The New York Daily News on Thursday examined the U.S. job market for registered nurses, where demand is “outpacing supply, with over a million U.S. vacancies expected by 2012.” The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that as a result of demand for registered nurses, nursing will be the fastest growing industry nationwide for the next five years. The need is expected to persist as more nurses begin to retire. According to the American Nurses Association, the average U.S. nurse is nearly 50 years old and is close to retirement. Few young workers are entering the nursing profession to fill their places. In addition, nursing schools often are unable to accommodate new students because of faculty shortages. Nursing teachers are required to hold a master's degree, but less than half of nurses pursue graduate education, according to a New York State Board of Nursing survey. In the meantime, new nursing graduates are getting job offers with salaries that average $56,000 per year, and many nurses are getting offers for specialized positions, whether or not they have experience (Kesner, New York Daily News, 11/2).

School Nurses
In related news, the Wall Street Journal on Thursday examined the nation's 50,000 school nurses, who are facing cuts to school budgets, a nationwide nursing shortage and a growing number of students with serious medical needs. Though federal guidelines suggest that each school nurse attend to no more than 750 children, 59% of school nurses have more students than that in their care. In eleven states, the average school nurse cares for more than 2,000 children, according to the National Association of School Nurses. Among schoolchildren, about 20% have medical issues that require regular attention from a school nurse, NASN Executive Director Amy Garcia said (Zaslow, Wall Street Journal, 11/2).