The departments that have the largest nursing shortage

Long-Term Care (LTC) / Nursing Homes: While technically a facility type rather than a hospital department, LTC centers face chronic, significant shortages, often due to lower pay and difficult working conditions compared to acute care hospitals.

Operating Room (OR) / Perioperative Nursing: Recruiting and retaining these nurses is challenging due to the specialized, non-transferable skill set that requires extensive in-house training.

Sample Answer

The national nursing shortage impacts nearly all healthcare departments, but the most severe shortages are typically concentrated in areas requiring highly specialized skills and facing extreme stress and burnout.

Departments with the Largest Nursing Shortages

The departments that consistently report the largest and most critical nursing shortages are:

Intensive Care Unit (ICU) / Critical Care: This is often considered the most urgent shortage due to the high-acuity, life-or-death nature of the work, requiring highly specialized training and significant experience.

Mental Health / Psychiatric Nursing (PMH-RN): This specialty faces a chronic, deep-seated shortage across inpatient and outpatient settings, driven by a lack of student interest and societal stigma.

Long-Term Care (LTC) / Nursing Homes: While technically a facility type rather than a hospital department, LTC centers face chronic, significant shortages, often due to lower pay and difficult working conditions compared to acute care hospitals.