Georgia Nursing Workforce Center

The need for more trained and qualified nurses is a problem faced by health care systems across the United States. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects an average of 203,200 openings for registered nurses (RNs) annually between 2021 and 2031. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) 2023 Environmental Scan reports that Georgia has among the lowest ratios of employed RNs per population, with fewer than 750 employed registered nurses per 100,000 people.

The need for more nurses exists partly because of an anticipated increase in nurse retirements. In 2020, the median age of RNs was 52, with more than one in five indicating an intent to retire by 2025, according to the 2020 National Council of State Boards of Nursing and National Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers survey of the U.S. nursing workforce.

According to a 2022 National Nursing Workforce Study, 100,000 registered nurses left the workforce due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 41 percent of the RN total is now comprised of nurses with a mean age of 36 and fewer than 10 years of work experience. Approximately 31 percent of nurses under age 35 say they intend to leave their position, and 32 percent are considering resigning, according to a 2022 American Nurses Foundation survey.  

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The Georgia Nursing Workforce Center carefully examines the current demand for nurses, the number of nurses our educational system is producing, the rate of nurses retiring, and the needs of the overall nursing workforce to better understand the state of nursing in Georgia. 

For additional information about the Georgia Nursing Workforce Center or for information on how you can get involved, please email ganursing@emory.edu.

Mission

The mission of the Georgia Nursing Workforce Center is to research and address issues of supply and demand for nursing, including concerns related to retention, recruitment, educational capacity and preparedness, and the distribution of the nursing workforce resources to meet the health and health care needs of the Georgia population.

Vision

• To promote a diverse, inclusive, and equity-minded nursing workforce.
• To champion the value of nursing.
• To advance the health and well-being of student and professional nurses.
• To drive positive change in the nursing workforce through data and research, education, collaboration, and policy action.

History & Timeline

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GNLC Executive Committee Members

• Laura Colbert: Executive Director, Georgians for a Healthy Future
• Lisa Wright Eichelberger: Dean Emerita, Clayton State University
• Valencia Fleming: United Healthcare
• Chelsea Hagopian: Executive Director, Georgia Nursing Workforce Center
• Linda A. McCauley: Dean, Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing
• Rebecca Wheeler: Risk Manager, Northside Hospital
• Desiree Clement: Associate Professor, Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

GNLC Data Advisory Board Members

• Tammy Bryant: Technical College System of Georgia/President of the State Board of Nursing
• Jeannie Cimiotti: Associate Professor, Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing
  
• Carolyn Clevenger: Professor, Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing
• Lisa Wright Eichelberger: Dean Emerita, Clayton State University
• Leanna Greenwood: Analyst, Georgia Board of Healthcare Workforce
• Yin Li: Assistant Professor, Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing
• Blake McGee: Assistant Professor, Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing & Health Professions, Georgia State University
• Michelle Nelson: Associate Professor, Clayton State University School of Nursing
• Natara Taylor: Executive Director, Georgia Board of Nursing
• Julie Zadinsky: Professor, Augusta University School of Nursing

Nurse Faculty Loan Repayment Program

The Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce’s Nurse Faculty Loan Repayment Program is now accepting applications. Eligible nurse faculty at some institutions can earn up to $25,000 in loan repayment over 2 years.

Eligibility requirements include: (1) Must possess a Masters or Doctoral Degree in Nursing, (2) Must be currently employed and have been employed for 1 year as full-time faculty at a not-for-profit school of nursing based in Georgia (e.g., a school of nursing in the University System of Georgia, Emory University, or Mercer University) in a position that requires an advanced degree in professional nursing.

The application closes December 1, 2023, and must be completed via the online system.

Learn more: https://healthcareworkforce.georgia.gov/loan-repayment-scholarship-programs/loan-repayment-programs.

The Georgia Nursing Leadership Coalition was created in 2011 to kick off the Campaign for Action in Georgia, an unprecedented initiative to transform the nursing workforce to meet the health care challenges that confront Georgia. This summit was part of the national Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action initiative launched in November 2010 by RWJF to guide the implementation of the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Future of Nursing report.

Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce (GBHCW)

The State of Georgia Nursing Workforce dashboard allows user to monitor the supply and distribution of Georgia’s actively licensed nurse workforce that includes registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and advanced practice registered nurses by role. The dashboard includes nurse and population statistics at the state and county level.