Nurses are less satisfied with their jobs, more stressed and more likely to report plans to leave the field than in previous years as the repercussions of the pandemic continue to weigh on the profession, according to a new survey.
About 30% of nurses said they would leave their career in 2023, up from 23% in 2021, the survey from AMN Healthcare published Monday found.
Nurses, on the front lines of the pandemic, have been adversely affected by COVID-19, dealing with burnout, patient violence and moral distress, according to past surveys and reports.
AMN polled more than 800,000 nurses in early January and received more than 18,000 completed questionnaires.
Health systems have been struggling with labor costs as they have relied on pricier contract labor amid shortages. Hospitals CEOs said in February that workforce challenges were their No. 1 concern for the second year in a row.
“Job turnover is a huge cost for healthcare organizations. Unfilled jobs decrease revenues when they affect the delivery of services,” AMN Chief Clinical Officer Cole Edmonson wrote in the report. “Lower job and career satisfaction among nurses can affect the quality of care and patient satisfaction. The need for job redesign within care delivery model redesign is clear, as well as where care will be delivered.”
Still, there have been some signs of easing, with for-profit systems recording lower labor costs in the first quarter of this year and reports of nurses returning to hospitals permanently.
Nurses' satisfaction with their jobs was at 71% in 2023 after hovering around 80% to 85% from 2015 to 2021, according to the AMN survey. Older nurses and those with more than five years of experience reported higher satisfaction levels.
About half of nurses said they were likely to encourage others to become a nurse in 2023, down from 64% in 2021.
They also reported having less time to spend with patients and less satisfaction with the quality of care they provide.
More than three-quarters of respondents agreed that they often feel emotionally drained, while 35% said they never used resources to address mental health and well-being.
Staffers cited reducing the number of patients per nurse as the top priority for lessening stress. Staffing levels have been key points of contention for multiple contract negotiations with nurses recently. In March, federal lawmakers reintroduced legislation that would set minimum nurse to patient ratios.
Research has shown that such laws — as well as unionization — may improve nurse retention.