From Vital and Health Statisticsof the National Center for Health Statistics Number 152. April 14, 1988 

Characteristics of Registered Nurses in Nursing Homes 

Preliminary Data From the 1985 National Nursing Home Survey 

by Genevieve Strahan, Divisionof Health Care Statistics 

Introduction 

About 85 percent of the nursing homes in the United 

States in 1985 provided nursing services to their residents. 

According to data from a 1984 survey of registered nurses 

(RN’s), an estimated 1.5 million RN’s worked as nurses in 

the United States (Bureau of Health Professions, 1986). 

Hospitals employed more than two-thirds of the RN’s, and 

only about 7 percent were employed in nursing homes. Of 

this relatively small number of RN’s in nursing homes, most 

do not provide direct nursing care. More than 87 percent of 

all RN’s working full time in nursing homes are on the staff 

of the homes as the head nurse, assistant head nurse, 

director of nursing, or assistant director of nursing. These 

high-level positions rarely provide an opportunity for direct 

patient care. 

Data on characteristics of registered nurses working in 

nursing homes were collected in the 1985 National Nursing 

Home Survey (NNHS) and are presented in this report. 

NNHS is a nationwide (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) 

sample survey of nursing and related-care homes, their 

residents, their discharges, and their staff conducted periodically by the National Center for Health Statistics. The 

1985 NNHS is the third in a series of periodic surveys and 

was conducted from August 1985 through January 1986. 

The first NNHS was conducted from August 1973 through 

April 1974; the second survey was conducted from May 

through December 1977. 

Six questionnaires were used to collect data in the 1985 

survey. Data on characteristics of the facility were collected 

on the Facility Questionnaire by interviewing the 

administrator or a designee. With the permission of the 

administrator, cost data were collected on the 

self-administered Expense Questionnaire, returned by mail 

from the facility’s accountant or bookkeeper. A recent 

financial statement, if available, was acceptable as a 

replacement for the completed Expense Questionnaire. 

Information to complete the Current Resident Questionnaire and Discharged Resident Questionnaire was obtained 

by interviewing the staff person most familiar with the 

medical records of the residents. Additional information 

about the residents was obtained in a telephone interview 

using the Next-of-Kin Questionnaire. In addition to data 

collected on the Facility Questionnaire for all categories of 

full-time and part-time employees, registered nurses, for 

the first time in the series of National Nursing Home 

Surveys, were asked to complete the self-administered 

Nursing Staff Questionnaire. 

On the Facility Questionnaire, the numbers of RN’s 

and of other categories of employees were collected by 

simply asking the administrator for the number of each type 

of employee working full time or part time in the nursing 

home. (Full time was defined for the administrator as equal 

to 35 hours or more per week.) 

The names of RN’s asked to complete the Nursing 

Staff Questionnaire were obtained from three separate lists 

compiled for sample selection. List one included all registered nurses who were employed on the staff of the nursing 

home. Lists two and three, respectively, contained all RN’s 

scheduled to work on the day of the survey who were 

retained through a special contractual relationship and 

those employed through a temporary service. The selection 

of up to four nurses from each sampled nursing home 

yielded a sample of 3,439 RN’s. Questionnaires were completed by 2,763 of the sampled RN’s, for an 80-percent 

response rate. 

Data from the Nursing Staff Questiomaire presented 

in this report may differ slightly from estimates from the 

same questionnaire presented in later reports because of 

further editing of the data. In addition, estimates presented 

in this report should not be used interchangeably with 

estimates of RN’s obtained from the Facility Questionnaire 

because of major differences in survey procedures for the 

two questionnaires. Because all estimates are based on a 

sample, they are subject to sampling errors. Information on 

sampling variability is presented in the Technical notes. 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES � Public Health Service . Centers for Disease Control 
2 acivancedata 

Three other reports presenting preliminary estimates 

from the 1985 NNHS have been published (National 

Center for Health Statistics, 1987a, 1987b, and 1987c). 

Demographic characteristics 

The provision of nursing care in any setting has traditionally been a female-dominated field. This tradition is 

reflected in the ratio of female to male RN’s working in 

nursing homes in 1985. Only 2 percent of the more than 

103,000 RN’s in nursing homes were males. 

