NURSING CSPCN
CALIFORNIA WORK FORCE INITIATIVE
FACT SHEET PHASE II FINAL REPORT
California's Need for Nurses State and Federal Projections 1. Bureau of Labor and California Employment Development Department list RNs and LVNs among occupations with the largest expected growth by 2006. 2. Between 1996 and 2006, California Employment Development Department projects an absolute growth of w 39,470 RN jobs w 19,970 LVN jobs 3. California's population w increase by over 17 million individuals by 2025 w half of the increase is expected to come from foreign migration Employer Survey 1. Vacancy rates among all California employment sectors in 1997 w 8.5 percent for RNs w 5.2 percent for LVNs w 7.8 percent for unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) 2. Mean vacancy rate for RN staff nurses of 10.6 percent among acute care hospital employers 3. Three percent increase in RN FTEs expected before 2000 among all employment sectors Specific Demand for RNs with Baccalaureate Preparation 1. Employers intend to decrease employment of RNs educated at the associate degree level by 5.8 percent 2. Employers intend to increase employment of RNs with baccalaureate preparation by 8.8 percent 3. Employers intend to increase employment of RNs with master's degrees by 9.7 percent Problem of Meeting Demand for RNs RN Supply Facts 1. Proportion of RNs per 100,000 population among the lowest in the nation 2. RN work force continues to age w less than 10 percent under 30 years of age w nearly 30 percent of the work force over 50 years of age 3. Eighty-five percent of RNs with active California RN licenses who are living in California work full or part time which is higher than the national average 4. California already relies on other states and countries for 50 percent of its nursing work force at a time when nursing program enrollments nationally are declining 5. California's ethnic/racial diversity is not reflected in the current RN nursing work force w Ethnic/racial backgrounds of students current enrolled in pre-licensure programs are more closely aligned with the ethnic/racial background of the population w Proportion of Hispanic/Latino students continues to lag behind the proportion of Hispanics/Latinos in the population Nursing Education Program Facts 1. Approximately 70 percent of RNs educated in California graduate from associate degree programs 2. California's associate degree and baccalaureate RN pre-licensure programs were universally fully subscribed in 1997-98 3. There are no opportunities, at present, for the public colleges and universities to increase enrollments 4. Private colleges may be able to increase enrollments but tuition cannot be met by many students without scholarship assistance 5. Students who attend the University of California have no opportunities for undergraduate education in nursing 6. Difficulty in recruiting faculty contributes to the problem.
Recommendation #1: Restructure California's Basic Nursing Work Force w State support is needed to increase the number of direct entry enrollments in baccalaureate nursing programs in the California State University system. Currently, only thirty percent of California RN pre-licensure enrollment opportunities are in baccalaureate programs (1,500 of 5,000); approximately 780 are in the California State system and the other half are in private colleges and universities. State support is needed to increase scholarship support to students in private colleges. Private colleges often have greater flexibility in enrollments increasing if students can afford to attend. Exploration of possibilities to re-open and create new pre-licensure opportunities within the University of California (UC) system should be undertaken. Among health care provider employers, incentives need to be established to encourage associate degree graduates to complete the baccalaureate degree. Incentives may include differentiation of competencies and salary for specific roles. Educators from vocational nursing programs, associate degree programs and baccalaureate degree completion programs need to streamline articulation among programs. A variety of educational options need to be created or enhanced to provide opportunities for the adult learner nurse to achieve educational goals.
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Recommendation #2: Ensure an Adequate Supply of Nurses in California w w Current nursing enrollments in all programs must be maintained in terms of both numbers and the cultural diversity of the students. Recruitment efforts emphasizing positive professional images must start now to ensure California schools maintain enrollments. The number of educational opportunities, particularly at the baccalaureate and higher degree level, must be increased through targeted support to state nursing education programs and scholarship support to private schools. Direct entry baccalaureate graduates, in particular, are younger when they enter the profession. Baccalaureate and master's degree graduates have the requisite skills most desired by employers. State support is needed to increase opportunities for graduate education within the California State University system and the University of California system. Increased numbers of master's and doctoral graduates are needed to support the increased demand for advanced practice nurses and faculty. Additional support needs to be directed toward master's and doctoral programs in areas of greatest need including pediatrics, obstetrics and psychiatry/mental health. Doctoral programs specifically designed for Nurse Practitioners (NPs) may need to be developed to provide sufficient doctorally...