The United States is facing a health care crisis of epic proportions, but there is a threat to our health and wellbeing that is not just related to skyrocketing insurance costs, extended or terminal illnesses and the inaffordability of pharmaceuticals. It is the desperate shortage of Registered Nurses that is continuing to build at an exponential rate. We have a tremendous need for educated, qualified - and not to mention - experienced and dedicated Registered Nurses.
The State of Nursing
Here are some alarming statistics:
- 78 million Baby Boomers are going to put unprecedented demand on the healthcare system with the 65 and older population growing by 54 percent between 2000 and 2020 ( U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau).
- The United States will need 417,000 more doctors, 1.1 million more Registered Nurses (RNs) and over 4.5 million other health-care workers by 2012 ( Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics) The current education system can not meet this demand.
- RN shortage is 8 percent now and projected to be 46 percent by 2020 if nothing is done to expand the capacity of nursing schools (Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, JCAHO).
- 30,000 qualified applicants were placed on nursing program waiting lists in 2003 ( National League for Nursing).
According to industry statistics, cited by Diana Christiansen, president of The Atticus Group, a health care consultancy, "Fifty-five percent of hospital nurses plan to retire between 2011 and 2020 and hospitals are in the midst of aggressive expansion projects that will expand capacity and put a further demand on the availability of health-care professionals."
Baby Boomers began hitting the magic number of 60 in 2007 and in the next two decades, close to 29 percent of the U.S. population will reach retirement age. Many of these Baby Boomers are experienced nursing professionals who have taken on administration and education roles. However, they too will be retiring and there is no one to replace them.
The Present and Future of the Nursing Shortage
The shortage of RNs has been building for a number of years. The deficit comes from several factors, the most primary being that there are just too few spots available in the academic programs for the number of qualified applicants. Extremely qualified student are being placed on waiting lists for sometimes years. Of course, they can't keep their professional lives on hold indefinitely, so they often end up pursuing other career paths. And this disproportionate number of applicants to available spots will only grow because it is a self-perpetuating crisis.
For more expansion on the vicious circle that is driving the shortage, see United States Nursing Shortage Crisis.
Susan Belknapp - I am a professional writer in multiple disciplines. I have written a historical fiction novel, "Tomorrow's Paradise," which opens during ...