Black persons and persons of other minority groups 

made up a much smaller proportion of RN’s working in 

nursing homes than their overall representation in the 

population. About 90 percent of the RN’s in nursing homes 

were white non-Hispanics. This is about the same rate as in 

hospitals (Jones et al., 1987). Studies show that black 

persons and persons of other minorities are more likely 

than white non-Hispanics to serve the aged as a whole, but 

this care is usually in a setting other than a nursing home or 

hospital (Feldbaum and Feldbaum, 1981; Smith, Jepson, 

and Perloff, 1982). 

More than two-thirds of all RN’s working in nursing 

homes were married. Registered nurses who were never 

married, divorced, or separated worked full time more 

frequently than their married or widowed counterparts did. 

More than one-half of ail RN’s had no children living at 

home. Of those who did, most had children of school age 

(5-17 years of age), as shown in table A. 

Educational preparation 

Most RN’s were prepared in a diploma program to 

work in their jobs. The highest nursing-related education of 

56 percent of all RN’s working in nursing homes was a 

3-year diploma program. Less than 3 percent of the RN’s 

working in nursing homes had their master’s degree 

(table A). 

Table A. Number and percent distribution of registered nurses working in nursing homes by seleeted employee characteristics, 

according to employment status: United States, 1985 

Employeecharacterfstk 

To!at . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Age 

Under 35yeara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

35-44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

45-54 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

55yeara6nd over . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

sex 

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Race and ethnicily 

White, not Hlepsnic . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Black, not Hiepenic . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Hiepanio and other . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Marital status 

Menied . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Divoroed orsqxarated..... . . . . . 

widowed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Never marriad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Htghest educatbnal preparatbn 

Aeeaoiatedegrea . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Nureing diploma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Bachelor’s degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Maeter’sdegree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Notreported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Years employed as registered nurse 

Laeethen lyesr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

l-2years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

3-4years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

5-9yeara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

10-14 ye6rs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

15-19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

20yeere ormore . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Age of children living at home 

No children Wing at home . . . . . . . 

Under l year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

l-4yesrs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

5-17years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

All statuses Full-timestaff ParWrre staff tem~km~s;~ Unknown 

percent Pement Pemant Percent Pement 

Number distribution Number dktrlbutbn Number distdbutbn Number distttbutbn Number dbtribution 

