{"id":11277,"date":"2018-10-03T23:09:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-04T06:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nursemk.wpengine.com\/learn-how-to-compete-in-a-nursing-shortage\/"},"modified":"2022-03-02T15:18:00","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T20:18:00","slug":"learn-how-to-compete-in-a-nursing-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nurse.com\/solutions\/blog\/learn-how-to-compete-in-a-nursing-shortage","title":{"rendered":"Learn How To Compete in a Nursing Shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past several years, forecasters have been predicting there\u2019s another nursing shortage on the way. If the old rule about what happens when demand is high, and supply is low still holds, those forecasts were correct.<\/h2>\n

The demand for nurses is high, and in many geographic and practice areas, the supply is low. Is it time to start gearing up for what may be ahead and start bringing back some of the recruitment initiatives \u2014 even the financially painful ones \u2014 we used in past shortages?<\/p>\n

According to the latest data, this is likely a\u00a0\u201chere we go again\u201d moment.<\/p>\n

A 2016 CareerBuilder survey <\/a>found 46% of healthcare employers said the role they struggled to fill above all others was that of qualified registered nurses.<\/p>\n

According to The American Nurses Association, there will be more registered nurse jobs available<\/a> through 2022 than any other profession in the United States.<\/p>\n

Employment opportunities for nurses are projected to grow at a faster rate (15%) than all other occupations from 2016 through 2026, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2018 report<\/a>. The bureau also projects 1.1 million additional nurses will be needed to avoid a further shortage.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In addition, the care needs of our aging baby boomer population continues to grow. Approximately 1 million RNs “are older than 50, meaning one-third of the current nursing workforce will reach retirement age in the next 10 to 15 years. Nearly 700,000 nurses are projected to retire or leave the labor force by 2024,\u201d according to an\u00a0article in The Atlantic.<\/a><\/p>\n

Nursing shortages come and go<\/h3>\n

Nursing shortages are cyclical. One year we\u2019re in one and a few years later we are not. They are also geographic in occurrence and don\u2019t hit at the same time in every city or state.<\/p>\n

For those of you who are having difficulty recruiting nurses right now<\/a>, maybe it\u2019s time to look at initiatives you used in past shortages. Those of you who may not yet be affected can continue with your current hiring practices for now.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s important to understand is what the nurse recruitment trends look like on a nationwide basis. National trends will begin to reach everyone at some point.<\/p>\n

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  1. Stay in touch with the research.<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Connect with news on the shortage.<\/li>\n
  3. Remember the question: As a nation, do we have enough nurses to care for the patients in our healthcare system?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The most current statistics and signposts say we do not have enough nurses right now.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    News about the nursing shortage<\/h3>\n

    If we are heading into a major nursing shortage, you know the drill. Many of you have been through shortages before, and you remember what your facility had to do to get nurses<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    It seems everything old is new again, and the news we\u2019re hearing and seeing is similar in different areas of the country. Here are a handful of headlines:<\/p>\n