CNN posted an interesting article on 12/23/09 that echoed what all of us have been saying in healthcare immigration and staffing, that the USA is facing an ever worsening nursing shortage as the population grows older.

Here are some of the comments:

America has had a nursing shortage for years, said Peter Buerhaus, workforce analyst at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, Tenn. But by 2025, the country will be facing a shortfall of 260,000 RNs, he said.  “In a few short years, just under four out of 10 nurses will be over the age of 50,” said Buerhaus. “They’ll be retiring out in a decade. And we’re not replacing these nurses even as the demand for them will be growing.”

Barry Pactor, international director of global health care for consulting company HCL International, agrees that more nurses should be trained within the U.S. system. But as a short term solution for this “huge shortage,” he said the U.S. government should loosen immigration restrictions on foreign health care workers.

“I don’t see this as foreign nurses taking American jobs, because these are vacancies that already exist and cannot be [filled] by nurses currently in training,” he said. “We’d be filling in the gaps until the training can catch up with the demand.”