Thirty-one students are now enrolled at SUNY Upstate Medical Center, their first year of a new master's program to educate them as psychiatric family nurse practitioners.

For a nation and state hurting from a growing nursing shortage, a lack of faculty to teach new nurses, a severe shortage of mental health services in central and rural New York, and a state teaching hospital used to being buffeted by budget cuts, the news is welcome on many fronts.

"There is a concern about the nursing shortage in central New York," said Carol Braund, a nurse who heads the Upstate Medical chapter of United University Professions, the union for SUNY higher education faculty and professionals. Five nursing programs in Syracuse alone have waiting lists to enroll, she said.

Upstate's new program for mental health nurse practitioners is an addition to its existing master's in nursing for pediatric and family nurse practitioners.

Approval was received from the State Education Department last year and the program began in the fall. In its application, Upstate reported 50 mental health clinics serve 17 counties in its area that stretches from Pennsylvania nearly to Canada; and from Rochester to Utica, said Carol Gavan, an associate dean and UUP nursing faculty member.

Fort Drum, near Watertown, has been especially challenged by a lack of mental health professionals, often creating waits for patients of several months.

"There's such a shortage of psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners, and very few that treat children, particularly going into rural areas," Gavan said.

The new program has added one faculty member, and Gavan said they are hoping to get approval for a second nurse educator for the psychiatric master's. Students can fulfill clinical requirements at Upstate Medical's inpatient or outpatient psychiatric treatment center, its Hutchings Psychiatric Center or in any clinic, psychiatrist's office or hospital.

"We've had different psychiatric facilities call us, even as far away as the Canadian border; they want their nurses to come to our program," Gavan said.

A nurse practitioner has a collaborating physician — in this case a psychiatrist — but can practice independently and prescribe medication.

"The problem still persists that you need faculty in nursing programs if you are going to further education or train new nurses," said Braund, who is a member of NYSUT's Health Care Professionals Council.

She said the National League for Nursing reports a need for as many as 40,000 full-time faculty in place to educate enough nurses to fill the nursing gap.

Each year the SUNY teaching hospitals have struggled with diminishing funding, and this year's budget proposals are no exception.

"Our focus has been on just getting the money to keep the hospitals open," Braund said.
"We are very fortunate that our president, Dr. David Smith, is supportive of the clinical hospital," Braund said. "The budget savings will not be at the cost of patient care. He has indicated that direct patient care nurses will not be eliminated."

Cuts will come in conference funding, equipment purchase delays and different utilization of staff, she said.

Contact Liza Frenette at lfrenett@nysutmail.org.