Employment Trends: Nursing Shortages
Employment Trends: Nursing Shortages
Introduction
The United States is in the midst of a nursing shortage that is expected to intensify as baby boomers age and the need for health care grows. Compounding the problem is the fact that nursing colleges and universities across the country are struggling to expand enrollment levels to meet the rising demand for nursing care.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is concerned about the shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs) and is working with schools, policy makers, kindred organizations, and the media to bring attention to this health care crisis. AACN is working to enact legislation, identify strategies, and form collaborations to address the nursing shortage.
Influences of the Trend
Nursing School Enrollments
Though AACN reported a 7.6% enrollment increase in entry-level baccalaureate programs in nursing in 2006 over the previous year, this increase is not sufficient to meet the projected demand for nurses. HRSA officials stated in an April 2006 report that "to meet the projected growth in demand for RN services, the U.S. must graduate approximately 90 percent more nurses from US nursing programs."
According to AACN 's report on 2006-2007 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing, U.S. nursing schools turned away 42,866 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in 2006 due to insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, clinical preceptors, and budget constraints. Almost three quarters (71.0%) of the nursing schools responding to the 2006 survey pointed to faculty shortages as a reason for not accepting all qualified applicants into entry-level nursing programs.
According to a study released by the Southern Regional Board of Education (SREB) in February 2002, a serious shortage of nursing faculty was documented in 16 SREB states and the District of Columbia. Survey findings show that the combination of
Introduction
The United States is in the midst of a nursing shortage that is expected to intensify as baby boomers age and the need for health care grows. Compounding the problem is the fact that nursing colleges and universities across the country are struggling to expand enrollment levels to meet the rising demand for nursing care.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is concerned about the shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs) and is working with schools, policy makers, kindred organizations, and the media to bring attention to this health care crisis. AACN is working to enact legislation, identify strategies, and form collaborations to address the nursing shortage.
Influences of the Trend
Nursing School Enrollments
Though AACN reported a 7.6% enrollment increase in entry-level baccalaureate programs in nursing in 2006 over the previous year, this increase is not sufficient to meet the projected demand for nurses. HRSA officials stated in an April 2006 report that "to meet the projected growth in demand for RN services, the U.S. must graduate approximately 90 percent more nurses from US nursing programs."
According to AACN 's report on 2006-2007 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing, U.S. nursing schools turned away 42,866 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in 2006 due to insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, clinical preceptors, and budget constraints. Almost three quarters (71.0%) of the nursing schools responding to the 2006 survey pointed to faculty shortages as a reason for not accepting all qualified applicants into entry-level nursing programs.
According to a study released by the Southern Regional Board of Education (SREB) in February 2002, a serious shortage of nursing faculty was documented in 16 SREB states and the District of Columbia. Survey findings show that the combination of
References: http://www.kaiseredu.org/topics_im.asp?imID=1&parentID=61&id=138 http://nursing.about.com/od/nursingshortage/Nursing_Shortage.htm http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/17/60minutes/main536999.shtml http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/aug2007/db20070828_104375.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_businessweek+exclusives http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2004/05/31/focus4.html