Who will teach the nurses of the future?

The authors predict that if the number of nursing faculty does not increase, nursing education in Canada will face a severe human resources crisis within the next decade, and certain schools of nursing will not have the critical mass of faculty to deliver their undergraduate and graduate programs. Various factors contributing to the shortage of faculty are highlighted, including the aging of the professoriate; superior salaries and benefits available in non-academic settings; and excessive academic workloads. Resolving and effectively managing the nursing faculty crisis needs to be regarded as a national health-care priority. The authors provide recommendations for addressing the problem.