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1. Virtually all registered nurses (RNs) in
the United States believe that there is a nursing shortage,
and the vast majority have witnessed its effects firsthand.
Most RNs also report that staffing problems at the place
where they work have gotten worse in the past year.
(Table ES-1)
- Virtually all (95%) RNs who currently work as nurses
agree that there is a nursing shortage.
 An
overwhelming majority (88%) believes that in their
community, the supply of registered nurses working
in patient care settings is less than the demand.
- In the past year, at least two out of three working
RNs have observed an increase in the turnover of experienced
nurses (72%), a greater number of patients per nurse
(68%), and increases in overtime or double shifts
for nurses (66%). Most (57%) have also witnessed increases
in the use of agency, internal float pool, or traveling
nurses.
2. A large majority of RNs who work in hospitals
believe that the nursing shortage -- and staffing problems
that are a direct consequence of the shortage -- is
having a negative impact on the quality of patient care.
Compounding these problems is an increasingly sick patient
population to contend with. (Tables ES-2a and ES-2b)
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- At least six out of ten RNs working in hospitals
say that in the past year they have witnessed a negative
impact on the quality of patient care as a result
of:
"a greater number of patients per nurse"
(74%),
"increases
in the turnover of experienced registered nurses"
(73%),
"a
more acutely ill patient population" (71%),
"increases
in overtime or double shifts for nurses" (61%),
- Large majorities of RNs in hospitals believe that
the nursing shortage has been a major problem for:
"the
amount of time nurses have to devote to each of
their patients" (89%) and
"the
quality of patient care provided by nurses"
(76%).
- A majority of hospital RNs also believe that the
nursing shortage has been a major problem for:
"the
ability of nurses to maintain patient safety"
(64%),
"the
early detection of patient complications by nurses"
(60%),
"the
amount of time nurses have to carry out physician
orders" (56%), and
"the
amount of time nurses have to collaborate with other
team members" (54%).
3. Barring a reversal of current trends, the
nursing shortage can be expected to worsen as RNs reduce
their active participation in the nursing workforce
through retirement and the pursuit of jobs outside the
nursing profession. (Tables ES-3a, ES-3b, and ES-3c)
- More than eight out of ten (87%) RNs below the age
of 65 are currently working as paid nurses, including
nine out of ten (90%) below the age of 55 and more
than seven out of ten (73%) between the ages of 55
and 64.
More than four out of ten (43%) RNs who are now
working as nurses say that they plan to leave
their current positions within the next three
years. Most (61%) of these RNs plan to remain
in the profession. However, one in three (33%)
who say they will leave their positions say they
plan to leave nursing altogether.
––RNs who plan to leave the profession
within the next three years account for one-seventh
(14%) of the current nursing workforce. Approximately
one in ten RNs (9%) who are currently working
as nurses plan to pursue a job in another profession
and 6% plan to retire.
- RNs working longer hours cannot be expected to mitigate
the effects of the shortage. Almost one in five (18%)
RNs say that they plan to decrease the number of hours
that they will work in the next year, compared to
just one in seven (14%) who plan to increase the number
of hours they will work.
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