Will the Trend Toward Higher Education Impact Nurse Supply? Implications for Workforce Planning

Abstract

Shortages of nurses, particularly regional and specialty shortages, are widely acknowledged among care providers and in the health care staffing and workforce solutions sector of the health care industry. Orders for temporary nurses—including travel and per diem nurses—surged beginning in mid-2014 for AMN Healthcare, the nation's largest nurse staffing company, and have continued to be so strong that they cannot all be filled with existing supply. This trend for both permanent and temporary nurses is occurring throughout the health care industry, and is clearly reflected in data from federal sources showing a widening gap of unfilled health care jobs over the last 2 years. Shortages of nurses, particularly regional and specialty shortages, are widely acknowledged among care providers and in the health care staffing and workforce solutions sector of the health care industry. Orders for temporary nurses—including travel and per diem nurses—surged beginning in mid-2014 for AMN Healthcare, the nation's largest nurse staffing company, and have continued to be so strong that they cannot all be filled with existing supply. This trend for both permanent and temporary nurses is occurring throughout the health care industry, and is clearly reflected in data from federal sources showing a widening gap of unfilled health care jobs over the last 2 years. Letter to the EditorNurse LeaderVol. 15Issue 3PreviewI was interested to read the article “Will the Trend Toward Higher Education Impact Nurse Supply? Implications for Workforce Planning.”1 I agree this is a topic that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. More than once in the article, the authors state that at the time the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report2 was released in 2010, there was no nursing shortage. An article on The Robert Woods Johnson Foundation (RWJF) website, Facts About the Nursing Workforce, dated that same year in July 27, 2010, noted that “…the nation faces a shortage of 250,000 nurses by 2025 the result of several trends, including the increased need for health care for aging Baby Boomers and the influx of new patients into the system as a result of health care reform.”2 Full-Text PDF