Home Information News		Nursing Shortage
			Refers to a situation where the demand for nurses is greater than the supply. The total number of nurses working in the healthcare field in the United States has decreased from 2,669,603 in the year 2000 to 2,262,020 in year 2001. The amount of nursing responsibilities has increased and the patients are more ill than before. In addition, the average age of nurses increases while the number of applications to baccalaureate programs has decreased. Furthermore, new opportunities became available for the nursing practice, which further drains the number of nurses available for the acute care settings. Other factors that affect the nursing shortage are aging workforce, problems with retention, and difficulty recruiting young people into the field. Source: Wikipedia