Influx of older and foreign-born workers slows hospital nursing shortage.(Current Affairs)

A surge in older and foreign-born workers has temporarily slowed the growth of a severe shortage of hospital nurses that began in 1998. Researchers warn, however, that it is only a matter of time before the shortage worsens if policymakers fail to seriously address the challenges that led to it in the first place.

A study in the November/December 2003 issue of the journal Health Affairs shows that in 2002, hospital registered nurse (RN) employment and earnings rose dramatically, with more than 104,000 nurses entering the market. The demand for hospital RNs pushed earnings up nearly 5%--two times the rate of RN wages in nonhospital settings. Unlike previous years, older, married RNs over age 50 as well as foreign-born nurses accounted for practically all of the increase in employment.

"This was a very large infusion of RNs, but there is no evidence that the shortage is over," says study co-author Peter Buerhaus, a professor and senior associate dean for research at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville. "We will need dramatic efforts to increase the production of new nurses into the workforce if we are to replace the large numbers soon to be retiring," he says. These include:

* Increasing the flow of RNs into the workforce.

* Retaining older RNs.

* Recognizing the role that foreign-born RNs play in providing U.S. nursing care.

Buerhaus and colleagues note that the rising proportion of people over age 65 and advances in technology will greatly accelerate the future demand for hospital-related services and RNs. Over the next 20 years, the federal government estimates that the demand for RNs will increase 40%, with the majority of this employment growth occurring in hospitals. Meanwhile, the number of older RNs is expected to peak in 2010 and decline thereafter as large numbers of nurses start to retire.