AMN Healthcare's 2024 "Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives," report named nurse practitioners as the most in-demand medical professionals of 2023 and 2024.
They were also named the top job of 2024 by U.S. News & World Report. Statistics project 45% growth in the number of roles available between 2022 and 2032 — an increase of 118,600 jobs — according to the report.
Among the key drivers in the demand growth for nurse practitioners is the relief they provide physicians, both in primary and specialty care settings. NPs have the ability to examine patients, create plans for maintaining or improving a patient’s health, order tests and, in some locations, prescribe medicine, filling gaps for physicians, who are often overbooked.
"There are several factors that are contributing to the increasing demand for nurse practitioners, including the increasing primary care and health care workforce shortages, aging population, changing health care landscape, and patient preferences," Olivia Newby, president of the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners, told U.S. News. "Because 88% of NPs are certified in primary care, NPs are able to help fill these primary care gaps."
NPs help to combat physician shortages, especially in rural settings. A 2021 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges projected a shortage of between 17,800 and 48,000 primary care physicians and a shortage of between 21,000 and 77,100 non-primary-care physicians by the year 2034.
NPs can help to fill these gaps while also being involved in patient management. They are also able to work in hospitals, medical offices, free and mobile clinics, nursing homes and schools, among other locations.