Abstract
BACKGROUND: Every two years, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) and the National Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers (Forum) conduct the only national-level survey focused on the entire U.S. nursing workforce. The survey generates data on the supply of registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses/licensed vocational nurses (LPNs/LVNs). These data are especially crucial in providing information on emerging nursing issues, which in 2022, was the impact of the (COVID-19) pandemic on the nursing workforce. PURPOSE: To provide data critical to planning for enough adequately prepared nurses and ensuring a safe, diverse, and effective healthcare system. METHODS: This study used a mixed-mode approach, involving mailing a national, randomized sample survey to licensed RNs and LPNs/LVNs in most jurisdictions, supplemented by a national, randomized sample survey emailed to licensed RNs and LPNs/LVNs in four jurisdictions and data from the e-Notify nurse licensure notification system for five jurisdictions. Data from RN and LPN/LVN respondents were collected between April 11, 2022, and September 30, 2022. Data included nurse demographics, educational attainment, employment, practice characteristics, and trends. RESULTS: The total number of active RN and LPN/LVN licenses in the United States were 5,239,499 and 973,788, respectively. The median age of RNs was 46 years and 47years for LPNs/LVNs, which reflects a decrease of 6 years for each cohort from the 2020 data. This decline was associated with estimated losses to the workforce of at least 200,000 experienced RNs and 60,000 experienced LPNs/LVNs. An average of 89% of all nurses who maintain licensure are employed in nursing with roughly 70% working full-time. Hospitals and nursing/extended care facilities continue to be the primary practice setting for RNs and LPNs, respectively. Increased proportions of male and Hispanic/Latino nurses have introduced greater racial diversity in the nursing workforce. The nursing workforce is becoming increasingly more educated with more than 70% of RNs holding a baccalaureate degree or higher. More than one-quarter of all nurses report that they plan to leave nursing or retire over the next 5 years. Increased demand from the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation led nursing incomes to rise significantly across the country. Nurses were also specifically asked how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted them, and more than 60% of all nurses reported an increase in their workload because of the pandemic. CONCLUSION: In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the nursing workforce has undergone a dramatic shift with the loss of hundreds of thousands of experienced RNs and LPNs/LVNs. The nursing workforce has become younger and more diverse with increases reflected for Hispanic/Latino and male nurses. An increasing proportion of the RN workforce holds a baccalaureate degree or higher, moving closer to goals established by the National Academy of Medicine. Salaries have notably increased for nurses, likely due to inflation and increased demand for nursing services. With a quarter of the population contemplating leaving the profession, the impact of the pandemic may still be felt in the future.
