Study: Number of young people choosing nursing jumps

The RAND Corp. study was published in the current issue of Health Affairs.

CQ HealthBeat: Ranks Of Young Nurses Are Growing, RAND Study Finds
An increasing number of young men and women are opting for nursing as a career, says a study released Monday by the RAND Corporation. The study may serve to allay fears about a nursing shortage as the health care law is implemented and millions of people without insurance sign up for medical plans. It predicts that if the growth continues, there will be enough nurses to meet national health care needs by 2030 (Norman, 12/5).

National Journal: Report: Surge In Young Nurses May Offset A Projected Shortage
The number of 23-to-26-year-old registered nurses jumped 62 percent between 2002 and 2009, according to research published in the December edition of the journal Health Affairs. "This surge that we're seeing, it's major. It has huge implications," said Rand economist David Auerbach, who led the study (Quinton, 12/5).

NPR: Young People Put Dent In Nursing Shortage
One innovation cited by the researchers are accelerated degree programs designed to appeal to people who already have degrees in other fields. These programs can get nurses trained and ready to practice in as little as a year in some cases. ... The federal government also did its part. Funding for nurse training programs tripled between 2001 and 2010, from $80 million per year to $240 million (Rovner, 12/5).

NewsHour: Surge Of Young Nurses Could Help Reverse Shortage
There's an increasing trend to keep people out of hospitals that don't need to be there, to prevent re-admissions, etc. We're probably going to be going through a period where hospital use declines. And as that's the case, there will probably be fewer patients in hospitals and less of a problem. If you put the whole story together, there will be lots of opportunities for nurses across the board in health care, lots of people going into registered nursing, and proportionally fewer nurses in hospitals than in the past (Dentzer and Kane, 12/5).

The Associated Press: Study Finds Surge In Young Nurses Over Past Decade
A young influx is noteworthy because at least 900,000 of the nation's roughly 3 million nurses are older than 50, meaning they're nearing retirement. At the same time, the population is aging and getting more chronic diseases, bringing an increased demand for care even before the new health care law that promises to help 32 million more Americans gain insurance within a few years (Neergaard, 12/5).

Meanwhile, northeastern American cities face a growing need for nurses, due to the aging of the population:

The New York Times: Graying Town Builds Life Beyond Bingo
Elderly people are now a greater portion of the nation's population than at any time since the government began keeping track, and the Northeast, not warm-weather retirement destinations like the South and Southwest, has the largest percentage of people 65 and older, according to the Census Bureau. ... Once dairy-farming country, Southbury [Conn.] is now a place where the elderly are not just the dominant demographic but also increasingly the engine of the economy and the focus of town life (Applebome, 12/5).

Related, earlier KHN story: S.C. City's Aging Population Offers A Glimpse Of The Future (Pandolfo, 8/10).