Employment Outlook

The projected shortage of registered nurses is expected to increase throughout the next decade. Aging populations, lack of nursing faculty, and more access to healthcare are contributing to the need for more RNs.

According to the Monthly Labor Review (April 2011), the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the healthcare industry added 428,000 jobs during the recent recession. The BLS also reported that nearly 600,000 jobs will be created through 2018.

The advantages of adding more nurses, specifically baccalaureate-prepared nurses (Health Services Research, August 2008) to the workforce include fewer deaths, lower failure-to-rescue incidents, lower rates of infection and shorter hospital stays, according to the April 2011 issue of Medical Care.

To combat the nursing shortage, the US Department of Labor has awarded over $43 million in grant funding through the President’s High Growth Job Training Initiative. Other scholarships and grants can be found through the Financial Aid Resources and Scholarships and Awards links on this page.

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