Last week, approximately 30 new, wide-eyed registered nurses (RNs) graduated from the Jones County Junior College nursing program in Ellisville. They join one of the most respected professions there is. They are also starting a career in which there is a huge demand on their services. Not for their expertise but rather because the nursing shortage on the local, state and national level is so great.

The nation is facing an impending shortage of nurses, which is expected to peak by 2020.

According to projections released in February 2004 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, RNs top the list of the 10 occupations with the largest projected job growth in the years 2002-2012. Although RNs have listed among the top 10 growth occupations in the past, this is the first time in recent history that RNs have ranked first. According to the BLS report, more than 2.9 million RNs will be employed in the year 2012, up 623,000 from the nearly 2.3 million RNs employed in 2002. However, the total job openings, which include both job growth and the net replacement of nurses, will be more than 1.1 million. This growth, coupled with current trends of nurses retiring or leaving the profession and fewer new nurses, could lead to a shortage of more than one million nurses by the end of this decade.

Dr. Donna Scoggins, chairperson of the JCJC Nursing Program, said one of the main problems with the upcoming shortage in RNs will come from the drastic decrease in nursing school instructors. Just like the nurses themselves, many of the instructors so crucial to teaching students the fine and intricate art of health care are aging, retiring and not being replaced in numbers that would help increase nursing student numbers.

“The nursing faculty shortage corresponds directly to how many students you can carry in your program,” said Scoggins. “If we can’t maintain or increase the number of students, then the shortage will continue indefinitely.”

Beth Endom, director of nursing for South Central Regional Medical Center, agreed.

“I think if more instructors are found to teach the nursing student and if nursing programs don’t get more creative and imaginative in how they conduct those programs, the shortage will only get worse,” said Endom.

Nursing school enrollments are increasing but applicants are also being turned away.

A Dec. 9, 2005, National League of Nursing (NLN) study confirmed that an estimated 147,000 nursing school applicants were turned away from nursing education programs at all levels last year – an increase of 18 percent over 2004. The cause is a continuing critical shortage of nursing school faculty.

According to an annual survey by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), 32,617 qualified students were turned away from baccalaureate nursing programs due primarily to a shortage of nursing educators.

Adding to the availability of nurses is that fact there are so many choices for RNs to take advantage of once they are licensed.

“They may work as a traveling nurse, in industry, schools and health related businesses,” said Endom. “We have vacancies at SCRMC and there are more now than ever. But we are still meeting the needs of our patients.”

Endom hopes that some of the new graduates will elect to stay close to home and start their nursing careers at SCRMC.