The nurse practitioner workforce will grow 94% by 2025, according to a new study published in the July issue of Medical Care.
“The nurse practitioner (NP) workforce has been a focus of considerable policy interest recently, particularly as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act may place additional demands on the healthcare professional workforce,” says the study’s author, David Auerbach.
Auerbach used a method that has been used to predict registered nurse and physician workforces to make his prediction. Specifically he states the future workforce is projected to grow to 244,000 in 2025, an increase of 94% from 128,000 in 2008. The increase is due to the fact that NPs are expected to play a bigger role in primary care as the United States faces a critical primary care physician shortage, says Auerbach. NPs are capable of diagnosing and treating common ailments in the primary care setting. Although not specifically mentioned in the study’s abstract the increase in educational opportunities for NPs could also be a factor in the profession’s growth. In March, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced an initiative that would provide up to $200 million to hospitals that offer training of advanced practice registered nurses (APRN).
Also, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) issued a report stating the number of schools offering Doctor of Nursing Practice has risen from 20 in 2006 to 184 in 2011. Here at Barton we have seen a dramatic increase in the demand for locum tenens nurse practitioners, which we anticipate will continue as more NPs enter the workforce.
For more information about Barton Associates’ nurse practitioner jobs visit http://64.207.156.120/nurse-practitioners/
