question about RN market and demand

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Specializes in Respiratory.

According to Bureau of Labor, the projected percent change in employment from 2016 to 2026. The average growth rate for all occupations is 7 percent. If this plus baby boomer retiring RN within 3 years, BOL estimates that there is about 20% of shortage between RN supplies and demands. My question is: according to such high RN demand market, why did some members say, "there are many RN waiting to be hire".

If the market is that big as BOL states (according to the demand and market theory), hospitals should hire as many RN as possible to expand their order income and increase their profit. What are the reasons for the hospitals to keep relative high standards to keep some RN out of market (according some members, some RNs are not hired)?

Is there anyone who have HR background or related sources to clarify this paradox? Thank you.

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The United States as a whole may have a shortage, but certain areas will not have one. The larger metro areas seem to be saturated.

I can also say I think I may work with like 3 baby boomers. I don't feel like there are that many left at bedside.

Nursing has seem to become the "in" profession these days. There are tons of schools pushing out new grads 2-3 times a year. What seems to be needed in many places is experienced nurses.

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The BOL may be predicting a shortage; the US Department of Health & Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration is predicting a surplus of almost 300,000 RNs in the US by 2030.

https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bhw/nchwa/projections/NCHWA_HRSA_Nursing_Report.pdf

Guess we'll have to wait to find out which agency is right.

As LovingLife and the HRSA report notes, there has been a significant increase in the number of nursing programs in the US, which are cranking out huge numbers of new graduates each year. And hospitals don't hire additional nurses to increase their profits; they increase their profits by employing as few nurses as they can get away with.

The nursing employment situation in complicated. There are parts of the country where there are significant shortages of experienced RNs, but it is difficult for new graduates to find jobs. Part of the issue is simple market saturation. Part of the issue is the current US model of nursing education. New graduates graduate still needing a lot of practical education; hospitals are increasingly reluctant to spend a lot of time and money teaching new graduates stuff that the hospitals, rightly or wrongly, feel that they should have learned in nursing school.

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Specializes in Respiratory.
The BOL may be predicting a shortage; the US Department of Health & Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration is predicting a surplus of almost 300,000 RNs in the US by 2030.

https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bhw/nchwa/projections/NCHWA_HRSA_Nursing_Report.pdf

Guess we'll have to wait to find out which agency is right.

As LovingLife and the HRSA report notes, there has been a significant increase in the number of nursing programs in the US, which are cranking out huge numbers of new graduates each year. And hospitals don't hire additional nurses to increase their profits; they increase their profits by employing as few nurses as they can get away with.

The nursing employment situation in complicated. There are parts of the country where there are significant shortages of experienced RNs, but it is difficult for new graduates to find jobs. Part of the issue is simple market saturation. Part of the issue is the current US model of nursing education. New graduates graduate still needing a lot of practical education; hospitals are increasingly reluctant to spend a lot of time and money teaching new graduates stuff that the hospitals, rightly or wrongly, feel that they should have learned in nursing school.

I read the report from your attached link. I am not a research expert, but I notice some questionable parts of the essay.

1. As LovingLife123 said, I agree with her, the metro city has saturated nurse market, while rural area has more demand than supply. It is simple and easy understanding because it is the fact that more people want to go to rich area and have their life. But look at the data in the report, California and Massachusetts (high salary state) have shortage, while Maine (where I am at; I see nurses moving away from Maine. Few want to stay) has large surplus. It seems not logical.

2. At the remark of the table, it states, "Notes: The model assumes increased insurance coverage associated with Medicaid expansion and insurance marketplaces, together with year 2014 health care use and delivery patterns. Numbers may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a The projections assume that each state's supply and demand are equal in 2014. "

I am not sure about this research has considered Medicaid future development or not. But mathematically, if the researcher "assume" 2014 supply and demand are equal, that table already has bias results. The researcher did not have evidences about the 2014 equal supply and demand. We should not use the 2030 result because it is based on assumption.

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Specializes in CCRN.

I've definitely noticed a difference in the job market in different parts of the country in the past decade. My husband was active duty and we moved several times before he retired. I've always been able to find a job, but at one location (in Kansas) it was in a doctor's office rather than the hospital because the hospital didn't have any openings (when we were there). They had one hospital and at least 3 nursing schools in that immediate area putting out new nurses twice a year. The other places we lived, I had no issue getting the job I wanted in the hospital I wanted. Some of those locations were more "middle of nowhere" while others were big areas with numerous hospitals within a small area.

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I read the report from your attached link. I am not a research expert, but I notice some questionable parts of the essay.

1. As LovingLife123 said, I agree with her, the metro city has saturated nurse market, while rural area has more demand than supply. It is simple and easy understanding because it is the fact that more people want to go to rich area and have their life. But look at the data in the report, California and Massachusetts (high salary state) have shortage, while Maine (where I am at; I see nurses moving away from Maine. Few want to stay) has large surplus. It seems not logical.

2. At the remark of the table, it states, "Notes: The model assumes increased insurance coverage associated with Medicaid expansion and insurance marketplaces, together with year 2014 health care use and delivery patterns. Numbers may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a The projections assume that each state's supply and demand are equal in 2014. "

I am not sure about this research has considered Medicaid future development or not. But mathematically, if the researcher "assume" 2014 supply and demand are equal, that table already has bias results. The researcher did not have evidences about the 2014 equal supply and demand. We should not use the 2030 result because it is based on assumption.

Both the BOL and HRSA predictions are predictions based on current available data. There are many variables involved. As I said, we'll just have to wait and see which one turns out to have been more accurate. However. the trend is toward producing more and more RNs all the time and healthcare employers have been moving for years now in the direction of hiring fewer RNs (and expecting them to do more work), not more.

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Specializes in Respiratory.
Both the BOL and HRSA predictions are predictions based on current available data. There are many variables involved. As I said, we'll just have to wait and see which one turns out to have been more accurate. However. the trend is toward producing more and more RNs all the time and healthcare employers have been moving for years now in the direction of hiring fewer RNs (and expecting them to do more work), not more.

We all talk about evidence-based practice while using research paper. But when that HRSA's numbers don't make sense, I know which article that I might want to ignore.

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Are either of these predictions taking the changes in healthcare delivery into account?

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We all talk about evidence-based practice while using research paper. But when that HRSA's numbers don't make sense, I know which article that I might want to ignore.

The Bureau of Labor looks at all labor, of all kinds, in all fields. The Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration is solely concerned with healthcare providers and services. It seems to me they might be a little more tuned into the subtleties of the nursing employment market than the BOL. But, to each her/his own.

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The Bureau of Labor looks at all labor, of all kinds, in all fields. The Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration is solely concerned with healthcare providers and services. It seems to me they might be a little more tuned into the subtleties of the nursing employment market than the BOL. But, to each her/his own.

Dang, elkpark, no matter which thread you're on, people seem to like to ignore the research you provide!

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