Lorena Burkett, a registered nurse at Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock, California, says the state’s nursing shortage is rooted in heavy workloads that dissuade young people from entering the field and drive veterans out of it. (Angela Hart/KFF Health News)
October 8, 2025 – TURLOCK, Calif. – By Angela Hart – California, like much of the nation, is not producing enough nurses working at bedsides to meet the needs of an aging and diverse population, fueling a workforce crunch that risks endangering quality patient care. Nearly 60% of California counties, stretching between the borders with Mexico and Oregon, face a nursing shortage, according to state data.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers have tried to bolster the state’s health care workforce, in part by implementing recommendations from the California Future Health Workforce Commission, a 24-member panel of state, labor, academic, and industry representatives. The state in recent years has expanded the scope of practice for nurse practitioners, allowing them to practice medicine — ordering tests and prescribing medication, for instance — without traditional doctor supervision, and has worked to expand academic nursing slots and training programs…