Nursing Shortage Debate

[tmc843]

So, I am a first year nursing student. I am currently studying for an exam for my fundamentals class and my textbook states, by referencing the US Dept of Labor, that there will be a critical shortage of nurses by the year 2022. (It states that there will be 1.05 million job openings.) However, another government website, Health Workforce and Services Administration, projects an RN surplus by the year 2030. I realize that the years (2022 and 2030) do not line up, but at the same time this seems to be a rather large disparity. The schools are teaching us that due to the age of the current workforce, the aging population, and the limited school availabilities that nurses will be in high demand in the very near future, but then I see that very different report. I do realize that this field has a high rate of turn over and that job demand can vary depending on geographical location. I am still confused and amazed though that my textbook and a government website can report quite different outlooks. I am almost hesitant to bring up the report I found on the HRSA.gov website in class, but I feel a responsibility that all of my fellow classmates be informed as well. I would also like to hear my professor's response, but at the same time I don't want to make make myself standout for a bad reason. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this subject?

I am also pasting a link to the report I found that shows a surplus by the year 2030.

https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/f...ing_Report.pdf