The demand for registered nurses (RNs) in the United States is high. With nearly 4.7 million registered nurses nationwide, nursing is the nation’s largest healthcare profession. Of all licensed nurses, 89% are actively working in the nursing field.
The average age of a registered nurse is 46. More than a quarter of nurses surveyed indicate plans to leave the profession or retire within the next five years. This creates a significant gap in the nursing workforce and ample job opportunities for new nurses.
The federal government projects that more than 203,000 new registered nurse positions will be created each year from 2021 to 2031. Registered nurses comprise one of the largest segments of the overall U.S. workforce and are among the highest-paid occupations. Nearly 55% of RNs work in general medical and surgical hospitals, with a median annual salary of $77,600 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Employment of registered nurses is projected to grow 5% from 2021 to 2031. Growth in the RN workforce will occur for several reasons, including a greater emphasis on preventative care; growing rates of chronic conditions, such as diabetes and obesity; and the demand for healthcare services from the baby-boom population, as this group lives longer and more active lives.
Most healthcare services involve registered nurses in some form of care delivery. RNs are in high demand across both acute and community-based care settings, including private physician offices, health maintenance organizations, public health agencies, primary care clinics, home healthcare, nursing homes, minute clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, nurse-managed clinics, insurance and managed care companies, schools, mental health agencies, hospices, the military, industry, nursing education, and healthcare research. This demonstrates the diversity within registered nurse jobs.
While often working collaboratively, nurses do not “assist” medicine or other fields. Nursing operates independently of medicine and other professions. The registered nurse’s scope of practice ranges from direct patient care and case management to establishing nursing practice standards, developing quality assurance procedures, and directing complex nursing care systems.
With registered nurses in the U.S. outnumbering physicians four to one, nurses provide a broad array of expanded healthcare services, including primary and preventative care by nurse practitioners with expertise in areas such as pediatrics, family health, women’s health, and gerontological care. The scope of nursing also includes the services of certified nurse-midwives and nurse anesthetists, as well as care in cardiovascular, oncology, neonatal, neuroscience, and obstetrics/gynecology nursing, and other advanced clinical specialties. These specialties open up a range of attractive registered nurse jobs.
Most registered nurses today begin their careers with a bachelor’s degree granted by a four-year college or university, or from a community college. As of 2022, 71.7% of the RN workforce held a baccalaureate or higher degree as their highest level of nursing education.
Employers are demonstrating a strong preference for new nurses with baccalaureate preparation. Results from AACN’s latest survey of New Graduate RN Employment show that nearly 28% of employers require new hires to have a bachelor’s degree while 72% strongly prefer baccalaureate-prepared nurses. This degree requirement affects the competitiveness of the registered nurse jobs market.
In 2022, 17.4% of RNs nationwide had a master’s degree and 2.7% held a doctoral degree as their highest level of education. The current demand for master’s- and doctorally-prepared nurses for advanced practice, clinical specialties, teaching, and research roles far exceeds the supply. This creates significant opportunities for those seeking registered nurse jobs at a higher level.
