The Nursing Shortage

Click on this post's title and read the entire article.

American Nurses Associaton
Facts on the Nursing Shortage

Nursing Shortage Indicators
The nation is facing an impending shortage of nurses that is expected to peak by 2020; here are some of the prime indicators:

According to projections released in February 2004 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, RNs top the list of the 10 occupations with the largest projected job growth in the years 2002-2012. Although RNs have listed among the top 10 growth occupations in the past, this is the first time in recent history that RNs have ranked first. These 10-year projections are widely used in career guidance, in planning education and training programs and in studying long-range employment trends. According to the BLS report, more than 2.9 million RNs will be employed in the year 2012, up 623,000 from the nearly 2.3 million RNs employed in 2002. However, the total job openings, which include both job growth and the net replacement of nurses, will be more than 1.1 million. This growth, coupled with current trends of nurses retiring or leaving the profession and fewer new nurses, could lead to a shortage of more than one million nurses by the end of this decade. (For details, see www.bls.gov/emp/#outlook.) A report released in July 2002 by the federal Bureau of Health Professions details the projected shortages of RNs over the next two decades. The study indicates that if the nursing shortage goes unchecked, the deficit of RNs is expected to will grow to 2.8 million by 2020 from two million in 2000. (See www.bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/reports/rnproject/default.htm.)



According to a 2001 ANA Staffing Survey, 75 percent of nurses surveyed feel the quality of nursing care at the facility in which they work has declined over the past two years, while 56 percent of nurses surveyed believe that the time they have available for patient care has decreased. In addition, more than 40 percent of nurses surveyed said they would not feel comfortable having a family member or someone close to them cared for in the facility in which they work. And over 54 percent of nurse respondents would not recommend their profession to their children or their friends. (Source: ANA Staffing Survey, Feb. 6, 2001. See http://www.nursingworld.org/staffing/ for details.)