New Jersey is projected to be among the states with the worst shortage of nurses in coming years, according to a new study by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The study predicts a shortage of 24,450 registered nurses in the state by 2036, the fourth-largest shortage after Georgia, California and Washington.
Nearly one-third of New Jersey nurses have left the bedside since 2020 due to pandemic-related burnout, bitter fights with health care systems over new contracts, pay and staffing ratios, according to Health Professionals and Allied Employees, the state’s largest nurses union.
Health care workers across the country have left the profession in droves, citing trauma and unsustainable work environments.
State and federal leaders have sought to add to the nursing ranks, with money to train additional nurses, hire more faculty and lower the cost of getting a nursing degree.
