The federal government expects a "severe shortage" of nurses in the years ahead, OPM has said, in part related to needs to deal with emergency situations and wounded military personnel. It said the government currently employs about 82,500 nurses in fields such as nurse, nurse anesthetist and practical nurse, with the greatest concentration in agencies including DoD, HHS and VA. The report notes that the government faces the same difficulty hiring nurses as does other employers, despite steps such as expedited hiring authority and use of a program allowing nurses to rotate between federal and state jobs. OPM said it is working to expand the latter program, which it found to be relatively little used.