103,100 100.0 100.0 34,600 100.0 3,400 100.0 4,300 100.0 

23,300 22.6 14,W0 23.1 7,WJ 22.7 * 600 16.6 

26,400 

27,600 

25.6 

26.8 

15,600 

17,200 

25.7 

28.4 

8,500 

8,600 

24.4 

25.3 

1,1; 32.4 

* 1,200 

1,200 

27.9 

27.9 

25,600 25.0 14,0WJ 23.1 9,600 27.6 1,1; 32.4 1,100 25.6 

101,OOO 

2,100 

ea.o 

2.0 

59,300 

1,400 

97.9 

2.3 

34,200* 

96.3 

* 3,300* 

97.1 

* 4,300* 

100.0 

* 

91,600 

4,700 

6,700 

66.8 

4.e 

6.5 

52,100 

3,400 

5,200 

66.0 

5.6 

8.6 

33,000 

1,000 

94.8 

2.3 

2.9 

2,600* 

* 

76.5 

* 

* 

3,900* 

* 

90.7 

* 

* 

70,500 

15,700 

66.4 

15.2 

36,600 

11,300 

63.7 

16.6 

26,64!0 

3,100 

77.0 

8.9 

2,200 

600 

64.7 

23.5 

2,900 * 

67.4 

* 

6,100 

10,300 

5.9 

10.0 

3,c00 

7,600 

5.0 

12.4 

2,600 

2,100 

7.5 

6.0 

� 

* 

* 

� 

* 

* 

* 

* 

23,000 22.3 13,6cro 22.6 7,300 21.0 1,200 35.3 * * 

66,000 

18,700 

56.3 

18.1 

33,200 

11,900 

64.8 

19.6 

21,200 

5,300 

60.9 

15.2 

1,200 * 

35.3 2,4CU 

900 

55.6 

20.9 

2,700 � 

2.6 

* 1,300 * 

2.1 

* 

900 

* 

2.6 

* 

* 

� 

* 

* * 

* 

* 

4,500 

6,200 

4.4 

6.0 

3,10Q 

4,000 

5.1 

6.6 

1,400 

1,7rxr 

4.0 

4.9 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

4.7 

5.6 3,900 1,600 4.6 * * * 2.3 

l:E 14.2 1X 5,900 17.0 � 600 18.6 

16,200 17.7 Ii% 16.7 6,700 19.3 � 600 16.6 

15,50CI 15.0 9,400 15.5 5,100 14.7 � * * * 

42,500 41.2 25,9CCI 42.7 13,600 39.1 1,100 32.4 1,900 44.2 

53,600 

2,600 

51.9 

2.5 

33,0CKl 

1,700 

54.5 

2.6 

16,700 46.0 

2.3 

1,700 � 

50.0 

* 2,200* 

51.2 

* 

12,900 12.5 10.2 5,70a 16.4 600 18.6 

41,100 39.9 2%% 37.6 15,000 43.1 I,m’ 44.; 1,700 39.5 

%@ numberof cdract or terrporaiyregisteredrureeeesshownInINstableIsenundercc.untbecameof thewaytlm datawerecollected. 

NOTE: Figures My@ add to tOtdS because of rmmdl~. 
acivanceciata 3 

Employment characteristics 

Registered nurses worked in nursing homes under 

three basic modes of employment-employed on the staff, 

hired under special contract for a specified period of time, 

or hired as a temporary worker (usually through an agency), It is believed that, because of the procedures used to 

select the sample for these three categories of employment, 

the number of contract and temporary registered nurses 

may have been underestimated. This undercount could 

have occurred in part because contract and temporaxy RN’s 

are more likely than staff RN’s to work on weekends and 

holidays. Sample selection for the survey did not permit 

inclusion of nurses on these shifts, However, based on 

estimates from the 1985 NNHS, 93 percent of all RN’s 

working in nursing homes were staff members on the 

facility’s regular payroll. More than 3 percent of the RN’s 

were under contract or hired through a temporary agency, 

and about 4 percent did not report employment status. 

The full- or part-time employment status of RN’s on 

the staff of nursing homes was related to the hierarchy of 

the position they held. Head nurses and supervisors or 

directors of nursing were much more likely to work full 

time than staff or charge nurses were. Nearly 90 percent of 

all head nurses, directors of nursing, and their respective 

assistants were employed full time. RN’s who had the title 

of staff nurse worked more often part time than RN’s in 

other groups did. Charge nurses worked about as often part 

time as full time (table B). 

The work schedules of registered nurses are almost 

always divided into shifts—day, evening, and night. These 

shifts can be either rotating (the RN alternates working two 

shifts or more during the work schedule) or nonrotating 

(the RN normally works the same shift throughout the 

work schedule). Eighty-six percent of the RN’s on staff 

worked a nonrotating shift, and for more than 60 percent of 

thcm, it was the day shift. 

Table B. Number of registered nurses on the staff of nursing 

homes, percent distribution by employment status, according to 

type of position �nd selected characteristics United States, 1985 

Type ofpdbn and 

charactertstb 

All staff rsglsterad nurses . . . 

Typa of posnlon 

Staff nurse . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Charge nurse. . . . . . . . . . . 

Head nurse or ssslstant . . . . 

Supervisor or assistant. . . . . 

Director of nursing or 

assistant, . . . . . . . . . . . 

Other, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Median age In years . . . . . . 

Average hours scheduled to 

work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

AverarYe hourly watJe. . . . . . 

