Nursing Doctorate Degrees on the Rise

There were an estimated 28,369 RNs with a doctorate degree in nursing or a nursing-related field in 2008, which is an increase of 64.4 percent since 2000.

Source:  Health Resources and Services Administration

Growth Expected for RNs

The number of jobs for registered nurses is expected to grow substantially between 2010 and 2020, with 712,000 additional RNs needed during that period. 

Source:  Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor

Growth Expected for Home Health Aides

The number of home health aide jobs is projected to grow by 706,000. Over the same time, 302,000 jobs will be created for nursing aides, orderlies and attendants, as will 607,000 jobs for personal care aides.

Source:  Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor

Nurses and Other Aides Needed

By 2020, more than 2.3 million new jobs are expected to be created for nurses, home health aides, nursing aides, orderlies and attendants. That accounts for more than 11.3 percent of all new jobs likely to be created in that period.

Source:  Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor

Common Degrees for Registered Nurses

The percentage of registered nurses whose highest degree is a nursing diploma has declined over the last 30 years from 54.7 percent in 1980 to 13.9 percent in 2008. Advanced degrees are increasingly common, as well: 13.2 percent of nurses held master's or doctorate degrees in 2008, up from 5.2 percent in 1980.

Source:  Health Resources and Services Administration

Nursing Education

In all, 36.8 percent of nurses have bachelor's degrees (up from 22.3 percent in 1980), while 36.1 percent of nurses have associate degrees (up from 17.9 percent in 1980).

Source:  Health Resources and Services Administration

Average Age of Registered Nurses

The average age of registered nurses held relatively steady through the middle part of the 2000s, increasing from 46.8 years old in 2004 to 47.0 years old in 2008. This slight increase reflects the apparent end of a long-term trend toward an older nursing workforce. In 2000, the average age was 45.2 years, and in 1996, it was 44.3 years. Nevertheless, nearly 45 percent of registered nurses were 50 years of age or older in 2008, meaning that high retirement rates are in the near future.

Source:  Health Resources and Services Administration

Men in the Nursing Profession

Women continued to outnumber men in the nursing profession, by more than 15 to 1 in 2008. But the trend line is toward more diversity. Among those who became registered nurses after 1990, the ratio is just 10 to 1. Men accounted for 6.6 percent of the nursing population in 2008, up from less than 3 percent in 1980. Moreover, in 2011, 12 percent of students enrolled in bachelor’s degree nursing programs were men, indicating that even more diversity is on the way.

Source:  Health Resources and Services Administration

Diversity in Nursing Workforce

The U.S. nursing workforce is increasingly diverse, although white women are still over-represented. White non-Hispanics (65.6 percent of U.S. population) are 83.2 percent of licensed registered nurses (RNs). Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders are the next largest group at 5.8 percent (4.5 percent of U.S. population). African Americans are 5.4 percent of RNs (12.2 percent of the U.S. population), and Hispanics are 3.6 percent of RNs (15.4 percent of U.S. population).

Source:  Health Resources and Services Administration

U.S. Nursing Workforce Practice

The great majority of the nation's nurses, 84.4 percent, are still in practice, and 63.2 percent are working full-time.

Source:  Health Resources and Services Administration

Nation Faces Nursing Shortages

The nation’s supply of registered nurses is in danger of being too small to meet growth in demand, judging by long-term trends.  As of 2010, the nation was facing a possible shortage of 250,000 nurses by 2025. More recent data suggest that a surge in the number of newly registered nurses, particularly between the ages of 23 and 26, could eventually begin to close that gap, if the trend were to continue..

Source:  Health Affairs

Fewest and Most Registered Nurses

As of 2008, Utah had the fewest registered nurses per person with 598 per 100,000 people, while the District of Columbia has the most, with 1,868 per 100,000.

Source:  Health Resources and Services Administration

Nursing Ratios

The nation had 854 nurses per 100,000 people in 2008, up from 825 nurses per 100,000 people in 2004. That ratio varies from state to state.

Source:  Health Resources and Services Administration

Nursing Profession to Add the Most Jobs

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), nursing is poised to add more jobs to the nation's economy over the next decade than any other single profession. By 2020, more than 712,000 new jobs for registered nurses will be created, with an additional 706,000 jobs for home health aides. Together the two professions will account for nearly 6.9 percent of all new jobs created in the United States during the period.

Source:  Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor

Shortage of Primary Care Practitioners

There are over 800,000 practicing physicians and residents currently in the United States, but only 32 percent designate themselves principally as primary care practitioners (PCPs), namely, practitioners of family medicine, general internal medicine, and general pediatrics.

Source:  U.S. Government Accountability Office

Nursing Workforce

With more than 3 million members, the nursing profession is the largest segment of the nation's health care workforce.

Source:  Institute of Medicine

Health Care Workforce Adds Jobs

In September 2012, the health care sector of the nation's economy continued to grow, adding more than 43,000 new jobs. Over the preceding 12 months, health care added 311,000 jobs, or an average of more than 25,000 jobs per month.

Source:  Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor