The American Nurses Association (ANA) has announced the theme of National Nurses Week 2005, "Nurses: Many Roles One Profession." National Nurses Week is celebrated annually from May 6-12. May 6 th, also known as National Nurses Day, is the birthday of Florence Nightingale, who is considered the pioneer of modern nursing. UNLV School of Nursing faculty, staff, and students will participate in the annual event to raise awareness for the nursing shortage both nationally and in Nevada.

"This year's theme underscores the breadth of directions that a nurse's career may take," said ANA president Barbara Blakeney, MS, RN. "Although nurses historically have provided hands-on patient care at the bedside - and will continue to do so - nurses also are deeply involved in health education, research, business and public policy," she added.

Registered nurses (RNs) represent the largest, single component of the health care profession with an estimated 2.7 million RNs in the United States. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. currently has a nurse shortage of nearly 150,000 RNs and will have a shortage of more than 800,000 RNs by the year 2020.

According to the HHS study, the shortage of nurses is even greater in Nevada than the national demand:

• There were more than 12,900 licensed registered nurses (RNs) in Nevada in 2000; nearly 10,400 were employed in nursing. There were 514.4 RNs per 100,000 population in Nevada in 2000, significantly less than the national rate of 780.2. Nevada ranked last among states in RNs per capita.
• In 2000, Nevada ranked 48th among the states in the per capita employment of Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurses (LPNs), with 111.5 LPNs per 100,000 population as compared to the national rate of 240.8 per 100,000. Nevada ranked 42nd in the number of LPNs employed in 2000 with 2,250 workers.
• Nevada had more than 300 nurse practitioners in 2000. This was equal to 15.2 nurse practitioners per 100,000 population, well below the national rate of 33.7. Nevada had one of the lowest ratios of nurse practitioners per capita in the nation.
• With 15 certified nurse midwives in 2000, Nevada had 0.7 certified nurse midwife per 100,000 population, well below the national rate of 2.9. Nevada ranked 49th among states in certified nurse midwives per capita.
• With 64 certified registered nurse anesthetists in 2003, Nevada had 3.2 nurse anesthetists per 100,000 population, about a third of the national rate. Nevada had one of the lowest ratios of nurse anesthetists per capita in the nation.
• The total population of Nevada is projected to grow 11% between 2000 and 2020, while the population over 65 is projected to grow 88% during the same period.

"One of the goals of National Nurses Week is to remind the public of the critical role that nurses play," said College of Nursing Dean Carolyn Yucha, Ph.D. "However, it also is important to point out what nurses need to provide top notch patient care," she added. "Advanced nursing education is particularly important to increase the number of qualified nursing faculty available to educate the next generation of nurses, as well as to provide specialized education for growing areas of nursing."

"UNLV is committed to combating the nursing shortage in Nevada with expanded graduate opportunities to provide an adequate number of nurse educators and advanced practice nurses," Dr. Yucha said. "This is critical if we are going to meet the health needs of our growing population and, in particular, the health needs of elderly Nevadans"

The UNLV School of Nursing currently has an enrollment of approximately 250 undergraduate students in its program leading to a bachelor of science in nursing. This program prepares students to take the registered nurse licensure exam. In an effort to rapidly prepare more nurses, the school has recently revised its five-semester curriculum to four semesters and has begun to offer a full semester of coursework during the summer session and the School of Nursing now enrolls 48 students per semester in this curriculum.

The school also offers a master's degree in nursing with two tracks: the family nurse practitioner track and the nurse educator track. Additionally, in August 2004 the school launched a Ph.D. program focused on Nursing Education. This program, Dr. Yucha says, will help meet the need for more highly qualified faculty in Nevada and the surrounding states.