---
title: Experts Weigh In On Arizona Nursing Shortage
url: "https://arizonacollege.edu/blog/experts-weigh-in-on-arizona-nursing-shortage/"
type: post
date_published: 2024-05-16
date_modified: 2026-04-17
schema:
  @type: Article
language: en-US
word_count: 595
reading_time: 3 min
canonical: "https://arizonacollege.edu/blog/experts-weigh-in-on-arizona-nursing-shortage/"
featured_image: "https://arizonacollege.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Arizona-News12.webp"
categories:
  - Newsroom
---

# Experts Weigh In On Arizona Nursing Shortage

![Arizona News12](https://arizonacollege.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Arizona-News12.webp)

[**12news.com**](https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/national-nursing-shortage-devastating-impact-arizona/75-9edb409e-a4cd-4054-9cd3-3180d89c9ed0)
, **Published May 9, 2024_By Jade Cunningham_

[**Watch The Video >** ](https://arizonacollege.edu/blog/experts-weigh-in-on-arizona-nursing-shortage/#)

## Arizona could be down 30,000 nurses by the end of the year. Experts expect it to get worse.

---

Phoenix – There’s a nationwide nursing shortage, and Arizona is primed to face
its most severe ramifications.

An analysis was done a few months back from the National Center for Health
Workforce, predicting Arizona will see a shortage of nearly 30,000 registered
nurses by 2025. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing also anticipates
one-million nurses will retire by 2030.

“We have known there would be a nursing shortage for more than 20 years,” said
[Arizona College of Nursing](https://www.arizonacollege.edu/) Associate Provost,
Amber Kool. “Back in 2010 the nursing workforce and Institute of Medicine and
World Health Organization came out and said we’re going to lose nurses. We’re
going to lose nurses due to retirement; we’re going to lose nurses due to the
natural life cycle of the career.”

Kool says the problem is complex and creates a snowball of issues. Not only
would a lack of RN’s create longer wait times in medical offices and emergency
rooms, it would also increase burnout among nurses and make it more difficult
for patients to ultimately get needed care.

“That’s where we have to come together with clinical partners and look at
solutions,” Kool said. “There are a lot of variables impacting the workforce
shortage so how can we partner better with clinical sites and support one
another.”

With a lack of nurses in rural communities, it also may force patients to travel
long distances, possibly to a facility already overburdened by a lack of nurses.

“We can’t let this keep snowballing,” Kool said. “I think getting creative with
strategies of ratios and clinical sites is another option. One of our target
initiatives is not just hospital based clinicals. We know healthcare isn’t
focused necessarily just on hospital we have to look at the community, we have
to look at population-based options. And so trying to find a clinical sites that
will help support the nursing program but at the end of the day it’s those
strong partnerships.”

Kool says some nursing schools nationwide are seeing a lag in enrollment.
However, some, including the Arizona College of Nursing, are seeing enrollment
numbers stay up with a high success in completion rate. Others also have
extensive wait lists. Kool says nursing education is beneficial in many ways,
but it’s important the school focus on resiliency.

![Nursing Program Teacher With Student At BSN Nursing BSN Program](https://arizonacollege.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Nursing-Program-Teacher-With-Student-At-BSN-Nursing-BSN-Program.webp?w=920)

“So from an education perspective what we need to focus on is how to build
resiliency in nursing students,” said Kool. “When we have new graduate nurses
and they leave after one year or oh, they’re burnt out after one year it’s not
really after one year because they’ve been in nursing school for 2, 3 or 4 years
and that’s a very intense program. And if we aren’t focusing some of our
curriculum, some of our strategies on grit, resilience, on coping mechanisms, on
how to support them or self care, so when they go into the workforce they’re
prepared for that and they have those mechanisms, that can lead to burnout.”

**Categories:** Newsroom