Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

26 NURSING SPOTLIGHT 85% of nurses plan to leave hospital roles 1 year from now: Survey By Ashleigh Hollowell A nursing workforce that has been shrinking dramatically may be headed toward even greater challenges. Only 15 percent of nurses working in hospital settings say they plan to stay in their current positions one year from now, according to a survey of more than 18,000 nurses conducted by AMN Healthcare, one of the largest healthcare staffing company in the country. e 85 percent who said they are making other career plans reported they are seeking travel nursing opportunities, considering going back to school, looking into part-time or per diem work or departing the profession completely. Additionally, 55 percent of nurses across the profession reported feeling like they want to quit oen. Overall, the survey's results paint a picture that "reveals a sudden decline in nurses' personal and professional views toward nursing," even just since the last survey took place in 2021. Nurses in the profession are still reeling from burnout and stress compounded by the pandemic. irty percent of those surveyed said they are planning to leave the profession as a direct result of the pandemic, even three years aer it began — and that number was up seven percentage points from responses in 2021, according to the report. On top of that, job satisfaction is down and dismay is up, with 80 percent saying they believe the nursing shortage will get worse before it gets better. Additionally, fewer nurses are encouraging others to join the profession. Early-career nurses, a group that already has a higher turnover rate, reported significantly lower job satisfaction than older career nurses. Younger nurses also reported higher stress and lower well-being than those who had been in the profession longer, according to the survey. Across the profession, mental health issues for nurses of all career stages and degree levels has become significantly worse since the last survey in 2021, painting a grim picture for the outlook of the profession. Nurses who reported feeling emotionally drained went up 15 percentage points to 77 percent, and those who are concerned their job is affecting their personal health negatively went up by 19 percentage points to a total of 70 percent. "From our current workforce crisis, we need to develop a unified, collaborative effort, led by nurses ourselves and supported by our allies in multiple sectors of society, to reduce stress and moral injury for nurses through systemic, professional and personal changes," Cole Edmonson, DNP, RN, chief clinical officer for AMN Healthcare, said in the report. "Upliing nurses needs to become a national call to action." Nurses also pointed to five things that would help reduce negative effects of stress: • 90 percent said increasing support staff would be a key solution to implement. • 89 percent said decreasing the total number of patients per nurse would make workloads more manageable. • 87 percent said increasing salaries should be prioritized. • 86 percent said ensuring work environments are safer is key. • 86 percent also said having more nurse input at decision-making tables would be helpful for the profession. "Also needed is a systemic transformation in how we view and deploy the healthcare workforce," Dr. Edmonson said. "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." n Nurses stream back to hospitals amid temp job slump By Mariah Taylor N ursing shortages are easing for some hospitals after falling pay from temp agencies and new hospital perks drive more nurses back into permanent positions, The Wall Street Journal reported May 1. Department nurses left hospitals for more lucrative temp positions during the COVID-19 pandemic, but in the first few months of 2023, the pay and benefits between agencies and hospitals have begun to equalize. Pay at Aya Healthcare's temporary-nurse program is down 28 percent, and hospital openings for temporary nurses are down 51 percent compared to 2022, according to the report. Hospitals across the country are increasing their nursing staff by hiring on temporary nurses or rehiring nurses who left for other positions. Better pay and perks like child care and more flexible schedules are what many executives point to as an incentive to bring nurses back into permanent positions. "The boomerang nurses have returned," Gail Vozzella, DNP, Houston Methodist's chief nurse executive, told the Journal. About 60 nurses returned to Houston Methodist since the start of 2023, according to the report. Other hospitals and health systems are seeing a similar increase in nursing staff. Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare increased nurse staff by 19 percent, and about 20 percent of their nurses hired since January 2022 previously worked for the hospital. However, a new survey from AMN Healthcare, one of the largest healthcare staffing company in the country, found 85 percent of nurses working in a hospital setting plan to make a job change, go back to school or leave the profession entirely. n

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