Is There REALLY a Nursing Shortage?
Anecdotal evidence is saying that, for some nurses looking for work during this recession, job opportunities are slim indeed. How can that be, you may be asking? After all, all we’ve been hearing about for years is the critical shortage of nurses, a shortag
e that will only get worse as the United States’ population ages.But Health Affairs: A Policy Journal of the Health Field, stated in its June issue online that “[r]registered nurse (RN emloyement has increased during the current recession, and we may soon see an end to the decade-long nurse shortage.” However, the authors, contend, “large shortages are still expected in the next decade. Until nursing education capacity is increased, future imbalances in the nurse labor market will be unavoidable.” Sounds like good news for those who wish to go to nursing school, doesn’t it. But, and this is a large but, interest in nursing careers is so, nursing schools can’t keep up with the demand. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), “U.S. nursing schools turned away 49,948 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in 2008 due to an insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, clinical preceptors, and budget constraints. Almost two-thirds of the nursing schools responding to the survey pointed to faculty shortages as a reason for not accepting all qualified applicants into entry-level baccalaureate programs.” So interest is there, but there aren’t enough faculty or facilities to a) train the people who are interested in going to nursing schools which would b) alleviate the coming critical need for nurses. The United States Health Resources and Services Administration projects a shortage in 2010 of more than 213,000 nurses. So, yes, the recession probably is cutting down on the number of nursing positions open now. Nurses are delaying retirement; hospitals may not be filling vacant positions, etc. But the shortage? It is a comin’!
