The nursing industry and the profession itself are widely considered to be honorable. In fact, the latter has been ranked as one of the most “trusted” professions over the past 20 years. Since a badge of “trustworthiness” is hard to come by in today’s uncertain world, this means all the more to those looking for job security in the years to come. A closer look at nursing trends relevant to RNs, LPNs, and CNAs, gives us a better look into the day-to-day lives of caregivers.
With the evolution of the nursing career caused by the world-wide pandemic and the ever-increasing need for work-life balance – which explain the growing trends of travel nursing and PRN work – it’s important now more than ever to be on top of industry trends to help navigate the future. With that said, we compiled a list of important industry statistics that you absolutely need to know in 2022 and beyond.
Let’s take a look!
Nursing Trends in Education
1.Remote Nursing Programs Will Continue to Grow
With the world going remote, it comes as no surprise that online education has continued to grow in popularity. For nurses, online education will only increase in significance as it creates new opportunities for those working as well as for those who are far from on-site campuses.
2.Nurses Will Need a BSN and Further Certifications
As health care systems work to increase the number of nurses with bachelor’s degrees, nurses seeking higher degrees through online nursing programs will remain a growing trend in 2022. In fact, the 2020 National Nursing Workforce Survey found that 65.2% of RNs had attained their baccalaureate degrees, which reflects a 7.8% increase from 2013 to 2020. As this trend continues to grow, with BSN nurses enjoying better job prospects, higher salaries, and better patient outcomes – and ultimately qualifying for more leadership roles – nurses will need to continue their education to stay competitive.
3.Nurses Will Need to Specialize to Make More Money
Want to earn more in 2022 and beyond? Specialize! By specializing in a specific area, nurses can have more job flexibility as well as the potential to earn more. To start you on possibilities of what this can look like, here are a few popular options along with average salaries for each specialization:
- Nurse Case Manager: $74,121
- Nurse Educator: $77,580
- Nursing Manager: $87,629
- Clinical Research Director: $117,334
Based on nurses’skills, they can choose programs that fit their needs and preferences and which will qualify them to enter advanced nursing roles in the coming years.
4.Growing Tech Will Change the Nursing School Experience
Tech is growing across campuses including nursing schools! Advances in technology have improved remote learning within nursing schools, and this is essential to address the worldwide nursing shortage and the new needs for learning in an ever-changing world.
With digital programming such as vSim, students have have technological real world practice all while being exposed to all types of digital information from the comfort of home.
Nursing Trends in the Workforce
1.Job Opportunities Will Be Abundant
The American Nurses Association (ANA) reports that “more registered nurse jobs will be available in 2022 than in any other profession in the United States.” In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “employment of RNs will grow 9% throughout the country by 2030, which is faster than the average occupational growth rate.”
To put things into perspective and understand the gravity of the nursing deficit, “in order to keep up with demand, every year, over 200,000 openings will need to be filled over the next decade!”
2.Medical Entrepreneurship Is an Emerging Interest
Just like bloggers and content creators have boomed over the past ten years in other industries, so has nursing within the healthcare field. In addition to travel nursing and PRN work, there is a new trend of independent entrepreneurship in the healthcare field that has never been seen before.
Since many nurses can now work from home there are new ways for nurses can explore the application of their degree, knowledge and passions. Popular examples of how nurses can do this are provided online courses, content creation for nurse/hospital products or even becoming a nurse-patient advocate.
For those with an entrepreneurial mindset, there are endless possibilities to have a job in the medical-field doing what you love – yes, even admin!
3.The Nursing Workforce Is Aging Out
This is a hard truth: The nursing workforce is aging out, which is adding to the workforce problems the healthcare industry is facing.
In fact, the 2020 National Workforce Survey showed that the “median age of the registered nursing workforce was 52”. With “19% of the nursing workforce planning to retire soon, there is a growing need for fresh blood in the industry!
America is in the middle of a nursing shortage due to covid burnout and the problem continues to worsen. Eek!
4. Burnout Is Causing Workforce Instability – Yes, Even Now
Burnout is nothing new when it comes to the healthcare industry. In particular, nurses tend to feel overworked, underappreciated, and unsupported at work.
Nurses were already experiencing a high turnover rate before the pandemic, but the stress of COVID-19 has expanded the problem. If you think you may be experiencing burnout, learn more on how to manage your experience with this ebook published by the World Health Organization.
Since mental health challenges are not going away anytime soon, investing in mental health support will need to be a 2022 workforce trend.
5. Healthcare Administration Will Continue to Expand
The capabilities of telemedicine and other remote platforms have increased over the past few years and has had to with the increase of individuals stuck at home.
This use of medical tech will only increase as individuals and hospitals expand and adopt new tech for patient support.
A recent survey done by McKinsey called Future of Work in Nursing found that nurses are excited about and willing to try different care delivery models for healthcare administration. In fact, American Health & Drug Benefits reports that at-home patient care delivery is increasing. Given these shifts, the American Nurses Association encourages nurses to do the following:
- Embrace technology to deliver excellent nursing care virtually.
- Revolutionize education by incorporating tech with AI experiences.
- Accept the flexible, autonomous, and support-minded workforce.
As the need for tech adaptations continues to grow, so does the excitement for the future of healthcare for those coming into the industry!
6. Travel and Bilingual Nurses Are in Demand
The country has changed a lot over the past decade from the pandemic to immigration. With that said, the need for both traveling and bilingual nurses is hot on the list of medical facilities. In fact, Bloomberg reported that “job openings for travel nurses through SimpliFi had increased by 30%” between the winter of 2021 and August 2021. SimpliFi also stated that while travel nurses have typically made up 3-4% of nursing staff, they now make up 8-10%.
Speaking to this demand for expanded language skills, Canopy reports that the Hispanic population in the United States has quadrupled since 1980. Out of that number, only 36% of Hispanic individuals born int he U.S can speak English fluently. So, if there is a language barrier, so might the ability to provide excellent healthcare.
7. Home Health Will Increase in Popularity
Although travel and PRN nurses are on the rise, there is an equal demand for home healthcare nurses as the “boomer” population is getting older. Because that is the case, the need for hospice and home healthcare is on the rise .In fact, a new bill called the Choose Home Care Act was introduced to the Senate in July 2021 to expand the benefits provided by Medicare for home healthcare services. It would also open the door to “more remote monitoring and telehealth nursing services for seniors.”
8.Nurses Will Make More Money
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nurses made a “mean salary of $75,300 in 2020.” In hospitals, registered nurses earned an even greater annual wage, taking home a mean salary of $80,010. Since that’s $2,000 more on average than nurses were making in 2019, there’s a good chance those numbers will continue to grow in 2022.
With these favorable statistics, it’s safe to say that growing salaries will be a nursing trend in 2022.
2022 Trends and the Future
As the healthcare industry evolves to meet the new needs of both healthcare providers and patients, innovative solutions will need to be put in place. By understanding these growing trends, you can navigate your own career and find new ways to manage the growing issues at hand.
If there is one thing we can promise at Nursa, it is this: Amid the chaos, we will be there to help continually provide resources and solutions to healthcare professionals. We love nothing more than to empower nurses and hospital admins with new technology and solutions to modern problems. Curious about trends in healthcare? Find out which are the best water bottles for nurses and what brands of scrubs are most popular for men and women.
