Why is There a Shortage of Registered Nurses?

The average age of a Registered Nurse in the United States is forty seven years. Comparably only CEO's of major companies and senior grade officers in the military average approximately that same age range according to several studies conducted over the past five years. Of course there are others but these comparisons bring into focus the importance and impact the nursing shortage will have on our society. Numerically there just are not that many CEO's or senior grade military officers in this country. There are not many Registered Nurses either. And their age is showing.

Statistically, if the situation remains unchanged, there will not be enough nurses to take care of aging Baby Boomers much less future generations of the populace. And if there are not enough caregivers for the Baby Boomer generation who will be there to care for Generation X? and so on? There are many unanswered questions that need to be addressed right now in order that some sort of solution be found in time.

For example;
Who should worry, and why?
Who or what entity is in charge of looking into the nursing shortage?
How will the nursing shortage affect hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics over time?
Why aren't young people pursuing nursing as a career?
What are the qualifications to become a nurse?
Can we make it easier to become a nurse?
Is it wise to make it easier to become a nurse?
Are there any other fields in the health care industry that can replace the nurse as the cargiver?

It seems the questions are legion and the answers are few. The American Nursing Association is well aware of the nursing shortage is working hand in hand with many governmental as well as private agencies look for answers to these questions. The ANA is between the devil and the deep blue sea at times. As many people are aware some of the best nurses in the world work right here in the U.S. The standard of care is high and well respected here. It is also expected to be that way from the hospitals, doctors, legislators, consumers, patients etc. Therefore high standards must be maintained and loosening the traditional benchmarks for these standards is not an option. So it will not be easier to become a nurse.

It is not impossible to become a nurse. A Bachelors Degree or an Associate of Science Degree is required to become a Registered Nurse which usually takes from two to four years to attain. To become a Licensed Practical Nurse takes about eighteen months. The pay is not bad either. Nurses get paid approximately $30,000.00 to $60,000.00 a year. More or less can be made dependant upon where one lives.

There is no other field that can replace the nurse as a caregiver. It is a unique job with duties that only a person trained as a nurse can carry out. Certainly there are more glamorous and higher paying jobs available to new career seekers. Perhaps those are the reasons young people do not want to become nurses. And maybe we should be a little more lax in the requirements to become one. But who would you want taking care of you in perhaps your most dire hour of need? A highly trained and competent nurse or someone who would rather be doing something else to get a paycheck?