Although Oregon’s pandemic state of emergency will end on April 1, the Oregon Center for Nursing (OCN) suggests the COVID-19 impact on the nursing workforce will last much longer. A new OCN research brief estimates it will take between 4.3 and 5.7 years for Oregon’s nursing workforce to recover to pre-pandemic levels.
“We continue to watch multiple trends in the nursing workforce and workforce utilization,” said Jana Bitton, Executive Director. Most pressing is how Oregon’s healthcare system will respond when professionals working under emergency authorizations can no longer provide services in Oregon.”
To respond to pandemic surges and fill vacant positions in hospitals and other care settings, the Oregon State Board of Nursing granted emergency authorizations for nurses licensed outside Oregon to become licensed to work in Oregon. In February 2022, more than 5,000 registered nurses held such authorizations.
In addition to emergency authorizations, OCN continues to monitor the impact of contract or travel nurse employment and look for evidence of Oregon nurses leaving the profession.
“The end of the pandemic does not mean these issues go away,” said Bitton. “The nursing workforce will continue to grapple with these issues well past the pandemic. Their cumulative effect may not be known for some time.”
The complete report is available for download from the OCN research database: Issues Facing the Post-Pandemic Nursing Workforce in Oregon – Lasting Pandemic Impacts.
