The U.S. Nursing Shortage: Reasons and Solutions

• RSA Team
• Oct 6, 2026
• Healthcare staffing
• 6 min read

The nursing shortage is one of the most pressing problems in American healthcare. It touches every part of the sector, from hospitals and long-term care to home health agencies that need clinicians in the field every day.

Registered nurses are among the most in-demand professionals in the country. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections called for RN jobs to grow from about 3 million in 2018 to 3.4 million by 2028, a 12 percent increase. Supply has not kept up.

An aging population is fueling demand

The Baby Boomer generation is the single biggest driver. By 2030, every Baby Boomer will be over 65, and roughly one in five residents will have reached retirement age. Older patients need more care, more often, and for longer.

Retiring nurses leave vacancies behind

The same generation makes up a large share of experienced nurses, and they are retiring. Since 2012, about 60,000 RNs have left the field each year, and more than 70,000 a year are projected to retire over the coming decade. By 2020, the number of Baby Boomer RNs had fallen to around 660,000, roughly half of its 2008 peak.

The pipeline can't keep up

Nursing schools are not short of interest. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, U.S. schools turned away more than 64,000 qualified applicants in the 2016–17 academic year, mostly because of faculty and clinical placement limits.

Meanwhile, the nurses who stay are stretched. Research reported in the American Journal of Nursing found that staffing shortages leave nurses overworked, stressed and dissatisfied. In that research, 13 percent of nurses had changed jobs within a year and 37 percent said they were looking for new opportunities.

A proven answer: international recruitment

International recruitment was widely used in the early 2000s, then slowed by visa delays and the 2008 downturn. Today the path is clearer. Visa processing has improved, and international nurses can sit the NCLEX-RN at test centres abroad before they relocate.

• Fill vacancies that have stayed open for months
• Attract experienced nurses looking for better benefits and stability
• Reduce expensive reliance on contingent and agency staff
• Support new programs and facility expansions with a steady supply of qualified nurses

How Romeo Staffing helps

RSA sources full-time nurses from abroad for U.S. healthcare teams. We handle candidate identification and evaluation, the hiring process, immigration paperwork, credential and license validation, and relocation coordination. Employers hire directly, with no staffing markups.

Figures as cited in RSA's original article, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the American Journal of Nursing.

Written by

The RSA Team

Notes from the people running support, back-office and recruitment work for RSA clients across the U.S., from Farmington Hills and Karachi.