February 4, 2011 - A recent nursing supply and demand study by the Greater Cincinnati Health Council reveals an increasing demand for advanced nursing degrees, a trend toward nursing career opportunities out in the community, and a growing need for clinical space to train nursing students.
The purpose of the Health Council's 2010 Nursing Supply and Demand Study is to assist hospitals in projecting the future supply and demand of the nursing work force in order to help them prepare to meet the region's future health care needs and ultimately create a stronger health care community. Regional data were gathered from 13 participating hospitals as well as nursing schools and compared to the Council's 2006 and 2008 Supply and Demand studies.
Among some of the study's highlights:
Experienced nurses gained the hiring edge over new nurse graduates. The percentages of filled nursing positions increased from 2008 to 2010. In 2008, there was a 7.3 percent vacancy rate, and 48 percent of all new nurses hired to fill these positions were recent graduates. In 2010 - as the vacancy rate dipped to 2.5 percent - experienced nurses gained the hiring edge over new nurse graduates.
Education levels for RNs have sharply increased over the last several years. The number of nurses with bachelor's degrees increased to 41 percent in 2010, up from 33 percent in 2008. The number of nurses with master's degrees also climbed considerably, up to 12 percent in 2010 from 3 percent in 2008.
"Hospitals in our region are beginning to demand more specific degree requirements in order to adapt to changing health care trends and meet changing patient care needs," said Mary Duffey, executive director of the Council's Health Care Workforce Center. "Now is the ideal time for nursing students to continue on in their education and obtain that four-year degree or advanced degree."
Vacancy rates remain low but are expected to increase. The 2010 RN turnover rate of 8.48 percent is the lowest recorded in the last decade, which is not surprising in an uncertain economy as nurses put off retirement. While this lower turnover rate has affected the current number of available positions, worries remain that there will not be enough nurses in the future.
"As the economy improves, the number of RN positions available to new graduates is expected to significantly increase," said Duffey. "Hospitals have active programs to recruit interested youth into health care careers due to future nurse retirements and an aging patient population that will increase demand for nursing care."
Medical/surgical and critical care nurses continue to be the specialty areas with the highest demand, and
these positions remain the most difficult to fill.
Nursing opportunities in the community continue to grow. Study results indicate that more nurses are taking positions outside the hospital. In 2008, participating nursing schools indicated that 99 percent of their new graduates who elected to remain in the Cincinnati area and were hired into a health care organization were hired into a hospital. In 2010, that percentage dipped to 80 percent as more new graduate nurses were hired into health care settings outside the hospital. The expectation is that this trend will continue as health care reform drives more health care services into the community setting with an emphasis on preventive care. Additionally, greater opportunities will be available in long-term care due to the increasing number of elderly patients needing home or residential care.
Availability of clinical placement/space tops list of concerns for schools of nursing. Various factors can limit nursing schools' ability to increase nursing student admissions. While financial factors and availability of faculty were the primary concerns in 2008, clinical placement concerns have evolved as the greatest concern in 2010. The number of student admissions increased in 2009 (1,523) but dropped slightly in 2010 (1,127). Most programs show a waiting list, which is further indication that the programs have reached and maintained full capacity. A total of 918 applicants in 2009 and 753 applicants in 2010 were placed on a waiting list, resulting in 27 percent of qualified applicants being denied admission in 2009 and 30 percent of qualified applicants denied admission in 2010.
"Our region's future nursing work force supply will be highly dependent upon how successful nursing schools will be in securing clinical space and clinical experiences that will allow them to increase the number of nursing student enrollments," said Duffey. Nationally and locally, there is a trend toward increased utilization of simulated clinical experiences due to the decrease of available clinical training capacity in hospital settings.
The Nursing Supply and Demand Study considered only hospital demand for nurses and did not include other community needs for registered nurses. Hospitals that participated in the study include:
- Atrium Medical Center
- The Christ Hospital
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
- Clinton Memorial Hospital
- Dearborn County Hospital
- Highland District Hospital
- Lindner Center of HOPE
- Margaret Mary Community Hospital
- Mercy Health Partners
- NorthKey Community Care
- St. Elizabeth Healthcare
- TriHealth
- UC Health
Nursing schools that participated in the study include:
- The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences
- Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
- College of Mount St. Joseph
- Galen College of Nursing
- Good Samaritan College of Nursing and Health Science
- Miami University
- Northern Kentucky University
- University of Cincinnati College of Nursing
- UC Raymond Walters College
- Xavier University
For more information about the Health Council's 2010 Nursing Supply and Demand Study, contact Mary Duffey, Health Care Workforce Center executive director, at (513) 878-2862.