The nursing profession in Illinois is in turmoil. In all regions of Illinois and all practice settings, there is a common thread: there is a nursing shortage now, and it will get worse. Based on the 2020 RN workforce report prepared by the Illinois Nursing Workforce Center, Illinois will face a shortage of nearly 15,000 RNs by 2025. The 2022 Report states that 27% of the workforce plans to retire in the next 5 years and 41% indicate they will leave the profession in the next 10 years. Some believe that there is no nursing shortage because there are over 200,000 licensed Registered Nurses recognized by IDFPR. The State must find answers and specifics to this question. The first step is acquiring specific data about nurses on an ongoing basis. PA 103-0285 is the first step to developing a strategy to solve the shortage of nurses being experienced by Illinois healthcare employers.
This legislation will:
- Require the Illinois Nursing Workforce Center within the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation to develop a strategic plan for the nursing workforce, so stakeholders know who is
working where, in what facilities, and with what level of education. - Supply data collection will begin with the 2024 license renewal cycle. Data will be collected upon initial licensure and each renewal thereafter (every two years) for all nurses (LPN/RN/APRN). This will generate an updated set of data for each individual nurse every time their license is renewed.
- The nurse workforce survey will utilize the National Nursing Workforce Minimum Supply Dataset*
- The Center shall report recommendations to the Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House by no later than January 2025.
- Additionally, in 2027 the Center shall develop a nurse demand and employer survey to be collected biennially and utilizing the National Nursing Workforce Minimum Demand Dataset.
- The nurse demand and employer survey shall be reported to the Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives by July 1, 2029.
*DEMOGRAPHICS – Gender, Ethnicity, Race, Year of birth, Entry level education, Highest level of nursing education, Highest level of education in another field
LICENSE/CERTIFICATION INFORMATION – license type, year of initial US licensure, County of initial RN/LPN licensure, license status, APRN License/Certification
EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION – Employment status, Reason for being unemployed, # of positions employed in, Hours worked per week, Employer’s state/zip code, Employment setting, employment position