Over the past few years, the United States has not had enough nurses, so the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) has took steps to face this problem. It is pushing for new federal laws and extra funding for nursing colleges and is cooperating with nursing groups, medical companies, policy makers, and schools to emphasize the shortage. It also puts its resources into changing laws and choosing future strategies .
However, why is there a shortage of nurses, and are there any positive indications that things are getting better ?
What leads to the low number of nurses?
During the covid 19 pandemic, nurses had to deal with much more stress than usual. Besides having to handle a heavy workload, nurses were put in situations where it was difficult to get enough necessary protective and other equipment. Along with all the challenges, nurses had many people in their families and colleagues fall ill. The CDC states that nurses and other medical professionals who practice nursing roles had the highest number of covid hospitalizations compared to other health roles. Though we are far into a post-pandemic period, there are still long lasting effects being felt by medical organizations.
Another reason for the shortage of nurses in the US is the rise in the elderly population. This rise is happening with the baby boomers entering retirement and there are more elderly people than before needing nursing care.
When the population ages, the employees in the healthcare field will also age. As years go by, many nursing professionals are reaching the age of retirement . Due to this situation, fewer nurses are being trained and there are less choices for those wanting to study nursing .
How many people need help compared to the number that get it?
Researchers and organizations, for example, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, show that several states are facing shortages of nurses while a few reports the opposite. The number of active registered nurses in California is more than 44500 people less than what the state needs . South Carolina, Texas and New Jersey have debt of over 10,000, whereas South Dakota and Georgia are lacking money by the thousands.
Could the US soon solve the issue of a nursing shortage? The Bureau says that across the US, there will be a 6% increase in nurse jobs and some states already have enough. Almost 54,000 more nurses are practicing in Florida than the state requires, while Ohio stands above with more than 49,000. Missouri, New York, and Virginia are believed to have more than 15,000 additional people in prison.
It is often easy to get baffled by all the data. The country is said to be short on nurses, but some regions have plenty in supply. These regions with more nurses may have their growth rate negatively affected in the future. This applies in the case of the Midwest and Northwest, as the Mountain and West regions can grow faster.
Conclusion
Although the US is facing a shortage of nurses in most places, some states have more than enough. The statistics appear to show that there will be a strong increase in nursing jobs all over the country. If the growth predictions become a reality is unclear for now.
