Survey: 100,000 nurses have left workforce due to burnout

According to a survey published by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing on Thursday, a total 100,000 nurses left the workforce during the pandemic due to stress, burnout and retirement. By 2027, nearly 900,000 registered nurses are expected to leave the workforce — roughly a fifth of the current workforce.

“The study is considered to be the most comprehensive and only research in existence, uncovering the alarming data points which have far reaching implications for the health care system at large and for patient populations,” the council reported. “The research was gathered as part of a biennial nursing workforce study conducted by NCSBN and the National Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers.”

The research suggested that nurses are facing unprecedented levels of work-related burnout due to the pandemic and that high levels of turnover within the field are suggesting that the nursing industry may face an even steeper decline in the future due to disruptions within prelicensure nursing programs.

“The data is clear: the future of nursing and of the U.S. health care ecosystem is at an urgent crossroads,” Maryann Alexander, PhD, RN, FAAN, NCSBN chief officer of nursing regulation, said in the report. “The pandemic has stressed nurses to leave the workforce and has expedited an intent to leave in the near future, which will become a greater crisis and threaten patient populations if solutions are not enacted immediately. There is an urgent opportunity today for health care systems, policymakers, regulators and academic leaders to coalesce and enact solutions that will spur positive systemic evolution to address these challenges and maximize patient protection in care into the future.”

The study utilized data from the 2022 National Nursing Workforce Study, which included 29,472 registered nurses and 24,061 licensed practical nurses or vocational nurses across 45 states.