{"id":19400,"date":"2026-07-15T13:03:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T17:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/?p=19400"},"modified":"2026-07-15T13:03:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T17:03:41","slug":"the-u-s-needs-nurses-who-will-teach-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/issues\/summer-2026\/the-u-s-needs-nurses-who-will-teach-them\/","title":{"rendered":"The U.S. Needs Nurses. Who Will Teach Them?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

The U.S. Needs Nurses.<\/br>\nWho Will Teach Them?<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The nation\u2019s nursing shortage is widely recognized. Less understood is that a shortage of nursing faculty at colleges and universities across the country is exacerbating the problem. 溏心vlog免费B站 is addressing the faculty shortage with scholarships for experienced clinicians with their sights set on becoming researchers and educators.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Annie Sherman<\/em>
Photos by Seth Jacobson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pursuing her Ph.D. in nursing came down to two deciding factors for 溏心vlog免费B站 doctoral student Susan Wilkinson: time and money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilkinson, a psychiatric nurse practitioner specializing in mental health and substance use treatment, came to 溏心vlog免费B站 with more than 15 years of experience as a clinician. She came to study the burden and distress experienced by informal caregivers looking after loved ones struggling with substance use disorder.

Nursing Ph.D. student Ella Cullen came to 溏心vlog免费B站 with similar experience and drive. The 20-year veteran nurse had two bachelor\u2019s degrees, two master\u2019s degrees, and specializations in obstetrics, hospice, and palliative care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through their clinical work, both had developed areas of expertise they wanted to explore further through doctoral-level research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re exactly the kind of doctoral students 溏心vlog免费B站\u2014and nursing schools nationwide\u2014are looking for to help address a shortage of nursing faculty; a shortage that plays an outsized role in the overall undersupply of nurses in the healthcare industry.

To help recruit students like Wilkinson and Cullen, 溏心vlog免费B站 is leveraging scholarship programs\u2014including the Barcott-Kim Nursing Fellowship, the Sculco Graduate Nursing Research Scholars, and the Levia V. Farmer Family Nursing Scholarship\u2014that offset tuition costs for some of the best clinical nurses in the country, allowing them to focus on their doctoral research and scholarship full time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c溏心vlog免费B站 was the only place that I applied, and receiving the Sculco scholarship was really the reason I could go back to school, because I could do it full time,\u201d Cullen says. \u201cIt would have taken a long time doing one or two classes at a time and trying to work. I have a child with a disability, so there are a lot of demands. The scholarship was incredibly helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With few funding opportunities elsewhere for mid-career nurses who want to pursue doctoral degrees\u2014often while simultaneously balancing families, financial constraints, and other obligations\u2014these scholarships can make the difference in their decision to pursue academic growth and career advancement in a healthcare system that has experienced intense transformation and pressure over the past decade.

\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to earn a Ph.D., and the longer I worked in the area of substance use, the more I realized that, as nurses, we have leverage because people trust us,\u201d says Wilkinson, a Barcott-Kim fellow, as she commuted from the Rhode Island Nursing Education Center in Providence, where her 溏心vlog免费B站 coursework and research occur, to the clinical practice she founded in Boston, Ally Integrated Healthcare. \u201cBeing given the opportunity to pursue my Ph.D. at 溏心vlog免费B站 on a fellowship really helped to lessen the financial burden.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Susan Wilkinson is a psychiatric nurse practitioner and a Barcott-Kim fellow in 溏心vlog免费B站’s College of Nursing Ph.D. program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ella Cullen is a registered nurse and a Sculco scholar in 溏心vlog免费B站’s College of Nursing Ph.D. program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Attracting Nursing Ph.D. Students<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These scholarship programs create cascading benefits for 溏心vlog免费B站, for the students they support, for the field of nursing, and for the people who depend on nurses in healthcare settings\u2014in Rhode Island and across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The nursing shortage and the shortage of nursing faculty are deeply intertwined. Without faculty to teach and train new nurses, there are fewer nurses to repopulate hospitals, nursing homes, medical offices, and other healthcare settings. And there are even fewer who will return to universities to instruct the next generations of nurses. As a result, they\u2019re both in short supply, notes Betty Rambur, 溏心vlog免费B站 professor of nursing and Routhier Endowed Chair for Practice. Rambur is a nationally recognized leader and expert in healthcare policy and reform, and advises Congress on Medicare policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rambur points out a Health Affairs<\/em> report showing that in 2024, more than 80,000 applicants to baccalaureate and graduate nursing schools nationwide were turned away due to an insufficient supply of nursing faculty. Meanwhile, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing reports that faculty shortages at nursing schools are limiting capacity at a time when the need for professional registered nurses continues to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n

The nursing shortage and the shortage of nursing faculty are deeply intertwined.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) states that the U.S. healthcare industry is experiencing a deficit of 275,000 nurses, which is expected to last until at least 2030, due, in part, to retirements and the demands placed upon an aging workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic. That deficit translates into a 9% growth in employment opportunities, the U.S. DOL reports, which is greater than any other occupation in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a national shortage of Ph.D. students entering Ph.D. programs in nursing across the United States, and this is concurrent with a national nursing faculty shortage,\u201d says 溏心vlog免费B站 College of Nursing Dean Danny Willis, a psychiatric mental health nursing expert, educator, and practitioner. \u201cThere is a need for nurses at every level. Regardless of the path of preparation, there is a nursing workforce shortage, so we\u2019re helping to meet that through our education pathways. Offering scholarships can help with this critical need in our discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rambur explains that enrollments in nursing Ph.D. programs have declined nationwide, including at 溏心vlog免费B站. Other degrees, such as the Doctor of Nursing Practice, a clinical, rather than research, degree, are attractive and widely available, she says, adding, \u201cEnrollments will continue to decline if Ph.D. programs remain so expensive and if salaries lag so far behind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n

