The overall number of nurses in Florida is increasing, but experts say Florida needs to find ways to keep the nurses who are working now from retiring or face a shortage.
Florida’s population is aging and so are its nurses. According to a report from the Florida Center for Nursing nearly half the state’s registered nurses are 51 or older. And Center Executive Director, Mary Lou Brunell says that spells trouble, unless employers make some changes. She says employers need to help nurses move from more strenuous jobs to positions that require fewer hours or less physical work.
“ Like home health or in a skilled nursing facility, although that’s physically demanding, but it may not be a 12 hour shift. And those are the areas that are going to expand as far as job opportunities in the future anyway,” Brunell says.
Brunell also cautions that while the number of nurses in the state is growing it’s not growing fast enough. She says officials need to continue working to encourage new nurses to join the field.
