What Happens when the Economy Turns Around

The ramifications of the projected nursing shortage have been looming over us for quite awhile. Now, the recession has created an unexpected hitch that, while a boon for the present, could exacerbate a certain facet of the problem in the future. The new problematic aspect concerns the retirement of older nurses.

That retirement is expected to significantly deplete the nursing workforce in the next several years is not a new revelation. The nursing workforce as a whole is older in age than most professions, with an average age of 47, so the numbers make it obvious that nurses will be retiring in greater numbers than replacements can be educated. The exodus was expected to be somewhat gradual, however, with a certain number retiring this year, a certain number the next and so on. But, the downturn in the economy has put a different spin on the whole thing.

Large numbers of nurses who were planning to retire this year or the next, and beyond, have seen 401Ks and other retirement accounts shrink so drastically that they simply cannot afford to retire at this time. The retention of these older nurses has the obvious benefit of continued adequate staffing, putting the problem of the nursing shortage on the back burner for many health care facilities, at least for the time being. But, what happens when the economy turns around? The fear is that the sudden departure, en masse, of older nurses, their numbers having grown each year of the recession, will create a large and critical deficit in the workforce all at once.

It all comes down to the issue of the inability to produce the numbers of nurses needed to meet the demand. Just that one thing, schools having to turn down thousands of qualified applicants each year due to a lack of faculty and clinical opportunities, is so far reaching it defies imagination—at least for me.

What about the retirement issue? Are any of you delaying retirement? What adjustments have you made to your retirement plans? I would like to hear your story.