More young people are gravitating toward health careers, nursing in particular, according to a recent study conducted by RAND and cited by published reports.
Larger numbers of young women aged 23-26 have been moving toward the field between 2002 and 2009, according to NPR. The study was probed by RAND and Dartmouth College economists, as well as a nursing professor from Vanderbilt University.
"The big surprise was how large this trend is of young people coming into nursing. It, in fact, rivals the number of young people who came into nursing back in the baby boom generation," nursing instructor Peter Buerhaus with Vanderbilt's school of nursing told Nashville Public Radio. "We’ve got an aging society that will be coming into our healthcare systems over the next couple of decades. Our workforce is not yet up to speed in terms of the types of nurses or physicians or others that will be need[ed] to provide care for the surge of people."
Buerhaus said the field has benefited from awareness campaigns regarding a shortage and schools have added nursing programs.
Another driver is accelerated degree programs that prepare students for nursing jobs in as little as one year, according to NPR.