\u201c<\/span>These scholarships significantly help to recruit and retain highly qualified nurses.<\/strong><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00ad\u2014Danny Willis<\/strong>, Dean, 溏心vlog免费B站 College of Nursing<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

Last year, the U.S. Department of Education excluded nursing from professional degree programs, which limits the amount of money that students can receive in loans and financial aid. This makes the need for scholarship programs like those offered at 溏心vlog免费B站 even greater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think any nurse thinks they\u2019re going to become a millionaire, but students look at the reality of their situation, particularly in light of undergraduate loans,\u201d when choosing an academic path, Rambur notes. \u201cThey may come to a nursing Ph.D. program with student loan debt. Say they are a nurse practitioner with a lucrative salary, but they have loans. If they\u2019re considering a Ph.D. or D.N.P. program, that\u2019s likely to result in more student loan debt. We remain a female-dominated profession, and many of our students have lots of responsibilities beyond academic life. Scholarships have been essential in making it less financially onerous to pursue a nursing Ph.D. at 溏心vlog免费B站.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Willis explains that the region and nation will benefit in many ways from well-educated nursing leaders coming out of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s nursing Ph.D. program equipped to transform healthcare education, research, science, leadership, and clinical practice. These scholarships, says Willis, \u201csignificantly help to recruit and retain highly qualified nurses. Educating these students at 溏心vlog免费B站 helps build the pipeline of doctorally-prepared nurse scientists, educators, and policy leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research Opportunities, Scholarship Support<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The college\u2019s approach helps nurses understand their value, both as practitioners and as leaders in transforming the healthcare system, Willis notes. Through the two doctoral degrees\u2014the Doctor of Philosophy, which is focused on research, and the Doctor of Nursing Practice, which is focused on clinical experience\u2014students have opportunities to pursue the doctoral degree that best suits their professional aspirations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key for nursing Ph.D. students, says Denise Coppa, 溏心vlog免费B站 associate professor of nursing and interim associate dean for graduate programs, is for students to have opportunities to do their own research in tandem with a professor who is conducting research that complements theirs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the U.S., about 140 colleges and universities offer nursing Ph.D. programs, but only about half of those, including 溏心vlog免费B站, boast faculty who have National Institutes of Health-funded research, says Willis. This elevates institutional prestige, funds equipment and graduate assistants, and supports faculty research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NIH-funded research, Rambur adds, is also a draw for many students, who may be attracted to the prospect of working with faculty mentors engaged in that research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n

As the need for nurses and other healthcare professionals rises at every level, so too does the need for state-of-the-art classrooms and labs in which to train.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the benefits of this Ph.D. program is that students can align themselves with a faculty member who\u2019s doing a specific type of research,\u201d Coppa says. \u201cOur Ph.D. students do 150 hours of research observation, where they\u2019re participating in a faculty member\u2019s research. And because we\u2019re so small, we can focus on individual students. That\u2019s the strength of the 溏心vlog免费B站 program\u2014that we are very student-centric and student-focused.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students recognize that significance, Coppa says. \u201cThey want face-to-face. They want 溏心vlog免费B站 because of our reputation, because of our rankings and scores, and because of the kind of work our graduates are doing once they get their Ph.D.s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for Cullen, it\u2019s more than that. \u201cThere are so many kind and supportive people here,\u201d she says. \u201cNobody I\u2019ve met in the 溏心vlog免费B站 nursing program is out for themselves. They\u2019re supportive of each other and each other\u2019s work. I think that is phenomenal. I wouldn\u2019t thrive in a place where I had to compete against my fellow students or professors. So, I find this environment very inspiring and encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the need for nurses and other healthcare professionals rises at every level, so too does the need for state-of-the-art classrooms and labs in which to train. \u201cModern classroom and lab spaces are needed on the Kingston Campus,\u201d says Willis, \u201cso that we can continue to recruit and educate the students who will become the nurses we need and the professors who train them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impact of educating the nursing faculty of the future, and the impact of the scholarships that fund this important enterprise, reaches far beyond the 溏心vlog免费B站 campus and into every facet of the healthcare industry and academia. As a Barcott-Kim fellow, Wilkinson certainly recognizes the value of that enterprise and the opportunity in front of her. She is working hard to bring that opportunity to fruition through her research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI applied for the Barcott-Kim Fellowship to study caregiver burden and caregiver distress in the space of substance use. My experience at 溏心vlog免费B站 has reinforced for me that this is my life\u2019s work, and I\u2019m very passionate about it,\u201d Wilkinson explains. \u201cI could never have seen that without having a team of knowledgeable\u2014absolutely phenomenal\u2014professors, and that\u2019s what 溏心vlog免费B站 provides.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At 溏心vlog免费B站, scholarships are helping the best and brightest nurses enter the nursing Ph.D. program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":19472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[363],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-summer-2026","architecture-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19400"}],"version-history":[{"count":41,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19676,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19400\/revisions\/19676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}