Faced with worsening faculty shortages, academic leaders are under increasing pressure to develop strategies that retain and develop nursing educators by strengthening academic environments and building stronger, more sustainable educator pipelines.
Nursing education is facing an accelerating crisis: the vanishing nurse educator. Emotional, financial, and structural burdens are driving experienced faculty to exit academia and discouraging new talent from entering it at all. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s 2024 Faculty Vacancy Survey, the U.S. full-time faculty vacancy rate has increased slightly to 7.9%, with 84% of unfilled positions requiring or preferring doctoral credentials.
From clinician burnout and inequitable workloads to insufficient pay and outdated perceptions of the role of nurse educator, the challenges continue mounting, yet best practices are retaking shape in the forms of trauma-informed leadership, robust mentorship, and faculty-friendly pathways to help build long-term changes into nursing education.
Why nursing faculty are leaving
Despite their passion for teaching, many nurse educators have become worn down by the realities of academic life. Some of the reasons they’re leaving — or never joining in the first place — are:
- Burnout, driven by heavy workloads, lack of protected time for acclimation, and leadership that fails to model healthy boundaries, such as disconnecting from work and not answering emails after hours
- Low compensation, especially when institutions don’t offer tuition support for bachelor-of-science-in-nursing-prepared faculty to pursue a master of science in nursing or a doctorate, so that they have to cover advancement costs on their own
- Isolation, when new faculty get assigned to complex courses without clear expectations, onboarding, or consistent mentorship from colleagues
- Lack of recognition, particularly when leadership is absent or visible only during a crisis, leaving faculty without regular encouragement, public praise, or a sense that their work is seen and valued
Taken together, those factors make even committed educators question their futures in academia.
Barriers to entry for new nursing faculty
The shortage isn’t just about educators leaving. It’s also about too few entering. The barriers stop prospective faculty before they even begin due to the following:
- Limited practicum opportunities — especially for online graduate students — and lack of mentorship leave many without exposure to the role, making career paths unclear.
- Public awareness is low, with few educators participating in school events or career days to inspire future faculty.
- Representation gaps persist in that few institutions actively recruit males or students with underrepresented backgrounds.
- Resolving the issues requires stronger partnerships and greater visibility to attract future educators and sustain the nursing workforce.
Checklist: 7 culture-driven nursing-faculty-retention strategies
To slow faculty attrition, nursing programs must prioritize culture, not just compensation. The following best practices from the field show how to create an environment in which faculty can stay, grow, and thrive:
- Orientation must be structured and intentional so as to prepare educators for classroom, lab, and clinical responsibilities and to avoid the sink-or-swim approach.
- Mentorship should be built in by means of monthly meetings with deans or program chairs and by pairing new faculty with experienced educators for new educators’ navigation of the complexity of their roles.
- Well-being should be supported through modeled boundaries, flexible work options, and wellness resources like mindfulness sessions, mental health support, and stipends.
- Growth and promotion require investment in certifications, journal subscriptions, professional coaches, and conferences, along with clear advancement pathways, including clinical educator tracks.
- Diversity starts with outreach in the forms of recruitment from the local community, partnering with scholarship programs, and hiring of faculty from high-need specialty areas like mental health and maternity.
- Leadership should be trauma informed and visible to recognize the ways that past and current traumas affect faculty responses and should foster trust through presence and care.
- Advocacy must be active, with leaders willing to fight for resources, grants, and institutional support for their teams when faculty needs are at risk.
Beyond culture-driven considerations, retaining nursing faculty also requires structural changes that directly improve a faculty’s daily experiences and long-term career trajectories. Flexible work models such as hybrid or remote teaching for didactic courses can mitigate burnout and support work–life balance. Investing in faculty wellness — through stipends, mental health resources, or mindfulness initiatives — further strengthens institutional commitment to well-being. And transparent promotion pathways, recognition systems for teaching and mentorship, and shared decision-making all contribute to a sense of value and belonging while reducing administrative burdens and fostering cross-institutional collaborations to alleviate workload and improve engagement.
Why educator investment is essential to the future of nursing
The nursing faculty shortage is not just a staffing issue; it is also a threat to the future of the nursing profession. Without enough qualified educators, nursing programs face challenges in maintaining accreditation standards and preparing the next generation of nurses.
By investing in structured onboarding, mentorship, professional growth, and trauma-informed leadership, programs can begin rebuilding more-resilient academic workforces.
As one nurse educator asserted, “It’s critical to keep a pulse on faculty because if you don’t, you won’t retain them; and by the time you realize it, it may already be too late.”
