A portrait of Colorado’s nursing workforce
Nov 09, 2011 - Projections of increased need for licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and certified nurse aides in Colorado are causing concern about whether the state will have enough nurses and nurse aides to meet future demand. To help inform policy discussions, the Colorado Health Institute (CHI) has compiled several years of findings from its workforce surveys into a newly released report, Colorado’s Nurse and Nurse Aide Workforce: A Portrait.
Some key findings:
- Up to one-fourth of Colorado nurses said they planned to leave their current position or their profession in the next one to five years. They most frequently pointed to insufficient wages, too much stress and lack of respect.
- Low wages and inconvenient hours were key reasons a number of nurses and nurse aides weren't working in their field at the time of the surveys.
- One-third to one-half of nurses and nurse aides said they'd like to continue their education.
The report looks at these issues:
- Expectations for employment growth
- Demographic and employment characteristics of the current nurse and nurse aide workforce
- Basic education and training experiences
- Job satisfaction factors and future career plans
- Rural-urban differences.
Also see Athena Dodd's blog on this new report at http://analysiswithaltitude.org/ and let us know what you think.
Contact:
Deborah Goeken
director of strategic services
(720) 382-7094