The Recession and Nursing Demand
Citing this study by the Health and Human Services Administration (HHSA,) the article "Nursing Shortage Continues in Spite of Relief from the Recession" states that there will be a “shortfall of over 400,000 nurses in 2010 and over 1 million in 2020.”
Unemployment numbers soar
This desperate need for nurses coexists at a time when national unemployment numbers are soaring and people are seeking alternate employment opportunities and going back to school to learn new skills or change careers.
Nursing shortage
The nursing shortage is blamed on a growing population and the aging of Americans, including the impact of millions of baby boomers who are or will need health care. The article also states that “fewer people entering nursing careers; declines in RN earnings; low job satisfaction and poor working conditions; aging and retirement of the current nursing workforce, and insufficient faculty in nursing education programs” are also responsible for the shortage of nurses.
Countless opportunities
Another article on the subject of the nursing shortage, "Recession-Proof Careers: Nursing," reports that "there are countless opportunities for nurses to practice in hospitals, patients' homes, in ambulatory clinics, in communities, in private practice in physician offices, in schools. Right now there is a shortage of nurses.”
Vacancies
The Center to Champion Nursing in America states on its website that there are approximately 116,000 vacant nursing jobs in American hospitals and almost 25,000 open nursing jobs in continuing care facilities. As vacancies grow due to career changes or retirement, more nurses will be needed to fill these positions.
The future
If, as the website states, “over half of today’s employed nurses plan to retire in the next 15-20 years,” the lack of qualified nurses to take their place, combined with an aging population, will create a health care crisis if something isn’t done today to highlight the need for nurses now and in the future.
