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As of today, there are over 120,000 open positions for registered nurses. This nursing shortage may not seem so extreme when spread across the country, but consider the following:
The shortage of nurses in the United States has lead to increased patient death rates, patient safety concerns and has affected hospital staff’s ability to detect complications in patients. A study conducted in 2002 indicated that persons who have surgeries in hospitals with higher numbers of patients per nurse are 31% more likely to die, even after common surgical procedures.
Nurses Are Getting Ready to Retire
The average age of registered nurses today is 45, meaning a large population of nurses will be reaching retirement age in the next few years. In fact, one study found that 55% of registered nurses plan to retire between the years 2011 and 2020. While these nurses retire and leave the workforce, the aging baby-boomer generation will require more care, creating a desperate need for nurses across the country. The United States’ Bureau of Labor Statistics Report predicts a shortage of 1.2 million nurses by the year 2014, with the predicted creation of over 700,000 new nursing jobs.
The current shortage of over 100,000 nurses has caused emergency rooms and hospital wards to shut down. Many facilities are unable to accept transfers and must refuse to accept new patients. Other facilities remain open and unable to meet the required nurse to patient ratios, resulting in poor quality of patient care. Many nurses work double shifts regularly and struggle to find the help and materials they need to provide patient care. The degree to which many nurses are overworked has lead many to become dissatisfied with their jobs, often leaving the profession and seeking other work. Reports indicate that one of every three hospital nurses under age 30 plans to leave their job within one year.
Nursing Graduates Needed
To meet the rapidly-growing need for nurses in this country, the United States must graduate nearly double the current number of nursing students each year. This poses difficulty as well, as the shortage of qualified instructors has also increased. Nursing schools across the country have been forced to reduce the number of nursing students accepted, turning away numerous individuals interested in becoming a nurse and helping to resolve the crisis.
The need for registered nurses is becoming desperate. In effort to encourage more new nurses, the government has established the Nursing Scholarship Program, in which qualified applicants may be eligible for government-paid tuition, books, fees and a considerable monthly stipend in exchange for a promise to work in an area with a critical nursing shortage for a minimum of two years after graduation. Even private institutions have made substantial donations to educational facilities to increase the number of nursing program openings and to improve nursing education.
Experience Equals Patient Safety
The need for nurses with higher levels of education is also increasing. Studies have shown that hospitals that employ nurses with a baccalaureate degree (or higher) have significantly lower patient fatality rates. Higher levels of education and the specialized training that accompany them enable nurses to detect complications earlier and provide higher quality care.
Without a tremendous increase in the number of nurse educators, nursing students, and nurses with a baccalaureate or higher level education, the nursing shortage is sure to result in full-blown catastrophe for the medical profession. Enrollment in nursing programs has increased over the past few years, but the current number of students remains far short of meeting the country’s needs. Without a drastic decrease in the shortage of registered nurses, hospitals and facilities across the nation will be forced to close, taking health care out of the reach of American families.
