3. Donate much needed school supplies for the class
  4. Use #TeacherAppreciationDay for your social media posts

Local Schools for Nursing

Treasure Coast

  • Treasure Coast Technical College
  • Indian River State College
  • Emiraza College
  • Fort Pierce Training Center
  • Fortis Institute

Palm Beach

  • Agape Academy of Sciences
  • Palm Beach Healthcare Academy
  • Techni-Pro Institute
  • International Institute for Healthcare Professionals
  • Care Hope College
  • College of Health and Allied Development
  • Delray Medical Training
  • FLC Healthcare Academy
  • Medical Institute of Palm Beach Inc.
  • Palm Beach Academy of Health & Beauty
  • Capscare Academy
  • Palm Beach State College
  • Paramount Training Services
  • Academy For Nursing and Health Occupations
  • Carleen Health Institute of South Florida
  • CRM Medical Training Services
  • Family Care Training Center
  • QM Career Institute
  • Renaissance Health Institute
  • Southeastern College

Space Coast

  • Doxa Academy
  • Eastern Florida State College
  • Horizon Healthcare Institute
  • Brevard Nursing Academy
  •  Jay College of Health Sciences

Central Florida

  • Cambridge Institute of Allied Health & Technology
  • The Lighthouse Medical Academy
  • Bridgeway School of Nursing
  • Hebron International College
  • Professional Academy of Health
  • Osceola Technical College

Orlando

  • I.T. Of Central Florida Vocational School
  • J&J Healthcare Institute Inc.
  • Matrix Health Edu
  • Orange Technical College
  • Southern Technical College
  • S.T.E.P. Medical Teaching

Southwest Florida

  • Cape Coral Technical College
  • Fort Myers Technical College
  • Horizon Healthcare Institute
  • Premiere International College
  • Rasmussen University
  • Immokalee Technical College
  • Institute of Health Careers
  • Hodges University
  • Lorenzo Walker Technical College
  • Naples Nursing Academy
  • Zeal Technical Institute
  • Charlotte Technical College
  • Suncoast Technical College

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