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 RNs' 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.