Strengthening San Diego’s RN pipeline and expanding specialty training
Healthcare is San Diego’s second largest sector, supporting 160,000 jobs throughout San Diego County and providing critical care for our community. However, a national nursing shortage and aging population are intensifying the demand for skilled healthcare professionals. Simultaneously, communication breakdowns between regional industry and education are leading to misunderstandings around the supply and demand of talent.
To better understand San Diego’s regional demand for talent, EDC’s Advancing San Diego program conducted a comprehensive talent demand survey focused on priority roles in healthcare. The survey engaged nine of the region’s largest healthcare providers, collectively employing 66,000 and operating more than 175 regional facilities, to understand real-time data around critical nursing positions.
Key findings
- Like much of the nation, San Diego faces a critical shortage of skilled nurses, with the highest demand for Registered Nurses (RNs). Labor market information indicates that the region will need more than 1,500 additional RNs in the next three years, but data from this working group revealed that new graduate nurses—those who have recently completed a training program—account for just 300 of the in-demand roles. Meanwhile, the region is graduating around 2,000 new RNs each year.
- Most of the future regional demand for RNs will focus on specialization. Employers identified Operating Room RNs as the highest priority for specialty roles.
- Regional healthcare employers reported a misalignment in the training of Radiological Technologists. 100 percent of surveyed employers said that cross-training Radiologic Technologists and Computed Tomography (CT) Technologists would add value to their organizations and emphasized a need for additional Imaging Technologists (X-ray, CT, Sonography, etc.) in the region.
Healthcare Talent Demand Report 2025
a critical need for specialty nurses
While traditional labor market data shows more than 15,000 regional job postings for RNs in 2024, the bulk of these postings are actually for experienced and specialty nurses, not entry-level roles. At the same time, regional education programs are graduating close to 2,000 RNs each year. The available labor market data does not differentiate demand based on entry-level versus experienced roles, creating a misalignment between employer need and the talent pipeline.
This misalignment illustrates how readily available labor market data—often the primary source for education institutions and policymakers—can misrepresent actual workforce needs
EDC’s employer working group verified this, reporting that regional demand for specialty RNs significantly outpaces demand for new graduate RNs, and ranked Operating Room, ICU/Critical Care, and Labor & Delivery RNs as their top hiring priorities.
Furthermore, as many employers pointed to the oversaturation of new graduate RNs as one reason for the frequently cited shortage of clinical placement opportunities, hospitals must balance the need to upskill incumbent nurses with the growing demand for new grad placements, all while working with an already strained pool of available preceptors. While many hospitals invest heavily in internal training to grow their staff, this model puts the burden of training solely on hospitals who are already feeling the strain of a limited workforce. Limited clinical placement capacity, high costs, and competition across healthcare systems make it increasingly difficult to keep pace with growth and turnover.
Across the nation and in San Diego, specialty RNs remain at the heart of quality care and operational efficiency, nursing career mobility. They support the next generation of nurses through training and precepting – an important factor in retaining talent in the region. Ensuring a steady pipeline of these skilled professionals is not only a workforce issue—it’s also essential to driving the future of San Diego’s innovative healthcare systems and standards of excellence.
San diego’s strong healthcare future
As hospitals focus on building solutions for specialty training, the region must also continue to strengthen the new graduate RN pipeline.
“A balanced healthcare workforce means investing in both new talent and advanced training. By working together as a region, we can create innovative solutions that meet today’s challenges and ensure San Diego’s healthcare system thrives for years to come.”
– Elmerissa Sheets, Senior Director Talent Acquisition and Development, Scripps Health
New graduates trained through local institutions form the foundation of San Diego’s nursing workforce and will be essential in healthcare systems’ ability to meet rising demand.
From there, San Diego’s healthcare providers have a critical opportunity to secure a strong regional talent pipeline and ensure healthy communities into the future—by investing in new graduate RNs and accelerating their pathways into specialty roles.
Explore the full report to learn more and see how the group is beginning to build solutions.
Explore more Talent Demand Reports
Check out Talent Demand Reports across other priority sectors to stay up to date on workforce trends in San Diego.
Dive into the data
Use EDC’s Data Dashboard to explore how local education programs align with regional workforce needs and identify equity gaps in real-time. The dashboard highlights race and gender disparities, program completions, and connections to priority occupations—all designed to support more data-informed talent development efforts in San Diego County.
To learn more and get involved in EDC’s work, contact talent@sandieogbusiness.org.
Bridgette Coleman
Manager, Talent Initiatives