- State
of the Registered Nurse Workforce in the United States
Published in the March 2006 issue of Nursing Economic$,
this comprehensive analysis of several national surveys
of the nursing workforce found that majority of nurses
reported that the RN shortage is negatively impacting
patient care and undermining the quality of care goals
set by the Institute of Medicine and the National Quality
Forum. Though many nurses have reported an easing of the
nursing shortage over the past few years, the shortage
is expected to grow to eight times the current size by
the year 2020.
- Act
Now for Your Tomorrow
In May 2005, the National Commission on Nursing Workforce
for Long-Term Care released this report which found that
there are nearly 100,000 vacant nursing positions in long-term
care facilities on any given day, and the nurse turnover
rate exceeds 50%. The shortage is costing long-term care
facilities an estimated $4 billion a year in recruitment
and training expenses.
- New
Signs of a Strengthening U.S. Nurse Labor Market?
According to a report published in November 2004 as a
Web exclusive for Health Affairs, Dr. Peter Buerhaus
and colleagues found that "despite the increase in
employment of nearly 185,000 hospital RNs since 2001,
there is no empirical evidence that the nursing shortage
has ended. To the contrary, national surveys of RNs and
physicians conducted in 2004 found that a clear majority
of RNs (82%) and doctors (81%) perceived shortages where
they worked."
- Is
the Current Shortage of Hospital Nurses Ending?
In the November/December 2003 issue of Health Affairs,
Dr. Peter Buerhaus from Vanderbilt University and his
colleagues found that over 100,000 new RNs were hired
in 2002; the majority of which were foreign-born nurses
and nurses over age 50 returning to the workforce in tough
economic times. Though the new hires and a sharp increase
in RN salaries are having a positive effect on the current
workforce supply, Dr. Buerhaus cautions that the current
nursing shortage is far from over and called for immediate
federal attention to address the growing crisis, including
setting national goals for annual nursing school enrollment
increases.
- Health
Care at the Crossroads: Strategies for Addressing the
Evolving Nursing Crisis
Released in August 2002 by the Joint Commission on Accreditation
of Healthcare Organizations, this report illustrates how
the growing shortage of nurses in America's hospitals
is putting patient lives in danger. The solutions proposed
by a special Joint Commission Expert Roundtable focus
on transforming the nursing workplace; creating a clinical
foundation for nursing educational preparation and advancement;
and providing financial incentives for health care organizations
to invest in high quality nursing care.
- Health
Care's Human Crisis: The American Nursing Shortage
This report, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,
offers recommendations for turning around the critical
nursing shortage. Findings from the study, released in
May 2002, also illustrate why the current situation is
fundamentally different from nursing shortages in the
past.
- Better
Late Than Never: Workforce Supply Implications of Late
Entry into Nursing
In the January/February 2007 issue of Health Affairs, Dr. David I. Auerbach and colleagues estimated that the
U.S. shortage of registered nurses (RNs) will increase
to 340,000 by the year 2020. Though this is significantly
less than earlier projections for a shortfall of 800,000
RNs which was made back in 2000, the study authors note
that the nursing shortage is still expected to increase
by three times the current rate over the next 13 years.
- Projected
Supply, Demand, and Shortages of Registered Nurses: 2000-2020
Released in July 2002, this HRSA report found that the
nursing shortage will deepen because increasing numbers
of nurses are retiring while too few are entering the
profession. Though 30 states experienced nursing shortages
in 2000, the report indicates that the crisis will intensify
with 44 states plus the District of Columbia expected
to have RN shortages by the year 2020.
- Nursing's
Agenda for the Future
Released in April 2002, Nursing's Agenda for the Future is a strategic action plan developed by more than 60 national
nursing organizations united around a shared vision for
the future of the profession. Strategies featured in the
plan address the complex, interrelated factors that have
created a growing shortage of nurses.
- Health
Care Metrics Survey
In January 2004, the Bernard Hodes Group released the
results of a recent poll of 151 health care recruiters
to determine turnover rates, cost-per-hire and vacancy
rates for a range of health care professionals, including
registered nurses. The survey found that the average
RN turnover rate was 15.5%, the vacancy rate was 13.9%
and the average RN cost-per-hire was $2,651, which is
approximately 11% higher than the average cost for recruiting
allied health workers.
- Who
Will Care for Each of Us? America's Coming Health Care
Crisis
Report on The Future of the Health Care Labor Force
in a Graying Society was prepared by the Nursing Institute
of the University of Illinois at Chicago, released in
May 2001.
- Nursing
Workforce: Emerging Nurse Shortages Due to Multiple
Factors [PDF]
GAO Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Health,
Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives,
released in July 2001.
(This requires Adobe
Acrobat to download.)
- The
Hospital Workforce Shortage: Immediate and Future
[PDF]
American Hospital Association June 2001 Trend Watch
(This requires Adobe
Acrobat to download.)
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