Aging nurses pursue traveling healthcare careers

Jul 1, 2008
By: Marcia Faller
Healthcare Traveler
Volume 16, Issue 1

Key Points

• AMN's 2008 Survey of Nurses 45 to 60 Years Old revealed that 35% of Baby Boomer nurses plan to retire, find non-nursing jobs, work part time, or work as traveling nurses in the next 1 to 3 years.
• It is important to address conditions causing older professionals to leave nursing jobs, and consider the retention of experienced nurses a priority for the healthcare industry.

Nurses, like America's population as a whole, are getting older. The Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses indicates that the majority of nurses in the U.S. are now at least 45 years of age. In fact, in 2004, over 41% of nurses in the U.S. were 50 years old or older, up significantly from 33% in 2000.

How long are these Baby Boomer nurses planning to remain in the clinical workforce? What facets of their jobs do they find the most gratifying and the most frustrating? What is the overall level of job satisfaction among Baby Boomer nurses, and how many plan on working as travelers?

AMN Healthcare, parent company of American Mobile Healthcare, recently conducted a survey of 1,830 nurses between 45 and 60 years of age to explore these and other questions.

Future workforce issues

AMN's 2008 Survey of Nurses 45 to 60 Years Old revealed that 35% of Baby Boomer nurses plan to retire, find non-nursing jobs, work part time, or work as travel nurses in the next 1 to 3 years. This finding has significant implications for those concerned about the nursing workforce. More than 1.12 million nurses in the U.S. are between the ages of 45 and 60, according to HRSA. Should even 10% of these nurses choose to retire in the next 1 to 3 years or to find non-nursing jobs, the overall nursing workforce would be reduced by some 112,000 nurses.

One benefit offered by travel nursing is that it provides a means by which Baby Boomer nurses who might otherwise choose to retire or find non-clinical jobs can stay in nursing. Two percent of Baby Boomer nurses surveyed reported that they plan to work as travel nurses in the next 1 to 3 years. Should 2% of all nurses ages 45 to 60 choose to work as travelers during this time period, approximately 22,500 nurses who may have pursued some other option would remain in the profession.

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