Guest Author - Ruby Joiner

Baby boomers are aging. In the year 2000, about 13% of the US population was over 65. By 2030, over 20% of the population will be over 65. In the meantime, with fewer young people (relatively) entering the workforce in the non-boom years, there are not enough workers to support this level of elderly population. This imbalance is leading to a serious nursing shortage.

Current predictions indicate that in 2020 there will be a 20% shortage of nurses to care for this large group of elderly baby boomers.

Some of these estimates were made in "Panel Predicts Shortfall in Care for the Aged," Journal of the American Medical Association, October 11, 2000, but they have been confirmed by many other sources.

The AMA, for example, made a release in 2001 saying it was going to concentrate heavily on recruiting and retaining new nurses to fend off this shortage. They believe that by 2015 the US will be short a full 114,000 nurses.

A report by the South Florida Business Journal points out that many nurses salaries haven't risen since the early 90s, as hospitals continue to feel the crunch put on them by insurance agencies. At the same time, they are expected to perform more duties and to handle more patients.