Louisiana is making some headway to address a national shortage of registered nurses that’s expected to intensify in the coming years as the baby boomer generation ages and the need for health care grows. Still, concerns remain regarding the aging population of Louisiana’s current nurses and the ability to train enough new ones to meet the increasing demand.
According to a new report from the Louisiana Center for Nursing, the number of registered nurses in the state increased by 2% between 2013 and 2014, to 62,356 licensed nurses total. And since 2010, the number of nurses has increased by 11%.
LCN Director Cynthia Bienemy says the total number of RNs does not tell the entire story.
“It’s like a cycle and you can’t just look at one aspect in terms of growth,” she says. “Two percent growth is not a lot when you look at the need.”
Across the U.S., nursing schools are struggling to expand enrollment to meet the demand for nurses in the workforce, and Louisiana is no different, the LCN’s annual “Nursing Education Capacity and Nursing Supply” report shows.
While there has been a 12% increase in the number of students enrolled in baccalaureate programs for nurses since 2010, there’s been a 29% decrease in associate degree programs and a 17% decline in enrollment in the state’s only diploma program for registered nurses.
“Research has shown that the higher the level of education completed by the nurse, the better the patient outcomes are,” Bienemy says. “So the increase in nurses with baccalaureate degrees is significant.”
However, the state also saw a 7% decrease in qualified applicants for admission to its pre-RN licensure programs between 2013 and 2014, and the number of graduates from that program dropped by 8% over the same span.
“When planning for a projected nursing shortage, issues related to an aging nurse faculty must be addressed,” the report reads, noting that 55% of nurses in the state were 51 or older in 2013-14.
Since 2010, the number of licensed RNs in Louisiana that are 60 or over has increased by 71%.
“In 2010, 8,382 (16%) licensed RNs reported that they plan to work an additional 1-5 years as an RN and 19% plan to work an additional 6-10 years,” reads the report, “which is equivalent to approximately 34%, or one-third, of licensed RNs in Louisiana reporting that they plan to be out of the nursing workforce within the next 10 years.”
See the complete report, or view a graphic with highlights from the report.
—Deanna Narveson
