A Worrisome Drop In The Number Of Young Nurses

Abstract

The US has enjoyed steady growth in the registered nurse (RN) workforce since the 1970s, providing the backbone of the nation’s growing and evolving health care delivery systems. Now, two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the supply of RNs is under threat again. Using monthly data from the Current Population Survey, our recently published analyses in Health Affairs showed that growth in the RN workforce plateaued during the first 15 months of the pandemic. In this article, we extend this data to the end of 2021 and find that the total supply of RNs decreased by more than 100,000 in one year—a far greater drop than ever observed over the past four decades. Two years of pandemic stress may be having longer-term impacts as RNs reflect on their work environments and experiences as hospitals coped with pandemic staffing. Efforts to support and sustain early-career nurses, who have had a trial by fire in their new profession, may be needed, along with strategies to reward those who remain at the front lines and those who are needed to return.