Data Briefs
Employment of registered nurses (RNs) increases in 4th quarter of 2017
As shown below, in the fourth quarter of 2017 the total number of full time equivalent (FTE) RNs increased to 3.1 million after a dipping to under 3 million in the third quarter...
Employment of Registered Nurses (RNs) Dips in 3rd Quarter of 2017
As shown below, during the third quarter of 2017, the total number of FTE RNs in the workforce dipped to just under 3 million from 3.1 million in the previous quarter. Part of the drop could be...
Strong 2nd Quarter Growth in Total Employment of Registered Nurses (RNs)
During the second quarter of 2017 the total number of RNs in the workforce increased to 3,430,000 FTEs, an increase of about 120,000 FTE RNs from the first quarter of 2017.
First Quarter 2017 RN Employment Data Now Available - Hospitals add roughly 26,000 RNs, slow down of young RNs, wage uptick and more...
During the first 3 months of 2017, the number of registered nurses (RNs) working
as full-time equivalents (FTEs) in the United States stood at 3.3 million, essentially
the same number of FTE RNs that where employed in the 4th quarter of 2016. These
data include Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs)...
2017 Data Brief Update: Current Trends of Men in Nursing

Center investigators routinely updates information from prior data briefs posted on the Center’s website. In this data brief, we update information on the number of RNs who are men, including employment, education, earnings and other information...
Total employment growth of registered nurses (RNs) levels off in the 4th quarter of 2016 - Evidence of long-anticipated RN retirement

Nursing workforce data from the 4th quarter of 2016 show that the number of full-time employee (FTE) registered nurses (RNs) decreased by about 48,000 since the 3rd quarter of 2016. This reduction is only the second decrease in total RN employment during the past 10 quarters. The data includes Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs)..
Total employment of registered nurses (RNs) continues to increase steadily in the 3rd quarter of 2016

Total employment of registered nurses (RNs) continued to increase at a brisk rate
in the 3rd quarter of 2016. Employment increased in both hospital and non-hospital
settings. Sharp increase in employment of younger age RNs Source: Authors’ analysis
of the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey Nursing workforce data from the 3rd
quarter of 2016...
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Total employment of registered nurses (RNs) increased substantially during the 2nd quarter of 2016
Employment growth in hospitals settings especially strong On a national basis no apparent
surge in RN retirements observed New nursing workforce data for the second quarter
of 2016 show that, nationally, total RN employment grew by 135,00 full-time employees
(FTE). Going back two years earlier to the 2nd quarter of 2014, total RN employment...
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First Quarter 2016 RN Employment Data Now Available

Total employment of registered nurses (RNs) dipped during the 1st quarter of 2016
with no apparent surge in retirements The addition of new employment data from the
Current Population Survey’s Basic Monthly files shows that during the first 3 months
of 2016, total RN employment dropped by nearly 32,000, (measured in full-time equivalents
or FTEs)....
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New: Fourth Quarter 2015 RN data show dip, overall 2015 growth

February 24, 2016 - Despite a dip in Registered Nurse Employment in the Fourth Quarter, Overall
Employment during 2015 Increased by Nearly 60,000 The addition of new employment data
from the Current Population Survey’s Basic Monthly files shows the nation’s total
full-time RN workforce decreased by nearly 37,000 FTEs in the 4th quarter of 2015.
Source:...
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2015 Third Quarter Data Shows Resumed Growth Among Younger Registered Nurses
The addition of new employment data for the 3rd quarter of 2015 obtained from the
Current Population Survey’s Basic Monthly files shows the full-time RN workforce is
nearly 3 million strong. Source: Authors’ analysis of Census Bureau’s Current Population
Survey If one were to look back 10 years ago to the 3rd quarter of 2005,...
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Recent Trends and Characteristics of the Physician Assistant Workforce

Note: This data brief was originally published on December 9th, 2015, including data
through 2013. Soon after it was posted, 2014 data became available. Consequently,
we have updated our report below. We have also included some additional detail on
the data source used based on comments received after our initial publication. Related
to this data...
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Recent Trends and Characteristics of the Physician Workforce

October 21, 2015 – The following figures rely on data from the American Community
Survey to track trends among physicians from 2003 to 2013. See the Technical notes
for more details on the methodology. Fig1. Figure 1 ure shows steady growth in the
physician workforce between 2003 and 2013 – roughly 20% over the period,...
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2015 Second Quarter Data Reveals Continued Increase in Hospital Employment and Stagnating Employment Growth Among Younger RNs