Totat 

99,700 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

45 

32.5 

$lo.2e 

Employment status 

Full time Part time Unknown 

Number 

60,600 34,600 4,300 

Percent distribuUon 

39.0 58.6 2.4 

47.7 49.0 3.3 

87.8 10.8 1.4 

66.8 26.9 4.4 

87.9 6.9 4.6 

66.2 16.6 15.0 

Item 

45 46 45 

39.2 20.5 33.9 

$10.56 $9.60 $11.11 

Tabie C. Number and percent distribution of registered nurses 

on the staff of nursing homes by selected employment 

characteristic= United States, 1985 

Totat 

Petcarrt 

Employment chatacterbtti Number distribution 

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . e9,700 100.0 

Employment status 

Full Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IY3,eoo 60.8 

Perttlme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34,6cQ 34.9 

Unknown . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,300 4.3 

Work schedule 

Rotating shaft . . . . . . . . . . . 8,900 8.9 

Nonrotating shtft. . . . . . . . . 85,600 65.9 

Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,400 63.6 

Evening . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,900 17.0 

N@ht. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,300 15.3 

Unknown . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,200 5.2 

Years worked in facility 

Lessthan l year . . . . . . . . . 20,700 XI.6 

I year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,900 14.9 

2years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,600 8.6 

3-4yesrs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,300 13.3 

5yearsor more . . . . . . . . . 40,600 40.7 

Unknown . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,400 

Yeare employed se registered 

nurse 

Lessthan lyesr . . . . . . . . . 4,S03 4.5 

l-2years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,eoo 5.9 

3-4yesrs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,700 5.7 

5-9yesrs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,1Cn3 14.1 

10yearsormore . . . . . . . . 69,500 69.7 

Most RN’s on the staff of nursing homes had worked in 

their occupation for 10 years or more, but 60 percent of 

them had worked in their present jobs for less than 5 years 

(table C). 

The average number of hours per week worked by 

full-time RN’s on the nursing home staff was 39.2, and the 

average wage was $10.56 per hour. Staff RN’s working part 

time worked an average 20.5 hours per week and earned 

$9.50 per hour (table B). 

Facility characteristics 

Registered nurses can be decrib~ in terms of the 

characteristics of the facility in which they work. Data on 

facility characteristics such as type of ownership, certification, bed size, and location were collected on the Facility 

Questionnaire and matched to the file of RN’s. To neutralize size of facility as a factor in assessing the number of 

RN’s available for patient care, the number of RN’s per 100 

beds was calculated for each facility characteristic. Table D 

shows these rates. The overall rate for nursing homes was 

6.3 RN’s per 100 beds. 

The certification status of a nursing home as a skilled 

nursing facility is determined by minimum standards set by 

Federal regulations. States may set guidelines that are 

stricter than standards set by Federal regulation, but they 

may not set guidelines that are less strict if their federally 

certified facilities are to retain certification. Individual 

nursing homes are free to exceed State requirements. 

1.4 
4 advancedata 

Table D. Number of registered nurses working in nursing homes 

and rate of registered nurses per 100 nursing home beds, by 

selected facility characteristic= United States, 1985 

Facilly characterlstk 

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Ownership 

Proprietary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Voluntarynonprofit. . . . . . . . . . . 

Governmen t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Csrfiflcatbn 

SWllednurslngfacllHyonly.. . . . . 

Skillednursingfacilityand 

interrnedietecarefaciilty. . . . . . . . 

Intefrnedlatecafefaclltlyonly . . . . 

Notcerlified... . . . . . . . . . . . 

sad size 

Fewerthan50beds . . . . . . . . . . 

So-Wbeds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Ioo-lwbeds.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 

200bedsormore . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Gsogrephioregkm 

Northeast, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

NofthOentr81 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Place of residence 

MSA1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

NotMSAl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

1Matropollt anetatistlcalama 

R.egisiemdnurses 

per ILM Lk3ds 

103,100 6.3 

58,100 5.3 

32,000 6.6 

12,000 9.1 

25,800 8.4 

55,8(M 7.7 

14,600 3.6 

6,100 3.3 

7,5(HI 5.0 

27,400 6.2 

42,800 6.1 

25,200 7.7 

32,6@l 8.8 

35,300 6.6 

18,100 3.7 

17,1ca 7.3 

77,500 7.0 

25,600 5.0 

OneFederalrequirement forcertitlcationaa skilledhas 

to do with the nursing staff of the facility. Skilled nursing 

facilities (Medicare or Medicaid certified) must have a 

full-time director of nursing who is a licensed nurse and 24-

hour coverage by a licensed nurse. Intermediate care facilities (Medicaid certified) are not required to meet this 

criterion. The Federal regulation does not require that the 

nurse be an RN. Licensed nurses also include a large 

category of licensed practical and, in the State of Texas, 

licensed vocational nurses. 

Because States may exceed Federal requirements, 

some States will require that an RNbe on staff, either as 

the director of nursing or full time or part time in some 

other position, especially in facilities that provide skilled 

nursing care. Data from the 1985 NNHS show that nursing 

homes certified as “skilled nursing facilities only” employed 

8.4 RN’s per 100 beds facilities providing intermediate 

care only and uncertified facilities had a rate less than 

one-half as large (figure 1). 

