Understanding Oregon’s Nursing Workforce Supply, Demand and Distribution

Cover page of Understanding Oregon’s Nursing Workforce: Supply, Demand, and Distribution (2022—2024) research report

Shifting narratives around Oregon’s nursing workforce reveal a more complex reality than a simple shortage. Growth in licensed professionals contrasts with persistent hiring challenges across specific regions and care settings. A closer look highlights how workforce distribution and employment conditions shape access to care across the state.

Nursing Supply Infographic 2024

A visual overview highlights the composition, education, and practice settings of nurses across Oregon’s healthcare system. Key graphics illustrate who makes up the workforce and where care is delivered throughout the state. Designed for quick insight, the infographic offers a snapshot of nursing’s central role in Oregon’s health infrastructure.

Oregon Healthcare Workforce Index: Understanding Nursing in the Broader Healthcare Labor Market

Cover of the 2025 Oregon Healthcare Workforce Index Report highlighting interdependent workforce dynamics

Nursing shortages don’t happen in isolation as they reflect deeper workforce dynamics. This index reveals how interconnected roles like medical assistants, respiratory therapists, and advanced practitioners impact Oregon’s nursing workforce. Built from public employment and wage data, the tool offers a new lens for planning healthcare workforce strategies across the state.

Comparison of the Perception of Clinical Instruction: In-Facility, Face-to-Face Simulation, and Virtual Simulation Experiences in Oregon’s Nursing Programs

Cover image of the Comparison of the Perception of clinical instruction report showing nursing students participating in simulation-based clinical training.

Simulation-based instruction has become a key tool in Oregon’s nursing education, especially during pandemic-era disruptions. This study explores how students and faculty perceive in-facility, face-to-face, and virtual simulation methods. Findings reveal notable differences between student and faculty viewpoints across instructional environments.

Issues Facing the Post-Pandemic Nursing Workforce in Oregon – Lasting Pandemic Impacts

Report cover showing title "Issues Facing the Post-Pandemic Nursing Workforce in Oregon – Lasting Pandemic Impacts" published by the Oregon Center for Nursing

Oregon’s nursing workforce is still grappling with lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, from license disruptions to emergency staffing shifts. This report explores how short-term policy responses and long-term workforce trends are reshaping the profession. As the state navigates a post-pandemic future, key questions remain about staffing capacity and nurse retention.

Not Working Well: Clinical Placement for Nursing Students in an Era of Pandemic

Cover image for 2020 OCN report on disrupted nursing student clinical placements during the pandemic

Faced with the urgency of a global health crisis, nursing education programs and healthcare agencies in Oregon scrambled to adapt clinical placement strategies. This publication captures the resulting stress, innovation, and breakdowns that surfaced as traditional education pipelines were upended. Interviews across sectors reveal a critical moment of reckoning for how students are prepared for practice.

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