October 5th, 2015 – The addition of new employment data for the 2nd quarter of 2015
obtained from the Current Population Survey’s Basic Monthly files shows the RN workforce
again increasing toward 3 million FTE (2,916,000). However, the figure below shows
that 2nd quarter employment continued to move in opposite directions when RNs were
grouped...
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Employment of Medical Assistants in the US, 2010-2013
Vanderbilt University Center for Interdisciplinary Health Workforce Studies Issue
Brief no. 1 David Auerbach, Peter Buerhaus, Douglas Staiger About this series: The
Center will occasionally release peer-reviewed scholarly analyses in the form of Issue
Briefs as part of our electronic research collection. These pieces will often focus
on a particular workforce segment, such as medical...
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2015 First Quarter Data Suggests RN Employment in Hospital and among Older RNs Remains Strong

May 15, 2015: The addition of new employment data for the 1st quarter of 2015 obtained
from the Current Population Survey’s Basic Monthly files shows that the total size
of the RN workforce increased nearly 3,500 FTE RNs. However, the nearby Figure shows
that 1st quarter employment data moved in opposite directions when RNs were...
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Gender Pay Gap in Nursing
April 1, 2015: One might think that in a female dominated profession such as nursing,
women would no longer earn less than men. However, this is not the case according
to new research published in the March 24, 2015 issue of The Journal of the American
Medical Association. In the study that is available here...
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2014 Fourth Quarter Data Reveal Declining Hospital RN Employment, Non-Hospital Employment Increased Rapidly
March 16, 2015: Using data from the Current Population Survey’s Basic Monthly files,
the nearby Figure shows the latest quarterly data on FTE RN employment in hospitals
and non-hospital settings. The addition of new employment data on FTE RNs during
the 4th quarter of 2014 shows that hospital employment continued to decrease, a trend
that...
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Data on Characteristics of the Registered Nurse Workforce Now Available on a Quarterly Basis

December 11, 2014: For many years, we have reported on trends in employment, education
and demographic characteristics of the registered nurse (RN) workforce in the United
States. For the most part, data we analyze originates from three federal surveys:
the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN), the Current Population Survey
(CPS), and the American...
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Fall Rural Health Workforce Webinar Series – Participant Survey

Please follow the link to our very brief survey to help us improve our webinars as
we move into 2015. We look forward to your feedback and your participation! https://redcap.vanderbilt.edu/surveys/?s=7D8DAHNTET
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Spreading Like a Wildfire: Interprofessional Education, The Vanderbilt Experience

Peter I. Buerhaus, PhD, RN, FAAN – November 20, 2014 This text is the full version
of the post that appeared in the HealthAffairs Blog, November 20th, 2014 – click here
to view that post. Well before the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, efforts
to expand interprofessional education (IPE) were beginning to change...
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Average RN Hours Continue to Increase and Part-Time RN Employment Continues to Decline

Analysis of Current Population Survey (CPS) data shows that the average number of
hours RNs are working has increased steadily from 1979 to 2013. Over the time period,
the increase has amounted to roughly one additional hour for hospital-based RNs, but
roughly 3 hours for those working in non-hospital settings. The increase in hours
worked in...
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Current Trends of Men in Nursing

Figure 1 : Number of Men working on a Full Time Equivalent Basis Continues to Increase
Analysis of Current Population Survey (CPS) data indicates the total number of male
RNs continues to grow rapidly, with a sharp increase of about 70,000 male RNs from
2010 to 2013. This recent growth saw their representation in...
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Wages Remain Flat for RNs in Both Hospital & Non-Hospital Settings

The latest analysis of Current Population Survey (CPS) data reveals that real wages
(in 2013 dollars) for registered nurses (RNs) employed in both hospital and non-hospital
settings continue to remain relatively flat, with RNs in the hospital setting continuing
to earn approximately 10% more than their counterparts in other settings. We observed
strong wage increases...
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Number of Young RNs Remains High

The latest Current Population Survey (CPS) data shows that the recent surge among
young RNs continues to hold. The number of FTE RNs aged 23-26, a good indicator of
interest in nursing as a profession, gradually declined from the peaks reached in
the late 1970s with the baby boom cohorts. Numbering 200,000 in 1979, the...
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Proportion of Registered Nurses Employed in Hospitals Falls Below 60% in 2013

For many years, we have used data from Current Population Surveys (CPS) to identify
employment characteristics of the nation’s registered nurses (RNs). Our analysis of
2013 CPS data shows that, for the first time since we began recording this data in
1979, the proportion of RNs employed on a full-time-equivalent (FTE) basis in hospitals
dropped...
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