Our national shortage of nurses is expected to triple within 13 years, leaving a shortfall of 340,000 nurses in 2020. The loss of many older, experienced nurses through early retirement is contributing significantly to the nursing shortage. As the average age of nurses in the United States approaches 50, the needs of older nurses in the workforce are taking center stage. Solutions rest with policymakers and employers, who need to take urgent action to keep these older and experienced nurses in the workforce.

Older nurses have extensive knowledge of patient care but the physical demands of the job can take a huge toll, driving nurses out of the workforce too soon. A study, "The Importance of the Older and Experienced Nurse in the Workplace," funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation identified 4 key factors that shape nurses' decisions to stay on the job or retire: current job satisfaction, health status, financial status, and attitude toward retirement. Older nurses would prefer to stay in their field and feel they have much to contribute. They view themselves as accomplished, dedicated, committed to quality and safety, hardworking, intuitive, good decision makers, able to remain calm during a crisis, reliable team players, and mentors to new nurses.

However, researchers also found that these highly trained older nurses (aged between 45 and 65 years) are leaving the workforce, often prematurely, because the work environment is unduly taxing, the hours are long, and the physical demands of the job are excessive. When these nurses leave, they take their considerable knowledge and skills with them. Younger and less experienced nurses hired to replace them not only lack the same level of expertise but also lose their mentors when the older nurses retire.

Wisdom at Work, a whitepaper from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, considers the problem of premature retirement of these knowledgable and experienced older nurses and offers strategies to keep nurses working beyond the age of 55.1 The paper details numerous ways that employers can help reverse the trend of premature retirement. Reasonable work hours, redesigning work spaces and processes, adopting new technology, developing creative, individualized benefit packages, and financial support and incentives for continuing education and research are some of the paper's recommendations. A set of "Best Practices" for retaining experienced nurses includes phased retirement; life-phase planning services; training, life-long learning, and professional development; mentoring programs; flexible work options; and redesigned workplaces and ergonomic improvements. Changes such as these will benefit not only older nurses but all nurses as well.

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