Is There a Nursing Shortage? 3 Ways the Industry Is Responding

Submitted by Divya Marwaha

Tags: development health nurse nurses nursing retention

Is There a Nursing Shortage? 3 Ways the Industry Is Responding

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If you've been in a hospital recently, you probably noticed something worrisome. Long queues. Not enough healthcare staff.

While this poor patient-to-nurse ratio is nothing new, it has now grown to become a pressing concern. This begs the question, "Is there a nursing shortage?" The short answer is yes.

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In fact, things have gotten so serious that the International Council of Nurses (ICN) released a report in March 2023 warning about the shortage of nurses worldwide, which should be treated as a health emergency.

The good news? It is being treated as exactly just that, and there's a genuine effort underway to address this crisis. We'll be discussing those efforts in this piece.

Expanding Nursing Pathways

One big reason for the nursing shortage we're experiencing is the problem of getting enough people through the door.

Are people no longer interested in nursing? Of course, they are. Space is the problem. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) recently turned away over 65,000 qualified applications to nursing schools. The reason? A lack of faculty and space. People are applying, but the system is at full capacity.

Thankfully, the industry is responding. Now, we're seeing a surge in:

  • Traditional BSN programs expanding their cohort sizes.
  • Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) options for people who already have a degree and want to switch to nursing. Some ABSN programs can deliver the full training in around 16 months.
  • Hybrid and online models that let students do their book work from home.

These expanded pathways are opening doors for more aspiring nurses without sacrificing the quality of training — very crucial for keeping the profession strong. For those considering this career change, understanding the process of transitioning into nursing from another career can help set realistic expectations.

Programs like these also underscore the importance of designing BSN curricula that address critical competencies from the start, ensuring graduates enter the workforce truly prepared.

Investing in Employee Retention

Making it possible for more nurses to get in the door is great, but that won't matter much if the experienced ones are leaving out the back door.

What's more? Training new nurses is very expensive. Replacing experienced ones? Even more so. In fact, industry data puts the average cost of turnover for a bedside registered nurse at about $56,300. This means that the average hospital loses millions annually due to experienced nurses leaving.

Not surprisingly, healthcare organizations are handling this issue. They know very well that keeping nurses is just as critical as recruiting them. And that means tackling the reasons for nurse turnover head-on.

A big part of this involves improving compensation packages, but it also goes beyond that. Retention programs now include:

  • Expanded mental health support and peer assistance programs
  • Better benefits packages with tuition reimbursement
  • Recognition programs that actually make staff feel valued
  • Leadership training for new nurses in their first few years

Take the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, for example. They swapped their career ladder with a Professional Excellence and Advancing Knowledge (PEAK) model that allows nurses to pursue development opportunities based on their individual goals. The result? First-year nurse turnover dropped from about 50% to 12%.

When you're facing a nursing shortage, that kind of retention improvement is huge. Understanding how burnout drives nurses out of the profession is essential for building effective retention strategies.

Using Tech to Give Nurses Their Time Back

If you ask a nurse to show you where they spend the most time, they'll likely point to the computer. Not the patient.

People looking in from the outside don't know that nurses sometimes spend up to 35% of their time on EHR and paperwork. That's almost their entire day eaten up by documentation and administrative tasks. That mountain of documentation is a huge part of job dissatisfaction.

So, how is the industry handling this? By leveraging technology to cut the clerical burden.

We're talking about AI tools helping out with monotonous activities like:

  • Voice-to-text charting
  • Automated scheduling
  • Streamlined communication
  • And so much more

When an AI tool saves a nurse 30% of the administrative tasks per shift, according to a report referenced by Nurse.org, that's time they can spend assessing a patient, comforting a family, or just taking a breath.

Nobody's suggesting AI should replace clinical judgment. The goal is to use these tools as support only.

Conclusion

So, is there a nursing shortage? Absolutely. But the good news is that things are turning around, thanks to the industry efforts discussed in this article.

Of course, no one expects the shortage to magically turn around overnight, but it's safe to say that we're looking at a future of healthcare that's better prepared to meet patient needs. For more on how the profession is addressing workforce challenges, explore our coverage of strategies for addressing the nursing shortage.

References

  1. American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Nursing Shortage Fact Sheet. AACN.
  2. National Library of Medicine. Pathways to nurse development and retention: development of an academic/community-engaged partnership. PMC.
  3. Nurse.org. 30% of These Nurse Tasks Could Be Done By AI, Report.
  4. Children's Hospital Association. Nurse Retention: 3 Essential Changes Children's Hospitals Must Make. Children's Hospitals Today.
  5. ScienceDirect. Professional Excellence Program: Stepping up Nurse Retention Through a System-Wide Clinical Ladder.
  6. National Library of Medicine. Electronic health record system use and documentation burden of acute and critical care nurse clinicians: a mixed-methods study. PMC.