This year, DHHS predicts a need for 854,000 such nurses, with only 596,000 available. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing reports that the 500 or so U.S. colleges that produce nurses with bachelor s and master s degrees report a 4.6 percent drop in enrollees last year in bachelor s programs, and a 1.9 percent drop in master s programs the fifth decline in as many years. The average age of a nursing student today is 31 years. The pipeline of younger nurses entering the profession is not replenishing the supply of older nurses who are retiring, opting out of bedside nursing, or opting out of the industry altogether. This year two-thirds of working nurses will be over 40 years old.
Experts say the country s nursing corps is aging faster than nearly every other profession.
Women still make up 90 percent of all nurses, although more men are considering the nursing profession than ever before. Hospitals are increasingly becoming large intensive care units, thus skilled and specialized nurses are in great demand. The shortage of skilled and professional workers adds to the woes of hospitals dealing with the financial pressures of Medicare cuts and managed care belt-tightening. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the nation will need 50,000 more RT s by 2006. The number of their specialty education programs dropped from 125 in 1994 to 81 in 1998.