Nursing Workforce Shortage Essay

The national shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs) has helped generate formidable interest in the nursing profession among people entering the workforce and those pursuing a career change. According to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service in 2002, the national population is continuing to grow and age and medical services continue to advance, so the need for nurses will continue to increase. They report from 2000 to 2020 the predicted shortage of nurses is expected to grow to 29 percent, compared to a 6 percent shortage in 2000. With the projected supply, demand, and shortage of registered nurses and nursing salaries ever-increasing, the nursing profession can offer countless opportunities. But first one must

Qualified instructors available to teach nursing students in educational facilities are beginning to be a problem within the nation. Most nursing instructors that teach in educational facilities are advanced in their line of work, and many of them are expected to retire within the next five years. New faculty of nursing programs will be in priority when the number of retirees increases (Rosenfeld, 2009).

Humans are born already aging. There is know way to stop the process of getting older. As people age it is important that services and rescores are set up to

Registered nurses are an integral part of the healthcare system, and make up the largest number of healthcare professionals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2015) “The employment rate for registered nurses is expected to grow by 16% between 2014 and 2024”. This is more than double the average rate of growth for a profession. The rapid growth rate can be attributed in part to better management of chronic diseases and the baby boomer generation. The growth in the nursing profession is paramount, however the demographics of the nursing population does not mirror the demographics of the population served.

“Registered Nurses represents the largest profession within the U.S. Health workforce” (nursingeconomics.net). The need for registered nurses will continue to grow and the RN with the strongest skill set will be chosen for the job over a candidate who only has formal

Why on earth would they turn away that many applicants that could potentially fix the nursing shortage? Well, the answer is, because they can’t educate them all. Potentially exceptional nurses are being pushed away because there is no place to teach them, causing many of them to give up and change their profession. There are not enough facilities, clinical sites, classroom spaces, or budgets to accommodate the amount of applications that they receive (Buerhaus P.I, Auerbach D.I, & Staiger D.O, 2009). Only the candidates with the highest GPA and highest entrance exam scores are even considered, therefore, the average student doesn’t stand a chance. As you can see in this graphic, the top reasons for inadequate program availability are the lack of clinical placements and lack of educational faculty to teach the students (National League for Nursing, 2012). Budget cuts are the highest contribution to these inadequacies, as there is no extra money to hire nursing educators. If you compare a Registered Nurse’s salary and a teacher’s salary, the teacher’s salary is far less. At this point in time, there are no incentives for nurses to become educators, which is why this is an increasing gap. Federal and state budget cuts also mean that institutions cannot afford to build larger facilities and classrooms to fulfill the growing amount of submissions. In addition, clinical facilities are skeptical to allow nursing

There is a shortage of all health care professions throughout the United States. One shortage in particular that society should be very concerned about is the shortage of Registered Nurses. Registered Nurses make up the single largest healthcare profession in the United States. A registered nurse is a vital healthcare professional that has earned a two or four year degree and has the upper-most responsibility in providing direct patient care and staff management in a hospital or other treatment facilities (Registered Nurse (RN) Degree and Career Overview., 2009). This shortage issue is imperative because RN's affect everyone sometime in their lifetime. Nurses serve groups, families and individuals to foster

In America, people are changing their views on aging and the elderly. Some of the reasons that the attitudes are changing could be due to more elderly people are remaining in the work place longer, as opposed to retiring early. Riffkin (2014). And there is the fact that we baby boomers are living longer. Even though the U.S. only ranks 53rd with a life expectancy of 79. That’s an increase of one year since 2010. (“The World: Life Expectancy” 2016)

“Throughout the last decade, policymakers and practice leaders have recognized that education makes a difference” (Impact of Education, n.d.). Hospitals are also trending towards preferred hiring of bachelors prepared nurses for their workforce. Even national organizations are jumping on the bandwagon requiring “all nurse managers and nurse leaders to hold a baccalaureate or graduate degree in nursing by 2013” (Impact of Education, n.d.), likewise the Institute of Medicine has also recommended that all hospitals have at least 80% of their nursing staff with a BSN or higher by the year 2020 (Impact of Education, n.d.).

Some believe it is because of retirement. The Toronto Star reported in 2001 that 14,000 of their 81,000 nurses were due to retire by 2004 (Honor Society of Nursing, 2001). The huge shortage of nurses has had an impact on patient care (Rosseter, 2011). They would need more graduating nurses to fill those open positions. There are several hospitals, long-term care facilities, and home health agencies with multiple jobs open due to the shortage of nurses (Honor Society of Nursing, 2001). Experts also believe that nurses are enrolling into school at an older age averaging at 31 year age opposed to 18 years of age (Honor Society of Nursing, 2001). Some jobs are even offering a sign-on bonus so they can fill these open positions. To new graduating nurse’s this can be a good incentive since the medical field is competitive.

As the general population continues to age and grow, the nursing workforce is aging alongside. Approximately half of the current nursing workforce is apart of the baby boomer generation (Mion). RNs are eligible to retire at age 55, which will affect the majority of “baby boomer” nurses between 2005 and 2010 (Mion). According to the Nursing Management Aging Workforce Survey in 2006, “55% of surveyed nurses reported their intention to retire between 2011 and 2020” (Nursing Shortage). The demand for skilled nurses is growing at an exponential rate. According to information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the supply of nurses has been

The nursing shortage is becoming a concerning issue in many facilities and hospitals. With that being said, more nurses are needed to achieve a safer and healthier environment for patients. Some students who want to obtain a degree in nursing struggle with the financial burdens of nursing school while having to support themselves in school. Having lower student tuition would drastically improve the nursing shortage and provide a safer and more efficient work environment.

By 2010, unless many more young people become nurses, about 40 percent of the nursing work force will be over age 50, according to the General Accounting Office (“Nursing Workforce”, 2001).

The increase in life expectancy is partially to blame for the increase in elderly citizens, as there are now better medicines and medical procedures to cure ailments which could have easily killed a person 10 or 20 years ago. As Levine said, "There are more elderly and a larger proportion of elderly in the population now than ever before in the history of the world, and individuals live longer and have a longer span of healthy, vigorous life than ever before" . We have to prepare, not only to have more aged people in the work force, but also to have adequate pensions and supplements to aid these people when they do retire.

Population aging can be expected to have far reaching economic, social and political implications, and many governments are consider increasing the statutory ages at retirement in an effort to prolong the labor force participation of older persons and improve the financial sustainability of pension systems. At the same time, population aging and growth in the number of persons at very advanced ages, in particular, puts pressure on health