Q. You were on the UVA nursing faculty from 2005 to 2014. What brought you back?
A. Because it’s UVA and because of the people! Many faces at the Nursing School are beloved to me, and the variety and strength of our research, our across-Grounds collaborations are exciting, too.
The opportunity to be part of decisions that influence health care delivery and working conditions for health care workers was a powerful driver to return as well, as it is in line with my life’s work.
Today, there’s a sense of new energy, and synchronicity with the health system. UVA Health is more a part of the University, and feels more proximate and connected to the school, its faculty, staff and students. I report to both the provost and to the executive vice president for health affairs, which feels right and important. For a nursing dean, the role really is the total package.
Q. What are challenges facing nurses and nursing education?
A. COVID gave the world a better sense of what nurses do and has given us a platform to speak up in ways, perhaps, we’ve ever done before. Of course, COVID also gave us a look at what happens when nurses don’t get what they need, and the ways our systems need to improve. My research focuses on how to ensure our frontline workers are safe, supported and whole, and have what they need to care, thrive and stay.
Nursing education has some big challenges in front of it, in addition to the overall shortage of bedside providers. Just 1% of nurses ever earn a Ph.D. in nursing and become academics and scientists. That means there are far too few people to teach the students who are applying in droves, especially to our undergraduate programs. About 80,000 qualified applicants a year are turned away from undergraduate nursing programs across the U.S. because there are too few faculty members and not enough space to teach them. That is a steep hill to climb, but it starts with attracting more nurses to programs like the Ph.D. and DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice). Too few of us do that.
We also need to make it easier for nurses to consider graduate study in the first place, to really show them the benefits so they can see the undeniable value in furthering their education: how it will change their perspectives, professional trajectories, their pocketbooks – and their patients’ lives.
Q. How do you plan to address the nursing shortage?
A. COVID drove many nurses to quit, but the exodus was happening long before the pandemic. Many nurses felt and feel overworked and underpaid, exposed to high-acuity situations without adequate protection and supplies, and continuously asked to work in high-stress work environments. But in my own and others’ research, it’s abundantly clear that if the well-being of nurses and other clinicians is high, patients’ outcomes – and hospitals’ outcomes – are much better. So we all have a stake in keeping nurses feeling whole and supported.
UVA has made many positive changes to this end, such as improvements in pay. But it’s a matter of continuous improvement here and around the world. The will to improve is there.
Addressing the shortage requires a road map for our school and, to that end, we’ve begun a strategic planning process that pulls from UVA Health’s plan, builds on President Ryan’s “great and good” model, and is also deeply informed by our own IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, and Excellence Achievement) initiative. The vision we create will set our path forward.
