Strategies to enhance retention and effective utilization of aging nurse faculty.

Society faces an unprecedented shortage of nurses. One driver for the deficit is a shortfall in the number of faculty members available to educate current and future nurses. Another driver is the increasing age of nurse faculty. With the average age of master's and doctoral faculty older than age 50, nurse educators face short-term and long-term decisions about work and retirement. Aging faculty members bring intellectual capital, wisdom, leadership expertise, and a wealth of skills and abilities to the workforce. The nursing community, patients, and society will benefit by retaining aging nurse faculty in the workforce on a full-time or part-time basis. This article examines nurse faculty workforce issues and suggests strategies to enhance the heretention and effective utilization of aging nurse faculty.