Online Article
by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO - March, 2001

Increasing Need for Nurses
A growing fear that changes in hospital staffing have affected the quality of care has caused some analysts to conclude that an increasing emphasis on quality will increase the demand for nurses in hospital settings.

While the average age of working nurses is increasing, the general population of America is also aging. People over 85 years old are the fastest growing population group in the country. Baby boomers are approaching a time of life when they will need more health care. (In addition, many nurses are boomers.)

The impending retirement of 78 million baby boomers beginning in 2010, together with about half of nurses reaching retirement age in the next 15 years, has created growing concern. Analysts predict that the projected supply of nurses will not be sufficient to meet the health care needs of an aging population unless more nursing students are recruited and educated now.

Projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that positions for nurses will experience faster than average employment growth. By 2008, there will need to be 450,000 more RNs and 136,000 more LPNs in the United States. According to researchers at Vanderbilt University, by 2020, there will be 20 percent vacancy rates for nursing jobs nationwide.

Employers Feeling the Pinch
Health care employers have launched a number of experiments to address the nursing shortage:
-Hiring bonuses
-Overseas recruiting
-Pay for performance
-Improving the work environment
-Raising wages
-More flexible schedules
-In-house child care Training investments
-Rewards for employee referrals
-Creative benefits
-In-house specialty training for advancement
-Paying tuition for students
-Meals to go


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