Nursing shortage could hinder health care reform

Nursing Economics held a discussion at the National Press Club to discuss the plight of the current nursing shortage and its impact on the availability and effectiveness of health care. The presenters released a report called “Nursing Trends: 2007: Key facts about a changing workforce” complete with graphs showing results of surveys and statistics relevant to the shortage.

Peter Buerhaus, RN, professor of Nursing, and Director said that the shortage of registered nurses began in 1998 and has continued to be the longest lasting shortage on record. He said the number of registered nurses continues to grow, but at a rate that is too slow to meet demand. Citing that less than one percent of American men and Latinos are RNs, Buerhaus said that an increase in RNs from those demographics would help alleviate the shortage.

Beth Ulrich, RN and Senior Vice President, surveyed nurses about presidential candidates’ positions on health care and nursing and found that while Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) received the highest endorsement, 31 percent of participants did not believe any candidate had an adequate reform plan.

Karen Donelan, Senior Scientist in Health Policy, surveyed public perception of the nursing field and found that the public views registered nurses in extremely high favor, second only to teachers. She said responses also showed that the public believes physicians are overpaid and nurses are underpaid, and that this contributes to the shortage of registered nurses.