Finding solutions to address nursing shortage
The nursing shortage is expected to increase by the year 2030. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics foresees 194,500 registered nurse job openings every year until 2029. In the U.S. health care system, doctors produce revenue by ordering services, like a surgery or an X-ray, which are billed. Nurses don't bill patients. "The way our society pays for nurses at hospitals, it's, they're viewed more as a cost because they can't bill for their services the way physicians can. So, if you look at a hospital's spreadsheet, their biggest cost is nursing," said Sarah Szanton, dean at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. "Nurses are one of the costs, along with the Jell-O and the towels and everything else in that kind of room charge, which doesn't make sense because they add value." Even though numerous studies show having more nurses on staff leads to better outcomes for patients, they are often furloughed or let go when hospitals need to cut costs. That's why, among other reasons, the U.S. is facing an estimated nursing shortage in the coming years.Â
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