Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, career satisfaction amongst nurses has been on a continuous decline. The “2023 Survey of Registered Nurses”, conducted by AMN Healthcare Services Inc., revealed that a mere 15% of hospital nurses stated they would stay in the same job for the next year, while only 40% of nurses in general showed the same desire. This is a dramatic decrease from the 2021 survey, where 45% of nurses reported that they plan to stick with their current job.
The survey additionally uncovered a drop in career satisfaction, which previously had remained between 80-85% for the past decade. Mental health issues have consequently taken an upturn for nurses, with 35% never addressing these matters. In addition, it was discovered that younger nurses were much more pessimistic than their older counterparts when it came to job satisfaction and mental health.
AMN believes these issues could be as a result of the public’s waning attention towards nurses after the media-lead public acclaim subsided. Thus, AMN urges for a shift in how healthcare organisations view and deploy its workforce, as well as greater usage of technology and systems. This could help reduce stress for nurses and potentially lead to better career satisfaction and retention
