Nursing by the Numbers

TON - March/April 2011, VOL 4, NO 2 — April 11, 2011

Every year, the demand for healthcare services grows in the United States and more responsibilities for providing that care are shifted to nurses. While NursingSchool.org reports that the country has at least 5.5 million nurses and nursing aides, this number is not nearly high enough to keep pace with the rising number of patients. The resulting shortage leaves many nurses feeling overworked and underpaid.

Nurses’ wages vary according to certification and region (Figure). The most qualified nurses make good money—the average annual salary for a certified registered nurse anesthetist is $129,530. But is this enough when you consider that 2.5 million registered nurses plus the 2.3 million nursing aides and 750 thousand licensed practical nurses spend a cumulative 11 billion hours working each year?

And the job is not always pleasant. Nurses get yelled at (and not just by patients!) and come into close contact with the full spectrum of bodily fluids on a regular basis. Nursing also has its dangers. A nurse suffers more injuries than a construction worker and is more likely to be physically assaulted than your average prison guard. Is it any surprise that 1 out of 5 emergency department nurses meets the criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder?

After reading these statistics, you might wonder why those who go into nursing stick with the job. A 2010 survey of 1399 registered nurses by AMN Healthcare suggests at least one-third say they might not! The survey found 29% of nurses overall plan to reduce their role in nursing or leave nursing and 6% of hospital nurses plan to retire in the next 1 to 3 years.

The survey also found that most nurses are satisfied with their careers and that 59% of nurses would select nursing again if they had to do it all over and 64% would advise young people to consider nursing as a career.

Most nurses say they are in the job because they like helping people and being in a position to make a valuable contribution to society. In the end, nurses save lives, and that is something you can’t put a price tag on

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