Nurse Shortage Eases Under Recession
June 12th, 2009
by
Jane Hiebert-White
|
A new study published today in Health Affairs finds that the decade-long nurse shortage is easing, or even ending, partly as a result of the continuing recession. Study author Peter Buerhaus of the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing and colleagues found that older nurses are delaying retirement or returning to the workforce and part-time nurses are becoming full time in response to the employment insecurity of their spouses.
In 2007 and 2008, the number of full-time-equivalent (FTE) registered nurses grew by nearly a quarter of a million, an increase of 18% over the two-year period. An article in today’s Wall Street Journal noted that this surge was “particularly remarkable at a time when the U.S. economy has shed more than six million jobs, helping solidify the profession’s “recession-proof” image.”
Today’s Wall Street Journal blog, “Real Time Economics,” notes, “The irony is that few are eager to draw attention to this temporary resolution, for fear it will draw policymakers’ — and the public’s — attention away from the long-term shortage that’s still likely to develop.” Indeed, Buerhaus and colleagues report that the relief will be temporary as a new RN shortage looms in the next decade as baby boomers retire from the nursing workforce.
The Buerhaus study is one of six papers on the nursing workforce published online today by Health Affairs [2-week free access]. Other papers in the package look at patient satisfaction and describe innovative models of care developed and implemented by nurses that promote the goals of health reform: expanding access, improving quality and safety, and reducing costs. The papers also document current obstacles and solutions to increasing the supply of nurses and offers proposals for education of nurses. Publication of the papers by Health Affairs was supported by a grant from the Center to Champion Nursing in America, a joint initiative of AARP, the AARP Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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