Poor pay is likely to be a major hindrance to recruiting and retaining instructors at nursing schools, according to a report that compares what they earn to the compensation of their counterparts in other academic disciplines, as well as of nurses with equivalent credentials in clinical practice and other nonacademic settings.

The data, considered preliminary, show that 53 percent of nursing instructors who plan to leave their jobs within the coming year cite “more compensation” as the primary reason for departure. The results confirm what many have long suspected are the main reasons for the recruitment and retention challenges: an aging and overworked faculty whose members earn less than nurses who enter clinical practice or who hold advanced degrees in other academic disciplines.

The report is based on a nationwide study conducted by the National League for Nursing and the Carnegie Foundation Preparation for the Professions Program. —Lauren Smith