What's Causing the American Nursing Shortage? (2023)

FAQs

Why is there a shortage of nurses in the US? ›

The U.S. faces a nursing shortage due to an aging population and retiring nurses, creating abundant opportunities for nurses nationwide. The need for nurses aligns with all-time highs in increased demand for healthcare.

The United States nursing shortage is driven by many factors, including an increased need for care, large numbers of the workforce reaching retirement age, and recent healthcare legislation.

In the mid-1930s, reports of an emerging nurse shortage began surfacing throughout the United States. Mercy Hospital School of Nursing class of 1936Many in the health-care field greeted news of this shortage with surprise.

California has the worst nursing shortage in the United States. It's predicted that by 2030, California will be in need of over 44,000 nurses. Other states with major hospital staff shortages include New Mexico, Vermont, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Arizona.

Early Retirement and Burnout

Unprecedented stress brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many nurses to leave the profession early and retire from their current positions. This is on top of those who are already close to retirement age.

The nursing shortage cannot be solved unless higher education institutions train more nurses. Research and interviews with experts present ample evidence that capacity within higher education is significantly lower than what is needed.

One of the largest burnout risks for professionals in any industry is chronic lack of sleep. This is particularly common for nursing professionals who work long hours and consecutive shifts. In a survey conducted by Kronos Inc., 25% of nurses reported that they were unable to get enough sleep between shifts.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the country will need more than 203,000 new registered nurses every year through 2026 to fill the gap in care left by a retiring workforce. The average age of a nurse right now is 51.

Nursing shortage looms large and projected to intensify in next 18 months: report. A national nursing workforce report is advocating for dramatic action to better support the nation's nurses amid the current staffing crisis during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Will there still be a nursing shortage in 2025? ›

Researchers estimated that the US will have a 10 to 20 percent nursing gap by 2025 as the number of patients needing care exceeds the number of nurses. The RN supply could potentially see a low of 2.4 million, while the RN demand could be a low of 2.8 million nurses.

As of 2021, Hawaii tops the list at 119.3, while Mississippi comes in lowest, at 87.8. Adjusting each state's average RN salary by its cost of living index gives us a potentially more accurate means of comparing where nurses get paid the most.

California. California tops the list of 15 highest-paying states for nurses. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average annual salary for RNs in California is $124,000 per year, or $59.62 per hour, compared to the national average salary of $82,750.

For nurses with time to plan, the prospect of an early or timely retirement with a properly sized financial portfolio and social security benefits appeals to them when they reach the current full retirement age of about 67 years or even before at 62 years (without full social security benefits).

The median age of a registered nurse is 52 years old. 9.4% of the RN and 8.1% of the LPN/LVN workforce are men. The number of male nurses has tripled over the past 50 years. In the Pacific region of the U.S., 30.5% of nurses are people of color, the largest percentage in the country.

The most stressful nursing jobs include ICU nurse, ER nurse, and NICU nurse. In these roles, nurses work in an intense environment with high stakes. They manage emergency situations and care for critically ill patients. Other stressful nursing jobs include OR nursing, oncology nursing, and psychiatric nursing.

Nursing shortages have been a problem for decades and will persist well after Covid-19 subsides. Not only is the US population aging, but nurses themselves are getting older. Some researchers estimate that 1 million registered nurses will retire by 2030.

Before Covid struck, HHS expected seven states — Alaska, California, Georgia, New Jersey, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas — to have staffing shortages by 2030.

Which field of nursing has the highest burnout rate? ›

Critical care nurses suffer the highest rates of burnout.

This is mainly due to the nature of the job, as critical care nurses work specialize in the emergency department (ED) and intensive care unit (ICU). As such, their work environment is constantly fast-paced, meticulous, and demanding.

“Nursing, a 90% female profession, has been historically underpaid. Caring professions like nursing are often regarded as 'women's work' and therefore are undervalued and underpaid or even unpaid.

In the United States, the number one cause of stress among nurses is teamwork — pressures associated with working together as a group, such as poor communication, conflict, and tension. This was followed by stressors linked to job circumstances, like employer demands and work satisfaction.

Registered nurse (RN)

BSN-prepared nurses are the most sought-after RNs in the job market and can advance to leadership and management roles more quickly than the ASN nurse.

Generally, the nurse-to-patient ratio recommendation is one nurse to every four patients. According to a National Nurses United report, there are currently no federal mandates that regulate the number of patients registered nurses (RNs) can care for simultaneously.

Seeing the death of their patients.

Most nurses said seeing the death of patients was the hardest part of their job, including Heather, a nurse from North Carolina, and Chelsey Rodgers, a former nurse who now runs an education company called Tribe RN.

Employment of registered nurses is projected to grow 6 percent from 2021 to 2031, about as fast as the average for all occupations. About 203,200 openings for registered nurses are projected each year, on average, over the decade.

The five stages of the nursing process are assessment, diagnosing, planning, implementation, and evaluation. All steps in the nursing process require critical thinking by the nurse.

According to a National League for Nursing study, the national dropout rate for nursing programs was 20 percent. While the attrition rate is higher for some bachelor's degree nursing programs, most people in school to become registered nurses (RNs) stayed in school and pushed through.

Which country has a shortage of nurses? ›

Robots and automated tech will essentially just be another tool for nurses to bring increased efficiency to their jobs, and while there are many exciting developments coming out of the healthcare tech industry, including those that make nurses jobs easier, it's probably safe to say that you won't be out of a job ...

So, why do travel nurses get paid more? It's because they fill short-term needs, accept assignments in areas with severe nursing shortages, receive extra compensation for their flexibility and work in hard-to fill specialties.

Important Ways Nursing Has Changed

Whereas they used to be limited to battlefields and hospitals, nowadays you will find nurses in doctors' offices, schools, facilities, military bases, in patients' homes, and offering help via telehealth services—just to name a few.

Concerns of new nurses lacking confidence have been reported for many years. Ortiz (2016), who interviewed 12 new nurses working in hospitals in New York state, reported that all participants lacked professional confidence during their first year of practice.

In recognition of the essential role of nursing education during the pandemic, and in celebration of its historic and continuing inspiration to nurses everywhere, the National League for Nursing has announced 2022 as the Year of the Nurse Educator.

According to the report, as many as 13 million more nurses may be needed by 2030; the world's current nursing workforce totals approximately 28 million. The report explains that taking action to sustain and retain workers could minimize the shortage.

Ninety percent of respondents are considering leaving the nursing profession in the next year, with 71% of nurses that have more than 15 years of nursing experience thinking about leaving as soon as possible or within the next few months.

While ZipRecruiter is seeing hourly wages as high as $59.38 and as low as $17.07, the majority of RN wages currently range between $28.85 (25th percentile) to $41.11 (75th percentile) across the United States.

How much is a nurse paid per hour in USA? ›

This is the 2021 ranking. Click here to see the 2022 edition. The average hourly pay for nurses in the U.S. is $38.74 for registered nurses and $55.05 for nurse practitioners, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' occupational employment statistics survey released March 31.

Norway, a Scandinavian country known as the land of Fjords, has one of the highest standards of living in the world as well as job satisfaction for nurses. While the average salary is $46,050, nurses have the ability to earn upwards of $100,000 depending on experience and specialty.

Personal Health

Along with being mentally exhausting, working as a nurse is physically strenuous. Many nurses suffer from back problems and sore feet. Working 12-hour shifts is physically demanding but wearing specially-designed shoes can ease problems and keep nurses on their feet at all times.