By admin 
South Carolina is starting to put a dent in its nursing shortage, but it needs more instructors to finish the job.
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Without them, the state simply can’t train enough nursing students to keep pace with the growing demand for services as South Carolina’s population ages.
“We have the student interest,” said Jeannette Andrews, dean of the University of South Carolina College of Nursing. “But how are we going to increase our output, our graduates each year?”
USC wants to be part of that solution.
The school announced last week it was expanding a successful pilot program aimed at developing a nursing faculty pipeline to help address what continues to be one of the nation’s largest nursing shortages.
As of last December, South Carolina had nearly 12,000 fewer nurses than it needed to meet the state’s current health care demands, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration, a federal agency that tracks supply and demand for health care professions.
While the state is projected to narrow its nursing workforce gap to 7,250 by 2038, according to the agency’s latest estimates, that shortfall would still constitute one of the largest in the nation.
As part of USC’s initiative to prepare the next generation of nurse educators, the university will partner with Clemson University and the Medical University of South Carolina to support nine doctoral nursing students — three at each university — during the final two years of their degree programs.
The doctoral fellows, whose training expenses and salaries will be covered by the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation, will work full time as faculty members at their respective institutions while completing their degrees.
“Most universities recruit new faculty after they’ve finished their doctoral degrees,” said Liam C. Hein, a USC nursing professor who is involved with the project. “We’re taking a different approach by helping future faculty develop as educators while they’re still students. That gives them the experience, mentoring and confidence to step into faculty roles from day one.”
The statewide initiative, which is expected to help the three universities train an estimated 300 additional nurses by 2030, builds on a 2022 pilot program that prepared eight doctoral nursing students for faculty careers at USC.
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All the original fellows are now assistant professors in the university’s College of Nursing.
“We have 100% retention after three years,” said Andrews, who is retiring this month after nearly 14 years leading the college. “We haven’t lost a faculty member, because they are really prepared, they’re confident and they’re doing really, really well.”
With USC on the verge of meeting its goal of graduating 400 pre-licensure nursing students annually by 2030 — an 80% increase from just a few years ago — the school’s leaders are turning their attention to other programs in the state.
After partnering with Clemson and MUSC on the current cohort of nursing fellows, who are expected to begin working this month, Andrews said USC wants to expand the program further by linking up with smaller regional universities and community technical colleges to help grow their teaching capacities.
“We’re trying to be part of a solution for the state,” said the longtime dean, who credited the General Assembly, BlueCross BlueShield and Lexington Medical Center for their ongoing support.
Since 2022, state lawmakers have appropriated $10 million annually for the recruitment and retention of collegiate nursing faculty.
Half of the funding has gone to support loan forgiveness for nurses who return to school to become instructors and the other half has been used to provide salary supplements to existing collegiate nursing faculty, who typically make less than they would working in the private sector.
“With the help of our partners, with the help of the State Legislature,” Andrews said, “I feel better about our faculty supply than I have in 10 years.”
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