Much has been reported about nursing and other healthcare staff shortages across the country since 2020 when the world was hit by a global pandemic. While the pandemic highlighted many of the gaps in healthcare that affected certain populations, it also underscored the growing need for more nurses in the pipeline to meet current and future health care demands. 

VA has felt the effects of workforce shortages and has made improving the hiring process for health care professionals their top priority. Both the VA Secretary, Denis McDonough, and Undersecretary of Health, Dr. Shareef Elnahal, have spoken out about the difficulties in the hiring process, noting the need to offer competitive wages and benefits, the importance of onboarding employees faster, accelerating HR Specialist training and readiness, and investing in VA employees.

NOVA continues to discuss these issues with congressional members and staff as part of our advocacy efforts and legislative priorities.

We also remain active in our role as a member of the Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) and continue to support funding for the Title VIII nursing workforce development programs (the ask for FY 2024 is $530 million). This remains critical to strengthening nursing education at all levels, while also providing support for institutions that educate nurses for practice in rural and medically underserved communities. Increased funding for Title VIII programs will help to build and bolster the current and future nursing workforce. 

NOVA encourages all of you to continue to have discussions on the local, state and federal levels as many consider the nursing shortage a “global health emergency.”

The American Nurses Association estimates that more than a million new nurses need to join the workforce over the next few years to prevent a critical nursing shortage. Ten states are projected to have a shortage of registered nurses (RNs) by 2035 and more than half the current RNs are over the age of 50. - Why Is There A Nursing Shortage? | NurseJournal.org

When discussing these issues, be sure to include information on your local area, do your research and provide accurate data and what is needed to overcome and improve nursing shortages.

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Resources:

Nursing Shortages in 2023: A State-by-State Breakdown

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) has been keeping a close eye on data and released a survey with solid information.

Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action Homepage (sponsored by AARP)

The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity

AFGE and the Veterans Health Policy Institute (VHPI) released a survey conducted last year about staffing and employee issues within VA.