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Practical Nursing Facts
Based on a study
conducted by the Pennsylvania Center for health Careers (PCHC) Report
(2005), there is a gap between the supply and demand of Licensed
Practical Nurses.
Consider these
findings:
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Over the next
five years and into the foreseeable future, Pennsylvania is likely
to face an ever-growing gap between the demand for Licensed
Practical Nurses (LPN) and the supply of LPNs willing to work in
health care.
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Unless there are
fundamental shifts in current supply and demand trends, by 2010, the
shortage of LPNs could be as high as 4,100, but will certainly be at
least 2,800.
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Given the uneven
distribution of the elderly population and long-term care facilities
around the commonwealth, some areas will experience more of a
shortage than others.
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Despite the
complexities of factors that could affect the variables in the
Supply/Demand model described in this report, the Pennsylvania
Center for Health Careers (PCHC) believes that the shortage will
approach the high end estimate of 4,100.
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Pennsylvania's
nursing shortage is not unique. National studies reveal that
almost every state is facing similar challenges.
What is driving
the shortage?
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An inadequate
supply of new entries to meet current and future demand is one
factor driving the shortage.
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Pennsylvania has
one of the oldest populations in the country, with the 85+ age
cohort growing faster than any other.
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The stated
intention of thousands of LPNs to leave the nursing profession,
either because of retirement or other reasons.
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Although the
number of graduates from Pennsylvania's LPN nursing programs
increased from 1,236 in 2002 to 1,790 in 2003 and to 1,819 in 2004,
the graduation totals are still short of the 2,295 graduates in
1995.
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The ratio of LPNs
age 35 years and older to LPNs under 35 is six to one.
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The magnitude of
the shortage has the potential to worsen after 2010 because the
demand for health services may significantly increase with the aging
of the baby boom generation, as the leading edge of that age cohort
turns 65 in 2011.
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