Registered nurses and burn care facilities. Factors associated with turnover rates.

The health care system in the United States is suffering from a severe shortage of registered nurses. Burn treatment facilities are no exception to this phenomenon. As a result of this shortage, institutions have begun hiring less trained personnel such as licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPNs/LVNs), nursing assistants, burn technicians, and nursing students to fill the void. This shortage is so significant that the American Medical Association (AMA) has proposed a new category of bedside care provider, a "Registered Care Technologist" (RCT). The purpose of this paper is to determine the magnitude of the registered nurse shortage in burn care facilities. A second purpose is to identify factors associated with high turnover rates and to document the reasons why registered burn nurses are leaving their positions.