|
Aging Workforce
In part, the nursing profession is in crisis because experienced nurses are getting out and the job is not attractive enough to draw in sufficient numbers of new nurses. The aging of the RN workforce portends a massive wave of retirements in the next 10–15 years. Moreover, this gap will come exactly at the same time that the aging baby boom generation causes a dramatic increase in demand for nursing care. The demographic profile of nurses paints a picture of looming crisis:53
- Across the country, the average age of RNs is more than twice that of American workers generally.
- Young people are increasingly avoiding nursing as a profession. In 1980, the majority of RNs (52.9 percent) were under age 40; by 2000, more than two-thirds (68.3 percent) were over age 40. The percentage of RNs under age 30 fell from 25.1 percent in 1980 to 9.1 percent in 2000.
- In numerical terms, 419,000 RNs under the age of 30 were working in 1983; 15 years later, this number had fallen to 246,000, a decrease of 41 percent.
- The failure to recruit new nurses means that the average age of working RNs continues to rise. By 2010 the average age of working RNs is projected to be 45.4 years; at that time, approximately 40 percent of all working RNs will be more than 50 years old.
- Between 2010 and 2020, many RNs will retire, and the single largest group of RNs remaining in the workforce will be those aged 50–60.
|
 |
.gif)
