Nurse.org, the largest website and community of nurses online, has released the report – “This Is The State of Nursing.” Based on survey responses from nearly 1,500 nurses, the report details how nurses are feeling about their profession during the pandemic as well as the real reasons behind the nursing shortage.
“If the past two years have taught the world anything, it’s that nurses are NOT okay,” wrote Kathleen Gaines MSN, RN, BA, CBC. “The truth is that despite the 7 pm cheers, the commercials thanking nurses for their dedication and selflessness, and the free coffee from major retailers – the overwhelming majority of nurses are burnt out, underpaid, overworked, and underappreciated. The responses were heartbreaking, but not without hope.”
Survey Results
Only 12% of the nurses surveyed are happy where they are. 36% reported that they would like to stay in their current positions, but changes would need to be made for that to happen.
When asked their feelings regarding the state of nursing over the past year, nurses shared that:
- 87% are burnt out
- 84% feel they are underpaid
- 83% feel their mental health has suffered
- 61% feel unappreciated
- 58% have felt unsafe at work in the past year
Despite all this, nurses still have hope:
- 70% think that nursing is a great career
- 64% think that new nurses should join the profession.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), approximately 194,500 openings for registered nurses are projected each year, on average, over the next decade. Given that this number was projected prior to the pandemic, and before some nurses decided to leave the bedside altogether, the demand for nurses is substantially higher.
It is with these dire projections that the American Nurses Association recently urged the US Department of Health and Human Services to declare the nurse staffing shortage a national crisis.
“Overwhelmingly, the number one reason nurses want to leave the bedside is because of unsafe staffing ratios,” said Gaines. “This leads to a never-ending cycle of shortages: nurses face unsafe staffing ratios so they decide to leave the bedside, this results in even fewer nurses available to care for patients, so the downward cycle continues.”
In addition, nurses cited the following reasons for leaving the bedside:
- Not getting equal pay for equal experience
- Not receiving hazard pay during a pandemic
- Not having adequate back up
- An inability to take breaks, sick days, or even turn down extra shifts
To learn more about the nursing shortage and ways you can get involved, please visit https://nurse.org/articles/nursing-shortage-study/.
To download the full “State of Nursing” report, please visit: https://media.nurse.org/docs/State+of+Nursing+-+2022.pdf.
About Nurse.org
Nurse.org impacts the lives of nurses and nursing students by publishing thought-provoking content, supporting their career growth through high-caliber educational opportunities, and launching culture-changing initiatives. Nurse.org is an authoritative and trusted blog within the nursing community – it is read over 1.4 million times per month, our social media channels reach over 30 million users per month and our email subscriber list is composed of over 800,000 nurses. Our Ask Nurse Alice podcast is hosted by TV health expert, Alice Benjamin, and has ranked in the Top 10 on Apple’s podcast charts in the medical category. For more information, please visit Nurse.org and follow the social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook. Nurse.org is owned and operated by Full Beaker, Inc.
The above is a press release from Nurse.org The Auburn Examiner has not independently verified its contents and encourages our readers to personally verify any information they find may be overly biased or questionable. The publication of this press release does not indicate an endorsement of its content.
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