Objective: For most of the twentieth century there has existed a perception among health care analysts and the public that the United States suffers from a critical shortage of professional nurses. This is despite the fact that the number of nurses has steadily increased over the 20th century raising the question: Why do we never have enough nurses?
Design and Method: This study, carried out using social history methods, describes the growth of the nurse population in the United States during the twentieth century, documents the appearance of nurse shortages, and explores strategies used in the past to solve nurse distribution problems. Sources used for this study include studies and surveys completed on the nurse workforce, materials from the U.S. Public Health Service, the U.S. Department of Labor, professional organizations and secondary source materials on the nurse labor market such as professional journals, and newspaper articles.
Findings: A favored solution to nurse shortage issues in the United States centered on increasing the supply of nurses to the public. As measured by sheer numbers, this proved to be a successful strategy. Yet shortages persisted, and led to repeated calls for more nurses.
Conclusions: Increasing the number of nurses to meet increased demand is one method to use in combating nurse shortages. However, it is a tactic that has failed to provide a long term solution to periodic nurse shortages. Nurse shortages are complex phenomenon involving many different factors. Solving nurse distribution problems necessitates a multi-pronged approach.
Implications: Identifying why shortages exist and the solutions used to solve nurse distribution problems places in perspective recent problems with nurse supply, creating a base from which nurses and policymakers can proceed as they develop strategies for meeting future nursing care needs.
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Back to 15th International Nursing Research Congress
Sigma Theta Tau International
July 22-24, 2004