On May 1, Dallas-based AMN Healthcare, a healthcare staffing solutions company, published the results from its “2023 Survey of Registered Nurses” report. The report details the impact COVID-19 has had on the career plans, job satisfaction, and mental health and wellness of more than 18,000 RNs. The report also highlights possible solutions for the healthcare industry, professional organizations, and government.
Cole Edmonson, D.N.P., R.N., chief clinical officer, AMN Healthcare is quoted in the introduction of the report saying that “The 2023 Survey of Registered Nurses by AMN Healthcare shows what my nursing colleagues and I have known for several years: A crisis in nursing is upon us. This extremity reverberates not only in the profession but throughout our nation’s healthcare system.
Conducted since 2009, the AMN Healthcare Survey of Registered Nurses has consistently shown that nurses cherish their profession. But our biennial survey also consistently warned that the combination of growing nurse shortages due to increasing retirements of Baby Boomer nurses, a dearth in education and training for their replacements, and the rising utilization of healthcare services by a rapidly aging population would eventually lead to a workforce-related healthcare crisis. We called it a ‘perfect storm’ of approaching causes and circumstances.”
Key highlights from the report include:
- In 2023, nurse career satisfaction dropped to 71 percent (for the past 10 years, nurse career satisfaction was at 80 to 85 percent)
- The likelihood of encouraging others to start a career in nursing is down 14 points from 2021
- Fifteen percent of nurses employed in hospitals say they will “continue working as I am” in one year
- Thirty-six percent of nurses employed in hospitals say they will continue their career but change their place of employment
- Thirty percent of nurses say they are likely to leave the field due to COVID-19, up 7 points from 2021
- Four of five nurses say they experience “a great deal or a lot of stress,” up 16 points from 2021
- Nurses surveyed say worry that their job is negatively affecting their health went up 19 points and “often feeling emotionally drained” rose 15 points
- Ninety-four percent of survey respondents agree there is a severe or moderate shortage of nurses in their area and half responded that the shortage is severe
- Eighty percent of nurses expect the shortage to get much worse or somewhat worse in the next five years and half say the shortage will get much worse
As for solutions, Edmonson says that “Reversing this situation requires our immediate and shared attention through a collaboration of healthcare organizations; professional organizations; organizations representing patient groups; civil society such as the major health nonprofits, government agencies, elected officials; and nurses themselves.”
“Also needed is a systemic transformation in how we view and deploy the healthcare workforce,” he added. “Rather than compartmentalizing nurses and other healthcare professionals by employment status or source, healthcare organizations need the flexibility to determine the most effective and efficient way to cover the work that needs to be done at the unit and enterprise levels. In an era where supply of healthcare professionals and demand from an aging patient population are in constant flux, flexibility is paramount. Precision staffing coverage that can change with supply and demand shifts can augment our healthcare system, providing better outcomes for all sectors in the industry.”