Fewer RN’s are employed per 100 beds in nursing 

homes that are privately owned than in nonprofit or governmen towned homes. Government and nonprofit homes had 

rates of 9.1 and 8.6 RN’s per 100 beds, respectively, in 

1985. Privately owned homes had 5.3 RN’s per 100 beds. 

Analysis of this ratio by bed size and certification status did 

not provide an explanation for the differences by 

ownership. 

Proprietary 

,~ 

5 Voluntaty 

nonprofii 

E 

Government 9.1 

SNF only 

SNF and ICF 

ICF only 

Not certified 

1234567 e910 

Rate of regktered nursesper 100 beds 

NOIE SNF = sMW rinsingfacilii,W = infsmndidacamfadliiy. 

Figuru 1. Rate of ragiaterednurws wwking in riming homes par 100 

nursing home bedq by ownership and certifrcatiomUnited Stste% 1985 

A significantly smaller ratio of RN’s to beds was found 

in the South than in any other region. The South also had a 

smaller number of homes certified as skilled nursing facilities only. More RN’s worked in metropolitan areas than in 

nonmetropolitan areas because metropolitan areas have a 

significantly higher concentration of beds in homes that 

offer skilled care. Therefore, the ratio of RN’s to available 

beds was also higher in metropolitan areas. 

Summary 

Registered nurses work more often in other types of 

facilities or settings than in nursing homes. The typical RN 

working in a nursing home in 1985 was female, white, and 

married. RN’s who work with the elderly tend to be older 

than the average RN. RN’s on the staff of nursing homes in 

1985 had a median age of about 45 years, and the majority 

had been working in their profession for 10 years or more. 

Studies have shown that nursing students associate negative 

stereotypes with caring for the elderly and that older health 

personnel, regardless of their profession, are more likely 

than their younger colleagues to view the elderly favorably 

(Feldbaum and Feldbaum, 1981; Smith, Jepson, and 

Perloff, 1982). 

Because the positions held most often by RNs who 

work full time in nursing homes are head nurse or supervisor or director of nursing the actual hands-on care of the 

elderly is usually not performed by the registered nurse. 

That leaves the primary care of the elderly being provided 

by licensed practical nurses, licensed vocational nurses, and 

nurse’s aides. 
---

advancedata 5 

References 

Bureau of Health Professions, E. Moses. 1986.1984 The Registered 

Mase Population. NTIS No. HRP 0906938. U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Sewices, Health Resources and Services 

Administration. Washington, D.C. 

Feldbaum, E. G., and M.B. Feldbaum. 1981. Caring for the elderly Who dislikes it least? 1 Health Polit. Policy Law S(4):62-72. 

Jones, D.C,, Bonito, A.J., Gower, S.C., and Williams, R.L. 1987. 

Analysis of the Environment for the Recruitment and Retention of 

Registered Nurses in Nursing Homes, Contract No. 240-86-0090. 

Prepared for Bureau of Health Professions. Research Triangle 

Park, N.C.: Research Triangle Institute. 

National CImter for Health Statistics, P. J. McCarthy. 1966. 

Replication, an approach to the analysis of data from complex 

surveys. Wtal and Health Statistics. Series 2, No. 14. PHS Pub. No. 

1000. Public Health Service. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. 

National Center for Health Statistics, P. J. McCarthy. 1969. 

Psrmdoreplication, fhrther evaluation and application of the balanced half-sample technique. Vital and Health Statistics. Series 2, 

No. 31. DHEW Pub. No. 1000. Health Services and Mental 

Health Administration. WsshingtoIX U.S. Government Printing 

Office. 

National Center for Health Statistic+ G. Strahan. 1987a. Nursing 

home characteristics Preliminruy data from the 1985 National 

Nursing Home Survey. Advance Data From Vital and Health 

Statistics. No. 131. DHHS Pub. No. (PHS) 87-1250. Public Health 

Service. Hyattsville, Md. 

National Center for Health Statistics, E. Hing. 1987b. Use of 

nursing homes by the elderly Preliminruy data from the 1985 

Nationrd Nursing Home Survey. Advance Data From Wal and 

Health Statistics. No. 135. DHHS Pub. No. (PHS) 87-1250. Public 

Herdth Sewice. Hyattsville, Md. 

