Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 48 - PUBLIC HEALTH-GENERAL
Part I - General Administration
Subpart 5 - Health Planning
Chapter 119 - Health Care Manpower
Section I-11907 - Registered Nurses
Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 3, March 20, 2024
A. Introduction. In the mid 1970s both the federal Department of Health, Education and Welfare and the Louisiana Board of Regents reported that the state and the nation were well on their way to solving previously noted shortages in the area of nursing manpower. In light of this perception, federal funds were curtailed for nursing education and other initiatives were aborted. However, enrollment in nursing programs began to level off and as more job opportunities opened for women in other fields, many nurses left the profession for jobs that were either less strenuous or more rewarding, financially and otherwise. Due in great part to these trends, there is no longer an abundant supply of nurses and most areas and health care facilities in the state have difficulty filling all their nursing staff needs. This is true for both Registered Nurses (R.N.'s) and Licensed Practical Nurses (L.P.N.'s); however, the data reported in this analysis relates only to R.N.'s. The number of L.P.N.'s in the workforce is unknown at present since a nurse registry is maintained only for R.N.'s.
B. Supply
Active Registered Nurses |
|
Geographic Area |
per 100,000 general population |
United States |
520.8 |
Louisiana |
367.6 |
Alabama |
350.2 |
Kentucky |
402.6 |
Mississippi |
394.8 |
Tennessee |
363.0 |
Arkansas |
325.7 |
Oklahoma |
390.7 |
Texas |
374.3 |
C. Distribution
D. Utilization
Registered Nurses in Louisiana by Field of Employment |
||
Number |
Percent |
|
Hospital |
9665 |
58.2% |
Nursing Home |
2161 |
13.2% |
Nursing Education |
580 |
3.4% |
Private Duty |
382 |
3.5% |
Public Health |
772 |
2.3% |
School Nurse |
333 |
4.6% |
Occupational Health |
242 |
1.4% |
Office Nurse |
1364 |
8.2% |
Other |
872 |
5.2% |
E. Resource Renewal
Number of Graduating Nurses |
1975 |
1976 |
1977 |
1978 |
1979 |
1980 |
1981 |
Associate Programs |
279 |
366 |
371 |
339 |
350 |
319 |
308 |
Baccalaureate Programs |
396 |
462 |
501 |
577 |
451 |
459 |
426 |
Diploma Programs |
230 |
182 |
191 |
232 |
237 |
194 |
175 |
566 |
1010 |
1063 |
1148 |
1038 |
972 |
909 |
|
Number of Nursing School Enrollments |
1975 |
1976 |
1977 |
1978 |
1979 |
1980 |
1981 |
Associate Programs |
961 |
1056 |
1082 |
979 |
936 |
959 |
1000 |
Baccalureate Programs |
3069 |
3197 |
3064 |
3003 |
2693 |
2728 |
2818 |
Diploma Programs |
761 |
770 |
794 |
750 |
713 |
706 |
715 |
4791 |
5023 |
4940 |
4732 |
4342 |
4393 |
4533 |
F. Summary and Conclusions
G. Resource Goals
AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with P.L. 93-641 as amended by P.L. 96-79, and R.S. 36:256(b).