S2, Ep6: Season Two - Where Are We Now?

Season Two - Where Are We Now?

In this episode, I talk about the state of nursing and why there's such a huge opportunity for YOU!

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
As I'm thinking about season two, I wanted to kind of tell you guys about the state of

(00:09):
nursing, but more importantly, why there's an opportunity for you.
Welcome to my podcast.
So I've been blessed and I just had a huge opportunity.

(00:30):
I've been added to the university that I got my BSN from.
I've just got appointed to the nurse alumni council for the next two years.
I had the privilege to sit in for presentation from our dean for the college of nursing.

(00:51):
He told us about some very interesting statistics.
These stats I want to share with you were, it kind of blew my mind, you know, the statistics
of nursing the way it is right now.
And I just want to kind of share something with you.
The average age of a nurse, what would you guys think the average age would be?

(01:15):
Personally, I thought it was like 25 or maybe 29 or even maybe 34.
The average age of a nurse is 52 years old.
In education, the average professor, whether if it's tenured or associate professor, 69

(01:35):
years old.
And I'm pretty sure you guys have noticed that within the last maybe five years, there's
really been a big uptick in the retirees that are using the healthcare system.
And what's happening is the baby boomers are starting to retire and they're starting
to put a lot of strain on the healthcare system.

(01:56):
And that with nurses retiring, if the average age is 52, that means that probably the upper
quartile is probably a lot older, maybe starting to retire.
So that means the upper probably 25% of nurses are retiring at this moment.
Guys, that's going to leave a huge hole.

(02:19):
Not only we're talking RNs, we're talking advanced practice RNs like CRNAs, nurse practitioners,
nurse midwives and clinical nurse specialists.
And also we're looking at instructors retiring too, PhDs, DMPs and professors.
And if you think about that average age, all of these guys are lumped into here.

(02:45):
So that means that the nursing shortage is going to get worse.
So you guys may say, well, how does that affect me?
Well, let me back up a little bit.
Remember, I said earlier that nursing school is really competitive, meaning that a school
may have 35 to 40 slots, if that.

(03:06):
But they may have 200 applicants.
So that means it's going to get worse because you're not going to have more instructors.
But that helps you because that means that universities are trying to get more creative
to expand their programs, to expand entry.

(03:28):
If you think about that, or why, it's because they have to.
If you have less seats, that means you can only admit less people.
You have to find ways to become creative to increase your admission.
One of the things that I like that COVID has taught us is that you can do online nursing

(03:57):
for entry level.
Now, your clinicals, you probably need to go face to face.
But there are a lot of programs out here that are online.
But I honestly think when I mean creativity, I think they're going to be a lot more variety
of programs and they're going to be using a lot of technology.
That's what I believe.

(04:18):
I know the university that I'm with now is looking to start a special operations medic
to BSN program in 2026.
That's what I mean about being creative.
So how do you position yourself in front of that?
Number one, make sure that you get your prereqs out the way.
Make sure that you start school and start preparing so when the opportunity presents

(04:40):
itself, you are already there.
Because this was going to happen, we're going to need more nurses and the nurse educators
are just going to have to figure out how to make that happen.
But that's what you guys come in, especially with a paramedic skill set, I'm telling you.
You'll be well prepared.

(05:01):
So that's what I wanted to share with you guys as I'm thinking about going through season
two.
I wanted to share with you guys on how to best prepare yourself.
And if you guys have any topics, feel free to just email me.
You guys can hit me up on Instagram or you can just shoot me a direct email.
My email address is paramedic2rnenfo.gmail.com.

(05:27):
I want to hear from you.
I want to hear what you think.
I want to hear from you.
Are you getting your questions answered?
Or if you have any specific questions, what are they?
Maybe some really good topics, maybe some questions everyone else have and I can give
you guys some guidance on it.
So feel free to just reach out to me and I'll be looking for you guys' emails and comments

(05:52):
and we'll make this happen.
Thank you guys for tuning in and I'll see you next week.
Bye bye.
Bye.
Bye.