Southern Florida soon will endure a shortage of people with nursing jobs, the top executive official with a regional advocacy group for nurses told Miami Today News.
Following the economic recovery, executive director Ralph Egues Jr. with the Nursing Consortium of South Florida told the publication that the nursing shortage will increase as high as 12 percent. The shortage presently stands at roughly 9 percent.
One factor regarding the changing dynamics of the profession is the age of nurses in the workforce, according to Dr. Ora Strickland, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Florida International University. She said the average age of those with nursing jobs in Florida is older than that of the national average.
"Most practicing nurses are baby boomers," Strickland told the publication, noting the average age of nurses in Florida is 49, which is two years older than the country's average. "And they will start aging out very soon."
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates roughly 60 percent of registered nurse jobs are based at hospitals and the career opportunities within the profession encompass the largest segment of the healthcare industry.