Government Survey Provides Glimpse of Nursing Workforce

Aging nurses and fewer people entering the profession were two of the major findings from the recent National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses. Here are some of the major findings:

  • As of March 2000, there were 2,696,540 licensed RNs in the U.S.-an increase of 5.4% in the total RN population. However, this was the lowest increase reported in any of the government's seven previous surveys.
  • The average age of the RN population is 45.2 years, and only 18.3% of RNs are under age 35.
  • The average annual earnings of full-time RNs is $46,782. However, after taking into account the purchasing power of a dollar, "real" salaries came in at $23,369, which was approximately the same as in previous surveys.
  • Approximately 12% of respondents identified themselves as coming from a racial or ethnic minority group (compared to 10% in 1996). However, this data should be viewed with caution due to a change in the way the question was asked on the current survey.
  • The majority of nurses (59.1%) worked in a hospital, and the fastest growing employment setting was in public and community health, which employed 18.3% of nurses. Ambulatory care accounted for 9.5%, nursing homes/extended care facilities for 6.9%, nursing education for 2.1%, and 3.6% fell into the "other" category.
  • Advanced practice nurses increased to 7.3%, which the largest increases in nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists.
  • Slightly more men entered the field-rising to 5.4% from 4.9% in 1996.

The Health Resources and Services Administration's Bureau of Health Professions sponsored the survey. Interested parties can access the data online at www.bhpr.hrsa.gov.

From the February 22, 2001 article "Government Survey Offers Snapshot of Nursing Workforce," on homehealthprovider.com