The Technological Opportunity for Nurses Essay

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

In 2000, it was estimated that there were 110,000 open nursing positions, by 2025, it is projected that the open nursing positions will grow to 260,000. The shortage is due to many aspects including, rising population, decreasing of new students in nursing school, decline in nursing earnings compared to other growing occupational fields, aging of nursing workforce and the aging population that will need health care services in the near future. A survey found that 55% of registered nurses intend to retire between 2011 and 2015. This is primarily the

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.

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

More than half of nurses over 50 say they plan to retire in the next decade.

While the US has more nurses and physicians than ever before, upcoming retirements and a dysfunctional workplace are creating clinical shortages that can become more severe than the industry can bear (Woods, D. 2009). According to research, half of all nurses working today were born during the baby-boomer years. Therefore, the workforce is aging at a rapid rate. As such, in efforts to prevent a mass exodus from the profession, healthcare organizations leaders are exploring innovative ways to keep experienced nurses (Larson, J, 2009). The average age of registered nurses has risen from 41 in 2002 to 48 in 2006(Bolton-Burnes L. 2007). Even more troubling, in 2006, 45% of hospital-employed RNs

As the baby boomer generation begins to reach retirement age, there has been much speculation as to what affect they will have on the health care industry. The baby boomer generation is the group of people born between 1946 and 1964. At one point, there were more than 76 million of them, of which 4 million died before 2000. With all this in mind, I will discuss what specific effects they will have now they are getting to that “elderly” stage.

My interviewee obtained her Master’s in Informatics at the University of Phoenix in 2013. Transitioning into the Master’s program was seamless since this school was where she obtained her BSN. The online route was most efficient and that is the route she pursued. The University of Phoenix Master of Science in nursing degree program is accredited by the Commission of Collegiate Nursing Education (University of Phoenix, 2014). The goal of this program is to equip nurses to function in leadership roles in a variety of settings. Additionally, nursing theories and evidence-based practices are fundamental guidelines in this program that will help shape the future of nursing thus impacting the health care system (University of Phoenix, 2014). More specifically, the informatics program afford students to gain knowledge in data management and information technology in regard to the health care setting (University of Phoenix, 2014).

According to an article submitted by Rosenfeld, 2009, the growing trends of an aging population require the need for more nursing services. In addition, there are insufficient numbers of facilities to train new nurses (Rosenfeld, 2009). The above issues pertaining to nursing shortages have created what is called a “nursing crisis” which have caused and will continue to cause dramatic shortages on a national basis.

The nursing shortage is not a new problem to hit the medical field. It continues to burden the nursing profession across the globe. As the baby boomers reach an age of retirement, nursing is going to see a large portion of currently employed nurses retiring from positions in the upcoming years. As expressed by Jewell (2013), 57% of nurses in Canada are between the ages of 40 and 60 (p. 325). In other words, more than half of employed nurses are nearing retirement, and there is a lack of nurses coming into the profession to replace them. Jewell (2013) furthermore expresses the strain the nursing shortage places on both new nurses and the veterans who train them. New nurses are constantly battling to fit in with their peers. Veterans are often focused on patient care, often forgetting to aid new nurses as they try to fit in. As the nursing shortage becomes more prominent, both new nurses and veteran nurses are faced with an increase in work hours and workload, placing additional stresses and burdens on an already overworked staff. Focus must be made on retaining new nurses in order to replace the veterans when they retire. Unfortunately, the majority of new nurses end up leaving the profession within the first year (p. 324-5).

Due to innovations in technological tools and information management systems while collaborating and coordinating care with other health professionals, nurses have been called upon by the IOM committee to acquire higher levels of education to help them meet the needs of the population. The educational systems to prepare nurses for the work force today, needs to be geared towards community settings like primary care, public health, and long-term care. Nursing curricula in schools, need to be reviewed, updated, and adaptive enough in science, technology, research, and rich fundamental concepts that will enhance decision making skills, involving dynamic clinical situations in all settings to meet the ever changing needs in health care according to the IOM committee.

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 growing number of the elderly patient has a direct impact on nursing practice. The issue of” baby boomers” having an increased life expectancy may have jobs security for the nurses in future as evidenced by multiple improvements in cardiac surgery in older population. The aging of the baby boomers is expected to produce a plethora of new nursing jobs, which could lead to higher wages, greater job security, and greater variety in types of work (Page, 2015).

Rachel Gotbaum did an interview on nursing shortage in 2007. There were multiple interviews with health care professionals through her interviews she found that “In the next decade 80 million people will retire. She has stated that since health care changes constantly that nurses need to continue their education no matter how old or how many years they have been in the medical field. When medicine is involved you should always be up-to-date on the latest technology and diagnosis. Nurses may become suddenly ill or injured were they are no longer able to give care anymore. You can never plan if an

Education is an important part of people’s lives; it will either make them or break them in the future depending on the careers they choose. Education is greatly diverse today in comparison to the 1950s because of advancements in teaching and other great inventions that provide easier techniques of teaching. One major issue that has been raised is distant learning courses and online education.