It is hard to find an industry that is a better example of “constant change” than healthcare. While the basics of healthcare — providing patients with safe and effective care — remain the same, the roles of physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals evolve over time, as do the tools they use. In fact, the field of nursing is one of the best examples of this unyielding evolution.
From medical advances to technological innovation and even government-mandated regulations, nurses must constantly adapt to new expectations. There are many great reasons to pursue a career in nursing, but nurses must also contend with a lot of challenges brought on by various changes. Not all of these changes are unexpected, however, and sometimes trends and predictions can help foresee shifts in opinion and best practices before they occur.
This article will look at the future of nursing according to predictions and trends online. Are you interested in learning more about the field of nursing and how it is positioned to grow in the future? Do you want to upgrade your nursing career by responding to these changes? You’ve come to the right place!
Predicted growth through 2031
Before we dive into specific trends and predictions, the first thing we’ll discuss is the outlook for nursing as an industry moving forward. More specifically, is the industry growing, or is it expected to remain the same or even shrink? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the field of registered nursing is expected to grow by 6% from 2021 to 2031. This translates to nearly 200,000 new nurses entering the market over the next decade!
This is important growth, especially given the current nursing shortage in the industry. Also of note is that the field of nurse practitioners is expected to grow by 40% from 2021 to 2031, an addition of roughly 110,000 professionals entering the market. This exponential growth is much faster than the average for most other industries, further demonstrating the need for experienced and knowledgeable nurses in the field.
Beyond its growth estimate of 6%, the field of nursing is currently in flux for a few different reasons. The most important of them is that many of the experienced registered nurses in the workforce belong to the same generation (Baby Boomers) and are expected to retire over the next decade or less. This exodus has already begun, and when combined with difficulties from COVID and the lack of qualified professors and clinical residencies, the industry is struggling for new faces. Many of the trends and predictions we discuss below are made with this in mind. From a better focus on the mental health and work/life balance of nurses to the areas where nurses practice, there are many issues to consider when discussing the future of nursing.
With that in mind, let’s examine some of the top predictions and trends in the nursing industry.
Online education will grow
Online education has grown rapidly over the last decade or so, especially since the 2020 pandemic brought the need to shift operations online for some time. The field of nursing has become a particularly popular choice for online diplomas. There are a few different reasons for this, and we’ll discuss some of the most important of them in this section.
First, the Institute of Medicine in 2010 recommended that the number of nurses holding bachelor’s degrees should increase from the then-average of 50% to 80% by 2020. While that goal has not quite been met, it is not for lack of trying. More and more states are passing legislation regarding healthcare workers and the education they must have completed. In 2017, New York became the first to pass legislation requiring new nurses to complete their BSNs within 10 years of receiving their licenses. Other states are considering similar measures, with New Jersey already considering specific proposals regarding the matter.
What does this have to do with online education? While the educational demands of becoming a registered nurse are increasing, the time students and professionals have to dedicate to their education is not. This is especially true for non-traditional students earning their degrees later in life. Many of these individuals work while studying, and some of them have other commitments such as children. Their time is already stretched thin, and attending university full-time and in person is an impossibility for many. The answer here is online education.
While there are many reasons why online education is an increasingly popular choice, some are more prevalent than others, most specifically: location, flexibility, and cost.
Location
In the past, students have been bound by geography when it came to their education. If they could not afford to move across the country to complete the program of their choice, they were out of luck completely. This was the cause of disappointment for many people who simply didn’t have the funds or resources to devote to a massive move. Online learning changes that.
Instead of physically moving to the campus in question, remote students are often able to complete their programs wherever they have an internet connection. A student in California might be able to complete a degree from a university based in Maryland without ever leaving the state, in other words, which is a huge change from prior years of education.
Because it allows students to pick their favorite nursing class no matter where it is located, earning a BSN online has become a popular option even among traditional students with the means to move. And as more respected universities like Elmhurst offer high-quality programs online, the number of people selecting remote degree options is positioned to grow in the future.
Flexibility
Another reason why so many students are opting for online classes is the flexibility this kind of degree offers. Traditional classes take place at specific times and students are expected to arrange their schedules around them. This can be difficult for students with jobs or families, especially when they are taking more than one class at a time. Taking four classes in person, for example, might result in two classes every day with labs on the fifth day. This might not sound bad but consider that classes are often too far apart to take back-to-back, but not quite long enough to work through or leave campus for. That’s a lot of wasted time that could be spent earning money or taking care of loved ones.
Online classes are the answer for many. While some programs have live classes at specific times, it is much easier to work around them than it is in more traditional academic settings. An hour-long class can often be completed during a lunch break, and online labs can often be completed whenever students have time. This is a great way to receive an excellent education without the strict schedule traditional education demands.
Cost
Finally, we arrive at cost. The price of education is increasing and can already cost several tens of thousands of dollars even at smaller community colleges. Relatively few students have the financial independence to pay for their degree upfront. The solution for them is student loans, which allow students to study full-time without working full-time at the same time. Unfortunately, student loans are expensive, especially private student loans. The cost can quickly balloon.
