[The expected shortage of registered nurses in Israel].

In the last several years, many countries have experienced a shortage of registered nurses. This phenomenon is expected to escalate in the future. Recent studies have established significant relationships between the proportion of registered nurses and the quality of care, preventing health complications and achieving desired clinical outcomes. Thus, the shortage of nurses has a direct effect on the overall population's health. Israel, like other countries, will experience a nursing shortage in the near future. Many reasons are associated with this problem, some of which are attributed to the policy of the Ministry of Health, which did not invest sufficient resources in maintaining workers in the nursing profession. Furthermore, existing educational programs were closed and insufficient efforts were invested in the development of alternative educational programs. Until recently, new immigrants were a significant source of candidates to become nurses in Israel. Due to the decrease in the number of new immigrants to Israel, the nursing profession may be affected and the positive trend of nursing employment might be hampered. Other reasons for the nursing shortage can be related to the improvement in the economical situation in Israel, the increasing demand for registered nurses due to medical complexity and new sophisticated technologies in hospitals and in the community. This intimidating problem must be resolved immediately including broad creative strategies focusing on both short and long-term solutions.