Demand vs. Supply Supply vs. Demand: Nursing Shortage

The shortage of nurses in this country is caused by a simple economic principle -- supply and demand. Briefly, the demand for skilled registered nurses is greater than the supply. This may sound simple, but in reality there are many factors that contribute to the nursing shortage in today's health care industry.

Statistics from The National Council of State Boards of Nursing tells us that there has actually been an increase in the number of trained nurses over the past ten years. In 2000, there were 71,475 newly certified nurses. In 2005 there were 99,187. In 2010, there were 134,708 newly certified nurses. This is a 9.8% increase during the past decade. And the demand for nurses is actually expected to be lower than the amount of nurses being newly certified. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual growth rate for nursing jobs is expected to be 2.12% annually for the years 2008-2018. The annual growth of new registered nurses exceeds the projected growth rate for nursing positions by 7.7%. (Wikipedia, 2011)

This suggests that the nursing shortage is not merely a case of demand exceeding supply. Several other contributing factors may be "lack of adequate staffing...

trained nurses." (Wikipedia, 2011) However, despite these percentages that may lead us to believe our nation's nursing shortage is ending, the lack of well-trained nurses to fill vacant positions tells a different story. Mary Elizabeth Hopkins tell readers that in our country's hospitals, non-urgent surgeries are being cancelled, beds and units are being closed, and emergency room patients are being diverted. (2001) By the year 2020, the nursing shortage is predicted to be over 1 million. (Dunham, 2009)
There are causes to this shortfall that belie the above percentages. The projected U.S. population growth is 18% over the next twenty years, and the expected population growth of those 65 and older is expected to grow three times that. This population growth will put an immense strain on the health care system. Among this population is a large fraction of certified nurses who are reaching the age of retirement and leaving the workforce. Job dissatisfaction in the managed care environment is also a contributing factor to the nursing shortage. (Hopkins, 2001; Wikipedia, 2011) All of these factors serve to skew the percentage rates…