There are now 100,000 openings for registered nurses, according to Joseph Boshart, president of Cross Country Travcorps, one of the largest temporary nurse staffing companies. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing in Washington said that enrollment of nursing students in entry-level bachelor's degree programs fell by 2.1 percent in the fall of 2000, the sixth annual drop. The lower enrollments mean the average age of nurses is rising. The health professions bureau says the average age of the 2.6 million registered nurses is 45.2 years and rising. And only 18.3 percent of nurses are under 35, compared with 40.5 percent 20 years ago.
Older nurses are often less willing to take on more patients and mandatory overtime.
About 350,000 of the 2.2 million nurses working in health care are union members today, up from 300,000 in 1995, according to the Census Bureau. The California Nurses Association, which became independent in 1995, announced an alliance last month with the United Steelworkers of America, which already represents other employees in a number of hospitals. Safe staffing and the quality of patient care are higher priorities. Nurses are getting increasing attention from legislators. In Washington, they have been pressing, with bipartisan support, for increased federal subsidies for nursing education.