Online classes can still be pricey, but because you can work full-time while completing them, the need to rely on loans is greatly diminished. Additionally, when you study online, you aren’t paying for a dorm room, a food card, or gas, which can save you quite a bit on its own.
The need for traveling nurses will continue
If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that it takes a village to get through tough times. This is just as true in the healthcare industry as it is anywhere else, with the demand for traveling nurses increasing a staggering 200% from 2019 to 2022. As you might suspect, these numbers were due to COVID in large part, with nurses traveling from state to state to provide help where it was most needed. Given the success of that kind of work environment, however, and the rising shortage of nurses we mentioned at the beginning of this article, this demand is not likely to decrease anytime soon. On the contrary, it will likely only continue to grow as more nurses retire and new nurses join the profession too slowly to meet the need.
Aside from the benefit to the hospitals and medical centers searching for qualified traveling nurses, does the arrangement have any special appeal for nurses? While not everyone is destined to become a traveling nurse, those who are compatible with the mobile lifestyle might experience a host of benefits. The ability to travel around the country, for example, is very appealing to many. Nurses are able to work at their pick of locations and can see almost any state they want in the process.
Another reason why traveling is appealing to some is the increased salary traveling nurses receive. From a living stipend to higher income in general, traveling nurses are often paid quite well for their time. Keep in mind that they don’t travel without a purpose in mind — they go where their services are needed the most. This often leads to work environments that are already quite frantic and busy, making their jobs more challenging than they might be if they were working at a single hospital or health center. The increased wages recognize this difficulty as well as the burden of traveling, which can be exhausting even when you enjoy it.
Overall, traveling nursing is an interesting trend that might be a great choice for those who are not opposed to the hectic lifestyle. We expect to see rising numbers of traveling nurses across the country.
Increased focus on nurses’ mental health
If the nursing shortage offers any positives to nursing professionals, it is almost assuredly the rising discussion regarding nurses and mental health. While the main reason the nursing industry is in need of new hires lies in the retirement of older nurses, there is another prevalent issue leading to the exodus: decreased mental health. Nurses typically work extremely long shifts and face all manner of demanding patients during that time. They rarely have any time for themselves at work and feel the pressure to work even when they are ill or otherwise struggling. As a result, nurses sometimes struggle with mental health challenges that they have little time to address.
Note that while this discussion centering around nurses and their mental health is not a new one, it was not until 2020 that it became a mainstream concern. Reports of nurses leaving their jobs because of the burnout sustained from round-the-clock care against an unknown and deadly health issue were high profile, with many viewers and reporters pointing out the thankless and nonstop nature of the profession. For the first time in a long time, people began to acknowledge the mental health toll caring for other people can take, especially when you are not given enough time to work through the issue.
As a result of this renewed discussion, we predict that we will see changes regarding nurse health. Whether that translates into more time off for mental health or increased access to health resources remains to be seen. Either way, it is well past time to make a change.
Higher integration of technology
When you think of the technology nurses use, the image of the vital signs monitor is likely the first thing that comes to mind. Over the past decade, however, the technology used in conjunction with nursing has increased dramatically. One of the most exciting types of technology is wearable devices.
For years, people have adopted wearable health devices such as the Fitbit. The goal is to monitor their health and assess where they can make changes to become healthier and happier over time. You might not be aware that this trend has taken the medical world by storm. While nurses don’t typically put patients in Fitbits to monitor their health, there are a host of wearable medical devices that make caring for patients with highly variable and volatile health conditions much easier. They can be especially useful to monitor conditions such as diabetes and serve to keep nurses aware of patients’ health both in the hospital and outside of it. Nurses don’t only see patients while they are staying in the hospital, after all — they often interact with patients who visit the office in need of ongoing care. Wearable medical technology makes these interactions quicker and more seamless by storing information about blood sugar spikes and drops along with other information about critical vitals.
We predict wearable medical devices will become more popular as the technology continues to evolve and is covered by more insurance providers.
Increased combination of behavioral health and primary care
Perhaps one of the biggest trends we see on the horizon in nursing is the combination of primary care and behavioral health care. This is something else that has been changing rapidly as discussions about mental health become more accepted and common in the mainstream. The increased use of telemedicine makes the combination of physical and mental healthcare more viable, too, as it dramatically cuts down on the time it takes nurses to speak from one patient to the next. This gives them more time to interact with each patient and the ability to discuss mental health struggles in more detail.
Remember that this is not an indication that mental healthcare specialists will be in any way “replaced” by nurses. On the contrary, this integration allows nurses to handle the “easy” cases of mental health while the more severe can be referred to physicians specializing in mental health.
What do you think about our trends and predictions for nursing? The future is primed to be a very interesting one in the industry, and we look forward to the continued evolution of healthcare in the coming years.
