June 16th, 2009

Lost jobs and downturns in 401(k)’s has led to older workers  joining the field of nursing for the job stability it offers, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Many nurses are delaying retirement or returning to the work force because of the recession. Others are turning from unrelated careers to nursing because of the job stability the profession offers. The trend has eased the nursing shortage that began a decade ago and was forecast to continue for another decade.

“In 2007 and 2008, there was an increase of (registered nurse) employment of 243,000,” said Peter Buerhaus, director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Health Workforce Studies at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “Going back in our data set to the early 1970s, there is no two-year increase in employment that comes remotely close to this.”

Of those 243,000 nurses joining the work force, half were older than 50, said Buerhaus, who recently published a report analyzing the recession-driven surge in nurses.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center implemented at least two programs to accommodate returning and older nurses, said Holly Lorenz, chief nursing officer.