A pharmaceutical giant's efforts to address the nursing shortage in the U.S. are turning 10 years old, according to a published report.
The Campaign for Nursing's Future kicked off operations in 2002 under the auspices of Johnson & Johnson, Nurse.com reports. A shortfall of 400,000 nurses was projected by 2020 and the proportion of registered nurses younger than 30 fell from 30 percent to 12 percent during the 10-year period.
"When we started the campaign, the projections about the nursing shortage were pretty horrendous, and we felt we were in a unique position to work with key partners to alleviate the shortage," director Andrea Higham with the campaign told the news source.
The $50 million campaign focused on improving the nursing profession's image, recruiting new candidates for nursing jobs and retaining RNs already in the field.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nurses help educate patients, their family members and additional loved ones about health conditions while also offering advice and emotional support.