Nurses left their primary jobs at nearly double the rate between 2018 and 2022, rising from 13% to 24%, according to a University of Michigan study published in Medical Care.
The study used a difference-in-difference analysis of inpatient, long-term care, outpatient and nonclinical settings, drawing on 99,507 registered nurse respondents from the 2018 and 2022 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses — described by the authors as the largest long-standing source of data on the U.S. nursing workforce.
Other takeaways, per study authors:
- Registered nurse full-time equivalents increased in outpatient settings, rising from 32.7% in 2018 to 34.9% in 2022.
- Registered nurse FTEs declined in inpatient settings, long-term care and nonclinical settings.
- Across care settings, the most common reasons for leaving were a stressful work environment, burnout, insufficient staffing and lack of good management — concerns that were even more prevalent in 2022 than in 2018, especially among nurses in inpatient and long-term care settings.
Notably, the authors found that exposure to high COVID-19 caseloads was not associated with nurses changing employment settings, suggesting burnout and poor working conditions rather than the pandemic itself drove job changes.
The authors said the findings highlight the impact of COVID-19 on job changes within the nursing profession and offer policymakers and healthcare leaders insights into the underlying drivers of nurse attrition.
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