The article of Ahlburg and Mahoney describe the current and future situations of the healthcare profession. They note that there is an increased demand for registered nurses. One of the factors causing such increased demand is the aging of the population, since higher age groups are the heaviest users of healthcare. However, this demand may not be met, considering that the demand for registered nurses far exceeds the supply. The position of full time nurses constantly has high vacancy rates (Ahlburg & Mahoney, 1996).
The authors likewise note that the shortage in registered nurses are caused by factors on the supply side, such as lack of professional autonomy, undesirable work schedules, wage compression, inadequate compensation, and increasing alternative career options for women (Ahlburg & Mahoney, 1996). Accordingly, it is clear that the solution to the problem of nurse shortage lies in addressing the above issues. Hence, appealing compensation packages, better work schedules, and a bit of professional autonomy could reverse the trend and increase retention of nurses, who form a large bulk of healthcare professionals.
After conducting a study, the authors found that while increase in wages does play a role in the retention of nurses, it only accounts for so much. The authors found an increase of only 2 percentage points in the probability that a nurse would continue working as a nurse if there is a 10% increase in wage. Despite the limited improvement in retention rates shown by the increase in wages, this factor remains as a strong and viable option to increase retention of nurses and other professionals in the healthcare industry.