One of the many things contributing to the chaos and stress of The Pitt was a nationwide nursing shortage, but did Max's new medical drama make it up, or is there really a need for more nurses in the United States? In the premiere of The Pitt, Gloria (Michael Hyatt) told Robby (Noah Wyle) that he needed to get his patient satisfaction numbers up, and Robby said that hiring more nurses would help him do that. Gloria, however, explained that there's an ongoing nationwide nursing shortage, and that Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital can't hire enough nurses.

The Pitt has prided itself on taking a very realistic look at the brutalities and challenges common to emergency medical services. That's part of the reason why how many episodes of The Pitt are left in season 1. It's not uncommon for even realistic shows to stretch the truth to create dramatic tension, though, and it's not entirely clear whether the show made up the nursing shortage just to justify making ER conditions more frantic. Luckily, there's a wide variety of sources on the issue.

The Pitt's Nursing Shortage Is A Real-World Problem

Hospitals Across The U.S. Really Are Struggling To Staff Enough Nurses

In short, The Pitt was realistic: there is in fact a nationwide nursing shortage. Officials have estimated that there will be over 193,000 job openings for nurses on average per year until 2032, yet only about 177,000 nurses in total are expected to enter the profession in the same timeframe (via U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). If that estimation holds true, there will be over 1.7 million unfilled nursing positions across America by 2032. The United States Chamber of Commerce also states that there are only nine ed nurses per 1,000 people in the country.

Officials have estimated that there will be over 193,000 job openings for nurses on average per year until 2032, yet only about 177,000 nurses in total are expected to enter the profession in the same timeframe.

The situation isn't any better for other types of nurses. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also estimates that over 29,000 new Advanced Practice ed Nurses will be needed each year until 2032. APRNs - a category that includes nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, and nurse midwives - require either master's degrees or doctorates, both of which require more schooling than ed nurses, who are only required to have Bachelor's degrees (via American Association of Colleges of Nursing). Evidently, The Pitt did not exaggerate the United States' nursing shortage at all.

Why There Is A Nationwide Nursing Shortage

An Aging Population, Nurses Retiring, & The COVID-19 Pandemic All Contribute To The Nursing Shortage

There's no one reason why the U.S. is facing a nursing shortage. According to HRSA, 23% of ed nurses either already have or are planning to retire by 2027. There's also a cyclical effect at work on nursing retirement rates: as more nurses retire, remaining nurses face burnout and stress from the increased workload, and consider retirement themselves. The COVID-19 pandemic also amplified those problems. One survey suggested 18% more nurses considered leaving the profession in 2021 compared to 2020 (via Nurse.com). Their chief complaint was pay: the median salary for a ed nurse is $86,000 per year (via BLS), which is notoriously low for such a stressful job.

The challenges existing nurses face are also compounded by the fact that many nursing schools don't have enough funding or staff to train all the new students who apply to their programs (via American Association of Colleges of Nursing). Essentially, nurses are leaving the profession faster than they can be replaced. On top of all those preexisting problems, the average age of Americans is steadily increasing as the Baby Boomers (those born from 1946 to 1964) enter retirement age. Since healthcare needs increase with age, the demand for nurses would have increased even if there weren't already a shortage.

The Pitt Should Focus More On The Nurses (Not Just The Doctors)

The Pitt Is The Perfect Way To Highlight The Realities Of The Nursing Shortage

Despite using the nationwide nursing shortage as a plot device, The Pitt doesn't afford its nurse characters much focus. As with many medical dramas, The Pitt is more concerned with developing the stories and personalities of its doctors rather than its nurses. In the first two episodes of The Pitt, only charge nurse Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) has stood out as a major character. Other nurses, like Mateo (Jalen Thomas Brooks) and Princess (Kristin Villanueva) had some standout moments, but they're certainly not part of the main cast of The Pitt.

Robby did highlight a few of the reasons the nursing shortage started and how it could be solved, but The Pitt could still do more to shine a light on the situation.

While focusing on doctors is usually more dramatic and entertaining than highlighting nurses, The Pitt should put a bigger spotlight on its nurse characters. The Pitt has been selling itself as a realistic and gritty look at the trials and tribulations of the medical field. The Pitt is the perfect show to highlight the challenges nurses face in the modern day and bring some awareness to how dire the nursing shortage is. Robby did highlight a few of the reasons the nursing shortage started and how it could be solved, but The Pitt could still do more to shine a light on the situation.