NURSE LEADERS SURVEY
Top Challenges Facing Nurse Leaders Hospital nurse leaders were asked to identify the top three challenges they face in their current roles. Each of the top three challenges most frequently identified by survey respondents pertains to nursing workforce issues. The top three challenges nurse leaders identified include:
1. Recruitment and retention, cited as a top challenge by 43% of hospital nurse leaders.
2. Staff burnout: 32%.
3. Labor shortages: 32%.
Nurse workforce challenges have been well documented by a variety of sources, particularly since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. AMN Healthcare’s 2023 Survey of Registered Nurses includes data points that paint a sobering picture of the current state of the nurse workforce and underscore why nurse burnout and turnover continue to be serious problems. These data points include:
• Only 15% of hospital nurses plan to be in their current positions in one year, reflecting an alarming potential rate of hospital nurse turnover.
• Thirty percent of nurses indicate it is likely or very likely they will leave nursing due to COVID-19.
• Nurse career satisfaction has been at 80-85% for a decade; in 2023, it dropped to 71%. The likelihood of nurses encouraging others to become a nurse is down 14 points from 2021.
• Four of five nurses say they experience a great deal or a lot of stress, up 16 points from 2021. Worry that their job is affecting their health is up 19 points. Often feeling emotionally drained rose by 15 points since 2021.
• The percentage of nurses who are satisfied with the quality of care they provide at their current job decreased 11 points from 2021, from 75% to 64%.
Other data sources also have indicated that the nurse workforce today is characterized by high stress, high turnover, and high volatility, driven in part by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused many nurses and other types of healthcare professionals to question where, how and when they work.
The fourth and fifth most selected challenges identified by nurse leaders pertain to finances:
4. Financial constraints, cited by 25% of hospital nurse leaders as a top challenge.
5. Labor costs: 22%.
Inflation, particularly labor inflation, has been a major concern for hospitals during and post-COVID-19, causing many to experience negative margins. Today, approximately 50% of hospitals operate in the red (National Hospital Flash Report. Kaufman Hall. Nov. 2022). Because nurse staffing represents the highest labor cost at most hospitals, and often the highest single cost item, nurse leaders often are engaged in addressing the financial challenges facing their facilities.
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