National Center for Health Statistics, E. Sekscenski. 1987c. Discharges from nursing homex Preliminary data from the 1985 

National Nursing Home Survey. Advance Data From T&al and 

Health Statistics. No. 142. Pub. No. (PHS) 87-1250. Public Health 

Service. Hyattsville, Md. 

Smith, S.P. Jepson, V., and Perloff, E. 1982. Attitudes of nursing 

care providers toward elderly patients. Niwsing and Health Care 

3(2):93-98. 

Symbols 

Data not available 

. . . Category not applicable


. Quantity zero


0.0 Quantity more than zero but less than


0.05 

z	 Quantity more than zero but less than 

500 where numbers are rounded to 

thousands 

* Figure does not meet standard of 

reliability or precision 

#	 Figure suppressed to comply with 

confidentiality requirements 
6 advancedata 

Technical notes 

Because the statistics presented in this report are based 

on a sample, they will differ somewhat from figures that 

would have been obtained if a complete census had been 

taken using the same schedules, instructions, and procedures. The standard error is primarily a measure of the 

variability that occurs by chance because only a sample, 

rather than the entire universe, is surveyed. The standard 

error also reflects part of the measurement error, but it 

does not measure any systematic biases in the data. The 

chances are about 95 out of 100 that an estimate from the 

sample differs from the value that would be obtained tlom 

a complete census by less than twice the standard error. 

The standard errors used in this report were approximated using the balanced repeated-replication procedure. 

This method yields overall variability through observation 

of variability among random subsamples of the total sample. A description of the development and evaluation of the 

replication technique for error estimation has been published (National Center for Health Statistics, 1966 and 

1969). 

Although exact standard error estimates were used in 

tests of significance for this report, it is impractical to 

present exact estimates of standard errors for all statistics 

used in this report. Hence, a generalized variance function 

was produced for aggregate registered nurse estimates by 

fitting the data presented in this report into a curve 

NOTE A list of references follows the text. 

using the empirically determined relationship between the 

size of an estimate X and its relative variance (rel var X) 

(figure I). This relationship is expressed as: 

where a and b are regression estimates determined by an 

iterative procedure. Preliminary estimates of standard 

errors for the percents of the estimated number of 

residents are presented in table I. 

The Z-test with a 0.05 level of significance was used to 

test all mmparisons mentioned in this report. Not all 

observed differences were tested, so lack of comment in the 

text does not mean that the difference was not statistically 

significant. 

Table L Standard errors of percents for registered nurses 

working in nursing homes 

Estimatsd pf?cent 

Base ofpercent Ior 5 or 10 or 27 or 40 or 

(Wgistered nurses) 99 95 90 80 60 50 

Standard error In percentage points 

8CK). . . . . . . . . . 2.93 6.42 8.84 11.79 14.44 14.73 

I,ooo . . . . . . . . . 2.62 5.74 7.91 10.54 12.91 13.18 

3,000 . . . . . . . . . 1.51 3.32 4.57 6.09 7.45 7.61 

5,000 . . . . . . . . . 1.17 2.57 3.54 4.71 5.77 5.89 

10,000 . . . . . . . . 0.83 1.82 2.54) 3.33 4.08 4.17 

20,000 . . . . . . . . 0.59 1.28 1.77 2.36 2.89 2.95 

40,000 . . . . . . . . 0.41 0.91 1.25 1.67 2.04 2.08 

130,000 . . . . . . . . 0.29 0.84 0.88 1.18 1.44 1.47 

103, BOO. . . . . . . 0.26 0.57 0.78 1.04 1.27 1.30 
100 

90


80


70


60


50


40


30


20


10 

9


8


:


5


4


3


2


::: 

0.7 

0.6


0.5


0.4


0.3


0.2


01 

A 2 3 4 56789A 2 3 456789A 2 3 466789A 2 3 456789A 2 3 4 56789A 

100 1,000 Iwoo mo,coo 1,Ooo,oca 10,000,000 

Size of estimate of registered nurses 

Figure 1. Refative stanrfmd errors for estimated number of regiaten?d nurses working in nursing homes United Stete~ 1985 
8 acivancedata 

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