By Quinton Prudhomme
Co-Editor-in-Chief

Clackamas Community College will lose three full-time nursing instructors this spring, the latest loss of teaching staff in years of struggle to retain nursing teachers.

Two nursing instructors are transitioning to part-time and another is leaving altogether. All three are seeking higher pay practicing at hospitals instead of teaching at the college, according to the Clackamas Community College Education Association co-president Chris Konieczka.

Christina Burt, who became a full-time nursing instructor in 2022, said nursing faculty aren’t compensated fairly.

“Bottom line, if nurses are doing the work of a nurse, they should receive compensation that is equal,” said Burt, who graduated from the CCC nursing program in 2007.

The Oregon Center for Nursing released a research brief in 2023 showcasing the earnings of nurses in different fields. Nursing educators have an hourly rate similar to other nurses; however, nursing instructors are working eight to nine months instead of year round so they make substantially less annually than other practicing nurses.

“The argument that we earn a comparable wage if you spread out our work over 12 months instead of eight is not valid,” said Burt, who got her Masters of Science in Nursing in 2021 and a Masters of Science in Nursing Education in 2023.

“A nurse faculty member in higher education works exponentially more than a full-time nurse providing bedside care at a hospital,” Burt said.

Burt also took issue with the lack of time nursing instructors have for developing the best teaching practices.

“I believe we need to redefine workloads for what matches what we do as nursing faculty. It does not match a traditional higher education model,” said Burt.

Burt petitioned the full-time faculty senate asking for nursing instructors to be paid at a higher level than other newly hired full-time instructors in other disciplines.

“I advocated for the higher step because this topic is currently being researched in Oregon,” said Burt.

The college has had a difficult time retaining new nursing staff.

“I know we have had a history of having a hard time keeping nursing faculty at the college, and it sounds like from speaking with nursing faculty that has a lot to do with salary requirements,” said Lars Campbell, music instructor and co-president of the CCCEA.

Full-time instructors at CCC are paid on a step system that ranges from zero to three. Step three starts at $77,041 and step zero caps out the payscale with $110,044, not including yearly raises that are spelled out in the three-year contract.

The faculty senate passed a motion this spring to allow new nursing candidates to start at step two on the pay scale instead of step three, which is the typical starting point for instructors. The union has passed a similar motion in the past to help recruit and retain nursing instructors.

“In the interest of fairness, people recognized that nurses make more in salary, when they are practicing, so they were willing to go that one step up on the pay system,” said Campbell.

More pay is a benefit to nursing faculty, but may have drawbacks down the line because it takes increased time for faculty to climb the pay steps.

“Regardless of the institution, 50 percent of nursing educators leave within the first five years,” said Virginia Chambers, director of the health sciences at CCC.

Chambers said the requirements of nursing instructors are more demanding, because of the need to meet nursing regulatory compliance.

The U.S. is facing a nursing crisis according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the nursing workforce is only getting older.

“There are growing numbers of nurses nearing retirement age, an even growing number of nurse educators nearing retirement age.” said Burt “If students want to go to nursing school, and cannot due to limitations due to the number of faculty, then we can not continue to graduate new nurses.”