NURSING FACTS

Virginia's Nurses Today
Virginia is ranked 39th for all states regarding nurse to population ratio. The ratio of RNs to population in Virginia (711 per 100,000 population) is lower than contiguous states of Maryland (856) and North Carolina (858) and for the nation (758).

• There are only 62,763 registered nurses and just over 23,379 LPNs licensed and residing in Virginia
• 75.8% of licensed registered nurses are employed in nursing
  • 73.2% of employed nurses work full-time, 26.8% work part-time
  • 58% of employed nurses work in hospitals
  • 37% of RNs who report not working in nursing are retired
• Nursing workforce is aging
  • Average age of currently working registered nurses is 45
  • 16% of all registered nurses working are 55 or older
  • Median age of nurse practitioners is 46 and 50 for clinical nurse specialists

The Future for Virginia

• By 2020, Virginia will experience a 36 % deficit in the number of nurses required by health care employers
• 43% of registered nurses currently working, report intent to discontinue work within 10 years, 39% of nurses with master's degrees (37% of nurse practitioners and 47% of clinical nurse specialists) report intent to discontinue work within 10 years. This is primarily due to retirement.
• Virginia's population of older adults will grow at twice the national average in the next 10 years. People over 65 make up 11 % of total population but 35 % of hospital population.

The National Picture

• One million new nurses will be needed by the year 2010 (November 2001 Monthly Labor Review released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
• 81.7% (2.2 million) of licensed nurses are employed in nursing
  • 71.6% of employed nurses work full-time, 28.4% work part-time
• 59% of employed nurses work in hospitals
• Nursing workforce does not reflect population demographics
  • Predominantly white 86.6%, down from the 90% in 1996, but the percent remains high compared to the U.S. population which is 71.8% white
  • Predominantly female 94.6%, down from 95.1% in 1996, but the percent remains quite high compared to the of U.S. population which is 51% female (National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses, 2000)
• Two-thirds of all full-time nursing faculty are 45 to 60 years old and there is a 5.6% vacancy rate for faculty positions (NLN Faculty Survey, 2002