Aging Baby Boomers And The Nursing Shortage
Some 80 million baby boomers are expected to retire between 2010 and 2020
, and healthcare analysts are predicting that this, coupled with the already existing scarcity of nurses, will result in the largest nursing shortage in the nation's history.
The future of nursing is full of uncertainty right now -- the retirement of nurses who are themselves baby boomers will create huge shortages. About one-third of the nurses now working are 50 or older, and more than half are reported to be considering retirement in the next 10 years.
By 2020, the shortage could be anywhere from 300,000 to 1 million nurses. What makes the problem even worse is that nursing schools are turning away more than 40,000 qualified applicants each year. Some believe that the shortages will be large enough to bring the entire healthcare system to a standstill. Recently passed healthcare reform will be an additional burden, as it will require more healthcare professionals to handle the increase in the number of insured.
About 75 percent of nurses surveyed by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing believe that the shortage of nurses decreases the quality of their work life, the quality of the care they give to patients, as well as the time they give to patients.
So, this shortage is especially problematic in that it is both a supply shortage, and a demand increase, with fewer nursing students, an aging workforce, and a baby boom bubble needing more healthcare services.
The shortage is not just in the United States. Canada, the Philippines, Australia, and Western Europe also are experiencing shortages.
The demand is driven even more by changes in health care management. More and more, hospitals are treating only the most severe health problems, requiring the most intense treatment. As a result, skilled nurses and nurses specializing in certain areas are in demand.
Another problem is the educational pipeline. Hospitals want nurses with at least a bachelor's degree, but college nursing enrollments have actually been falling.
Another situation making the problem even worse is the baby boom/baby bust cycle. The baby boom generation was created between 1946 and 1964 yet was followed by a rapid fall in birthrates. So now there are roughly 80 million baby boomers, followed by just 44 million in the generation after the boomers. This has led to the smallest number of entry-level workers since the 1930s. And that has created problems for employers in finding enough qualified workers to fill open positions -- a problem for healthcare employers as well.
So all of these problems are coming together to create a situation that needs to be addressed quickly and cooperatively.
by: Jean Henshaw
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