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Peter Buerhaus RN

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The number of RNs entering the workforce is steadily climbing, but the shortage “is far from over,” according to a leading nurse researcher.

Employment growth of more than 200,000 RNs (since 2001) marks the largest increase in the workforce since the early 1980s, according to Peter Buerhaus, RN, PhD, FAAN, Valere Potter professor of nursing, senior associate dean for research at the School of Nursing, Vanderbilt University, Nashville.

The enrollment of younger students, particularly women in their early 30s, and more men has made a difference. Though RNs older than 50 have provided much of the hospital employment since 2001, in 2003, the roster of younger RNs grew by nearly 90,000. This gain mirrors the higher enrollments at nursing schools since 2001 and may represent the first wave of two-year grads. To a lesser extent, the foreign-born account for a share of RN employment. But their number (66,000 since 2001) dwarfs the yearly immigration during previous shortages.

During the past two decades, the number of men grew from 5% in 1983 with 60,000 RNs in the workforce to nearly 9%, or 160,000 RNs, in 2003. With just one year of data, between 2002 and 2003, Buerhaus notes that a considerable proportion of men entering nursing were older, perhaps looking for better employment options and economic security.

“If men began to enter the nursing profession at the same rate as women,” he says, “this could prevent the anticipated long-term nursing shortage.”

The present shortage, however, is far from over. Buerhaus finds it surprising that even with the increase in numbers, evidence suggests that the shortage has not been eliminated. “The workforce is projected to peak at a size of 2.3 million in 2012 and shrink to 2.2 million by 2020,” he says. “This estimated increase of 60,000 RNs pales in comparison with the Health Resources and Services Admini­ stration’s latest forecast of 2.8 million full-time RNs needed in 2020.”

Relatively high national unemployment, higher wages, and opportunities in nursing as shown by nursing shortage publicity may be the stimuli for the overall interest in nursing.

Hospitals, corporations, and other groups have aided the effort to attract more nurses and provide scholarships to students. Johnson & Johnson, for example, launched the multimillion-dollar Campaign for Nursing’s Future. The initiative focuses on the image of nurses, educating the public on the opportunities offered by a career in nursing, improving retention of nurses in clinical positions, raising funds for scholarships and grants, and addressing capacity problems faced by nursing education programs.

Buerhaus believes that other problems that factor into the shortage should be addressed. Baby boomer nurses will retire between 2010 and 2020, requiring a big influx of RNs. Schools of nursing will have to find ways to meet the educational demands of those who can take their places.

“Congress should fund a study to investigate the prevalence and severity of capacity constraints and determine the best ways to quickly resolve them,” Buerhaus says.

His latest study — New Signs of a Strengthening U.S. Nurse Labor Market? — appears as a Web Exclusive on the website of the journal Health Affairs. To access the study, go to http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/ content/abstract /hlthaff.w4.526.