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Credit: Rhoda Baer
The nursing workforce in the US has grown substantially in recent years, and this is only partly due to an increase in nursing graduates, according to a new study.
The research revealed that registered nurses (RNs) are putting off retirement for longer than they have in the past.
From 1991 to 2012, 24% of RNs who were working at age 50 remained working as late as age 69. From 1969 to 1990, however, only 9% of nurses were still working at age 69.
These findings appear in Health Affairs.
“We estimate this trend accounts for about a quarter of an unexpected surge in the supply of registered nurses that the nation has experienced in recent years,” said study author David Auerbach, PhD, of RAND Corporation in Boston. “This may provide advantages to parts of the US healthcare system.”
The researchers noted that the RN workforce has surpassed forecasts from a decade ago, growing to 2.7 million in 2012 instead of peaking at 2.2 million as predicted. While much of the difference is the result of a surge in new nursing graduates, the size of the workforce is particularly sensitive to changes in retirement age.
Dr Auerbach and his colleagues uncovered the trend of delaying retirement by analyzing data from the Current Population Survey and the American Community Survey.
The team included all respondents aged 23 to 69 who reported being employed as an RN during the week of the relevant survey from 1969 to 2012. There were 70,724 RNs who responded to the Current Population Survey and 307,187 who responded to the American Community Survey.
The researchers found that, from 1969 to 1990, for a given number of RNs working at age 50, 47% were still working at age 62. From 1991 to 2012, 74% of RNs were working at age 62.
The trend of RNs delaying retirement, which largely predates the recent recession, extended nursing careers by 2.5 years after age 50 and increased the 2012 RN workforce by 136,000 people, according to the researchers.
The team said the reasons older RNs are working longer is unclear, but it is likely part of an overall trend that has seen more Americans—particularly women—stay in the workforce longer because of lengthening life expectancy and the satisfaction they derive from employment. 
chemo to a cancer patient
Credit: Rhoda Baer
The nursing workforce in the US has grown substantially in recent years, and this is only partly due to an increase in nursing graduates, according to a new study.
The research revealed that registered nurses (RNs) are putting off retirement for longer than they have in the past.
From 1991 to 2012, 24% of RNs who were working at age 50 remained working as late as age 69. From 1969 to 1990, however, only 9% of nurses were still working at age 69.
These findings appear in Health Affairs.
“We estimate this trend accounts for about a quarter of an unexpected surge in the supply of registered nurses that the nation has experienced in recent years,” said study author David Auerbach, PhD, of RAND Corporation in Boston. “This may provide advantages to parts of the US healthcare system.”
The researchers noted that the RN workforce has surpassed forecasts from a decade ago, growing to 2.7 million in 2012 instead of peaking at 2.2 million as predicted. While much of the difference is the result of a surge in new nursing graduates, the size of the workforce is particularly sensitive to changes in retirement age.
Dr Auerbach and his colleagues uncovered the trend of delaying retirement by analyzing data from the Current Population Survey and the American Community Survey.
The team included all respondents aged 23 to 69 who reported being employed as an RN during the week of the relevant survey from 1969 to 2012. There were 70,724 RNs who responded to the Current Population Survey and 307,187 who responded to the American Community Survey.
The researchers found that, from 1969 to 1990, for a given number of RNs working at age 50, 47% were still working at age 62. From 1991 to 2012, 74% of RNs were working at age 62.
The trend of RNs delaying retirement, which largely predates the recent recession, extended nursing careers by 2.5 years after age 50 and increased the 2012 RN workforce by 136,000 people, according to the researchers.
The team said the reasons older RNs are working longer is unclear, but it is likely part of an overall trend that has seen more Americans—particularly women—stay in the workforce longer because of lengthening life expectancy and the satisfaction they derive from employment.
chemo to a cancer patient
Credit: Rhoda Baer
The nursing workforce in the US has grown substantially in recent years, and this is only partly due to an increase in nursing graduates, according to a new study.
The research revealed that registered nurses (RNs) are putting off retirement for longer than they have in the past.
From 1991 to 2012, 24% of RNs who were working at age 50 remained working as late as age 69. From 1969 to 1990, however, only 9% of nurses were still working at age 69.
These findings appear in Health Affairs.
“We estimate this trend accounts for about a quarter of an unexpected surge in the supply of registered nurses that the nation has experienced in recent years,” said study author David Auerbach, PhD, of RAND Corporation in Boston. “This may provide advantages to parts of the US healthcare system.”
The researchers noted that the RN workforce has surpassed forecasts from a decade ago, growing to 2.7 million in 2012 instead of peaking at 2.2 million as predicted. While much of the difference is the result of a surge in new nursing graduates, the size of the workforce is particularly sensitive to changes in retirement age.
Dr Auerbach and his colleagues uncovered the trend of delaying retirement by analyzing data from the Current Population Survey and the American Community Survey.
The team included all respondents aged 23 to 69 who reported being employed as an RN during the week of the relevant survey from 1969 to 2012. There were 70,724 RNs who responded to the Current Population Survey and 307,187 who responded to the American Community Survey.
The researchers found that, from 1969 to 1990, for a given number of RNs working at age 50, 47% were still working at age 62. From 1991 to 2012, 74% of RNs were working at age 62.
The trend of RNs delaying retirement, which largely predates the recent recession, extended nursing careers by 2.5 years after age 50 and increased the 2012 RN workforce by 136,000 people, according to the researchers.
The team said the reasons older RNs are working longer is unclear, but it is likely part of an overall trend that has seen more Americans—particularly women—stay in the workforce longer because of lengthening life expectancy and the satisfaction they derive from employment.