A statewide and regional analysis of New York State nurses using the 2000 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses

Background A national concern over the present and future workforce of registered nurses exists. A major initiative that would help professionals in workforce policy and education shorten their reaction time to surplus or shortage concerns is to improve the data about RNs in a given area. Purpose To examine workforce data on New York State (NYS) nurses at the statewide and regional level of analysis using the 2000 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN) Inc. Method The NYS RN sample was drawn from the 2000 NSSRN by selecting the cases with Geocodes for NYS. This methodology yielded a sample of 1,928 NYS RNs. Results Data were examined in relation to RNsʹ demographic information, employment status/setting, transition/working conditions, and education. Consistent with national data, nurses were predominantly white, female, and in their mid-40s. However, important differences were found in age, minority representation, income, satisfaction, and work setting for NYS RNs when examining data at the regional and state level. Discussion Examining the 2000 NSSRN data at the statewide and regional level provides valid information on nursing workforce trends.