I have been a passionate advocate for the expansion of the nursing program at the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, for as long as I have been with the institution. I was pleased to recently see a column published by two of my peers in the Florida College System that made recommendations for the statewide expansion of our collective two-year nursing programs.

Their column cited a Florida Healthcare Association report which painted a bleak picture, projecting that 14 years from now our state will lack 59,100 nurses including 37,400 registered nurses and 21,700 licensed practical nurses. Our community healthcare systems reflect this and we need a bold solution to address the short-and long-term nursing shortage.

SCF, along with the other 27 state and community colleges in the Florida College System is well-positioned to provide a long-term solution to educating the nurses needed for our state. Our colleges are Florida’s most cost-effective and accessible higher education providers. SCF has graduated more than 5,000 nurses with two-year degrees since the program’s inception in 1960 and more than 1,300 graduates with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Nursing since 2010. At least 98 percent of our nursing graduates obtain employment within six months of graduation – most locally – and they pass the national certification exam on their first attempt. 

My colleagues listed five areas that needed immediate attention to address Florida’s nursing shortage: faculty recruitment and retention, patient simulation facilities, clinical learning opportunities, seamless articulation in the public nursing education pipeline, and public/private partnerships. These are all critically important components of a statewide solution, but at SCF I can reduce this to one critical need – annual funding for nursing faculty. 

SCF has the state-of-the-art nursing education facilities and patient simulation center, the support of area hospitals and the local talent available to maintain an increased enrollment in its registered nursing program. This is a turn-key opportunity to create more registered nurses for our region. We just need to add the nursing faculty to expand our enrollment.

Faculty-to-student ratios in nursing education are much smaller than in typical college classrooms, requiring more faculty to ensure highly trained nurses are entering our healthcare system. In addition, the national demand for nurses and nursing educators has impacted salary requirements throughout the profession. This makes funding for additional faculty the single most important factor at SCF.

Our nursing program is one of the most accomplished and productive nursing programs in the state. Our graduates have had the highest average Nursing Board exam pass rates in the region (98-100%) for the past decade. SCF nursing students consistently score better on their national certification exams than students at other Florida public universities and colleges. It is an investment worth making for our state government and public and private supporters.

I am fully in support of the Florida House of Representatives’ proposal in House Bill 5201 to provide performance funding for nursing programs and matching funding for investments made by our local healthcare providers. Both initiatives will provide much-needed funding for the state’s public nursing education programs if they are part of the state’s annual budget. Extending matching funds to private grants and donations would be even more impactful. 

It is time to act the ensure that our state has the nurses necessary to maintain the health and prosperity of our state. Providing additional funding to SCF and its Florida College System partners for nursing education is the first step to meeting this critical need.

Dr. Carol Probstfeld is president of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota.