About 100,000 nurses quit due to stress and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic, and another 800,000 said they intend to leave by 2027,\u00a0according to a new survey\u00a0from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.
There are about 6.2 million registered nurses in the U.S., according to the survey. Of those surveyed, 1 in 5 said they plan to leave the industry or retire in the next five years.
Nurses who are older and more experienced are more likely to envision themselves leaving the industry soon, the survey found. More than 600,000 nurses with more than 10 years of experience see themselves leaving the industry due to stress by 2027, compared to just under 200,000 nurses with less than 10 years experience.
A majority of nurses, 62 percent, said their workload increased in the pandemic, and about 50 percent said they felt emotionally drained at work. Just under half said they felt fatigued or burnt-out, 49 and 45 percent, respectively.
Workforce fatigue has been a rallying cry for nursing unions in the last year, resulting in\u00a0multiple large strikes nationwide\u00a0in recent years. A large-scale\u00a0strike of nurses in New York City\u00a0earlier this year called for better pay and working conditions.\u00a0
\u201cThe hospitals\u2019 treatment of these nurses is proof that all their words of adulation for their healthcare heroes during the pandemic were hollow,\u201d New York AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento said in a statement during the New York City strikes. \u201cIt is time for the hospitals to treat these nurses fairly, with the dignity and respect they deserve, to ensure nurses can get back to serving their communities by providing superior care to their patients.\u201d
That strike\u00a0ended with a tentative deal\u00a0guaranteeing increased staff ratios, as nurses complained that they were stretched too thin by low staffing numbers.
A slew of strikes hit California hospitals last year, including an 8,000-strong strike at Sutter Health facilities and a 5,000-nurse strike at Stanford\u2019s health facilities last April.
About 15,000 nurses in the Twin Cities area went on strike for three days last September as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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