Student incivility and retention of nursing faculty.

A career in nursing has never looked brighter. Starting salaries hover around $40,000. A severe shortage lets applicants choose between offers.

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By 2005 the national nursing shortage is expected to hit 150,000 unfilled positions, and by 2010, the number of nursing jobs will grow between 21 and 35%.

Part of the reason for the shortage is the lack of new students in the pipeline, compounded by a lack of nursing faculty. Pressures that many faced--as both a woman and a nurse--have driven them out of the field in mid-career or forced them into early retirement.

Dr. Susan Luparell's qualitative study might shed some light on the problems and offer some direction toward solutions. Luparell, an assistant professor in the department of nursing at Montana State University with a new PhD, discussed how gender influenced nursing faculty experiences with uncivil students at the Women in Educational Leadership Conference held in Lincoln NE in October.

Identifying the problem

As part of the dissertation, Luparell interviewed 21 nursing faculty about their experiences with uncivil students. The group included one male. Participants defined uncivil behavior as including, but not limited to: disrespectful retorts, dishonesty / lack of integrity, indignation, escalating confrontations and threats to personal well-being.