Is There Really a Nursing Shortage? (The Real Facts)

In any field, industry or potential career you'll see that there are times when there are too many or too few individuals involved. Many people have been talking these days about a nursing shortage, and that's something that perks up the attention of people because that can have serious consequences in everyone's life. But is the nursing shortage real, and if it is, what's the full story on the situation?

Current projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, show that by the end of the decade there will be around 800,00 nursing positions unfilled. That's almost a million open jobs which can't be filled because there aren't enough nurses on hand! Other figures project a need for roughly 600,000 new RNs to join the field by 2018.

So the first answer has to be that yes, the nursing shortage is real and it's something that needs to be taken seriously. But where did it come from? For one thing, nurses outnumber physicians in hospitals at about a 41 ratio, which shows how much of the day-to-day tasks they take on, perform and manage. Still, almost 40% of nurses now work outside of hospitals, showing their needs elsewhere. It's a ton of demand on the profession and it has spread nurses out a bit too thin.

Another thing to remember is that nurses, on the whole, have been getting older. The average age for a nurse right now is 47 years old, up from 40 years old a decade or two in the past. This translates to more individuals getting ready to leave the workforce to retire, and once again, a greater need for new professionals.

Still, another reason is that the demand for nurses is going to increase even more in the coming years. The baby boomers are becoming senior citizens, and there will be more need for care at all levels, adding another layer of complexity to the nursing shortage that has been brewing for some time now.

But for students, a nursing shortage is less a problem and more an opportunity. You can grab an accelerated BSN in two years or less, and end up entering a field where there are more job vacancies than you could imagine. Salaries are also increasing, and nursing has plenty of other intrinsic benefits as well.

An accelerated nursing program is the real ticket for success too, since 50% of RNs today have at least a BSN, which is up from just 25% a few decades prior. That means a premium is being placed on educated nurses, and an accelerated BSN is the best and the quickest way to move ahead with your career.

So there certainly is a legitimate nursing shortage in the works. That doesn't mean it's time to panic, but hopefully more students and prospective professionals take notice and begin entering the field. If they do, and they choose to obtain an accelerated BSN, then they could enter the workforce in as little as a year.