The U.S. Is Running Out Of Nurses. The Country Has Experienced

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

There will be a few challenges ahead for our healthcare system and the nursing profession: 1. The Aging Population- (baby boomers will be hitting retirement age). 2. Poverty-“the increasing numbers of disenfranchised people and pressure to limit health care expenditures will collide to create an intense values conflict for nurses of the future”. (Chitty & Black p.382) 3. Unhealthy Lifestyles- (obesity, tobacco use, lack of exercise, stress, HIV/AIDS and drug abuse). 4. Faculty and Student shortages- making nursing shortage worse. Nurses as

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.

Why the dramatic shortfall in nurses? There are at least ten influencing factors associated with this looming crisis, and

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (USBLS) estimates the need for 439,300 registered nurses (RN) from 2014 to 2024, equating to a 16% increase in employment opportunities (USBLS, 2015). Approximately 30% of new RNs leave their first jobs with less than a year of hire and 525,000 nurses are expected to retire from 2012 to 2022- a demand totaled to around 1 million jobs by 2022. This increase is attributed to retiring baby boomers, turnovers, healthcare reform, and the increasing aging population (Kiel, 2012; USBLS, 2013). Control over the retirement of baby boomers is unrealistic, however, nursing turnover can be regulated.

The United States healthcare industry faces many challenges everyday, such as the rising cost of care, medical errors, access and quality problems etc. Within the next few years, the United States will experience a shortage of Register Nurses (RNs). “Registered Nurses are considered one of the largest health professions in the health care industry. The Nurses duty is to provide direct patient care and can be done in a hospital, public health facility, nursing home and many other different settings. Other services included are patient education on disease prevention, administering treatments and promoting a healthy lifestyle.” ("The Future of the Nursing Workforce: National- and State- Level Projections 2012-2025”) The shortage will occur due to Baby Boomers aging and the demand for health care will dramatically rise. With the baby boomers aging, Registered Nurses are at the top of the list for demand in health care. Unfortunately the supply and demand does not meet. “According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections 2012-2022 released in December 2013, RNs will increase of about 526,800 within that time frame but will still have job openings of 1.05 million by 2020)”("Nursing Shortage") Indicating that there is no growth between 2012- 2022. There are multiple factors to this shortage and one of them is that nursing schools across the nation are struggling to increase the capacity of students to meet the rising demand. Considering the fact

The nursing shortage has been influenced by the aging workforce, shortage of nursing faculty, professional alternatives, poor working conditions and poor nursing image. By 2020, there will be an increase in demand for registered nurses (RNs) due to the increase need for healthcare services to meet the needs of the baby boom generation (Keenan & Kennedy, 2003). It is estimated that the nursing shortage will range from 400,000 to 808,000 full-time equivalents (FTE) RNs. The nursing shortage has impacted the intensive care units (ICU), medical surgical units and operating rooms (Keenan & Kennedy).

Nursing is constantly evolving and adapting to the current population, and with the elderly population increasing exponentially, nurses are inevitably affected by these changes. The baby boomers are getting older, changing healthcare as they go. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, those who are ages 65 and older are expected to increase 17% by 2020. By the recent demographics shift, nursing practice is affected as there becomes a greater need for nurses to be able to guide those who suffer with multiple chronic conditions, specialize in geriatrics, and also care for the mental health of the elderly.

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.

In 2002, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that the United States would be 800,000 registered nurses short of the national need by the year 2020. Recently, this number has increased to over one million RNs short of the need by 2012. Although there has been some indication that the entry of older nurses into the profession, along with efforts to recruit foreign-born nurses, have helped to ease the shortage, scholars project that the predicted trends are likely to continue (Auerbach, Buerhaus, & Steiger, 2007; Buerhaus, Donelan, Ulrich, Norman and Dittus, 2006; Larkin, 2007). As such, the need for understanding the factors contributing to the nationwide shortage has never been greater.

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).

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 massive baby boomer generation, making up almost one-third of the population, began to turn age 65 in 2011. By the same token, this deluge of new patients could put new strains on the nursing workforce, possibly leading to higher patient-to-nurse ratios. (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

In viewing the issue at hand, it must be noted that the nurse shortage in the United States is not expected to stop any time soon. While the phrase "nurse shortage" has been mentioned for years in the U.S., with the nurse shortage expected to peak in 2020, the median age of nurses standing at 46 with 50% of them close to