However, according to a study released in June 2000 by Peter I. Buerhaus of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, by 2020 the registered nurse workforce will be about the same size as it is today. Furthermore, the average age of working registered nurses is getting older. The Vanderbilt study also reported that by 2010, more than 40 percent of registered nurses will be over 50. There isn't a quick and easy solution. The health care industry is attacking the problem on two fronts.
Efforts are underway to keep working nurses from burning out and switching careers.
There is also a major push to attract new people to the profession. Many nurses say that stressful working conditions, such as the expectation that they work overtime on a regular basis, are forcing good nurses to rethink their career choice. It would also eliminate mandatory overtime. The Illinois Nurses Association supports the Patient Safety Act but many hospital executives oppose it, saying it would cause administrative headaches and could erode the quality of patient care. They also contend that overtime is rarely forced upon nurses.