This is the 2017 Metadata report for Theme 2 Education Pipeline for the Bowen Health Workforce Information Portal. These data are collected biennial through a license renewal process. The professions included are Physicians, Nurses, Dentists, and Dental Hygienists.
This survey was administered between July 20th, 2017 – October 31st, 2017 to RN’s. This instrument is used for data collection in biennium re-licensure of Nursing professionals in the State of Indiana.
The mission of the Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy is to improve population health by contributing to informed health workforce policy through data management, community engagement, and original research. The Bowen Center has a rich history of collecting, analyzing, and disseminating health workforce data and research for the State of Indiana. These health workforce data are important to informing health workforce policy and planning efforts throughout Indiana. The nursing workforce represents the largest segment of the health workforce and works in a variety of settings to fulfill direct patient care, coordination of care, administrative and research roles.1 In fact, in 2015 Indiana had nearly 104,000 registered nurses (RNs) renew their professional license. Furthermore, as the number of medical students choosing to specialize in primary care decreases, the number of advanced practice nurses (APNs) has more than doubled over the past 20 years.2 Understanding the supply and distribution of the RN and APN workforce is critical to understand their capacity to meet healthcare needs and improve population health. The data presented in this report provides a snapshot of key demographic and practice characteristics for the RN workforce.
Registered nurses (RNs) are the largest professional group within the health workforce. These professionals are a vital part of the health system, including health care delivery and public health. Demand for nurses is on the rise. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development projects a 17.7% increase in the need for RNs by 2022. Understanding the supply, distribution, and characteristics of the RN workforce is crucial to informing health workforce policy discussions. This fact sheet provides a snapshot of data that pertain to relevant policy issues in the RN workforce at the State and Federal levels and is intended to serve as a resource to inform these important policy discussions.
As Indiana plans for the development of a strong nursing workforce, data should be used to inform decisions that are able to 1) accurately describe the current workforce and 2) identify challenges and emerging issues. Data informed decisions will result in workforce policies and planning efforts that closely align with the actual health workforce needs. This report provides a ‘snapshot’ of the most recent data on Indiana’s nursing workforce, identifies emerging issues, and presents information pertinent to workforce planning and policy.