The US Department of Health and Human Services just released " Initial Findings from the 2008 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses ." There is some valuable and interesting information in the latest report (the last one was done in 2004). Of note: There were an estimated 3,063,163 living in the US as of March 2008 (of these, 2,596,599 were employed in nursing positions). The average age for all licensed nurses rose from 46.8 to 47 years and employed nurses rose from 45.4 to 45.5. There are 158, 348 identified NPs The number of NPs grew 12.1% over the last 4 years There were an estimated 28,369 RNs with a doctoral degree in 2008. This is an increase of 64.4% since 2000. The workforce is becoming more diverse. 6.6% of nurses are male (a small jump from 5.8%) but a higher percentage of recent graduates were male from previous (4.1 % prior to 1990 vs. 9.6% since 1990). Hispanics are the most rapidly growing group of registered nurses. These are just a few highlights fr...
This is my blog that will highlight current issues, trends and policies affecting Nurse Practitioners and the health care system today.