Survey Shows Nursing Shortage Remains a Serious Challenge

Nursing; Workforce
 

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) recently released a new survey that found the national nursing shortage remains a serious challenge.  

While rates of burnout, fatigue, and stress have improved since the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, they are still relatively high and are contributing to nurses wanting to leave the field.  

Some of the key survey findings include: 
  • More than 40% of nurses surveyed reported an intent to leave or retire within the next five years. Of this group, 18.6% intended to retire, whereas 22.7% intended to leave nursing for other reasons. 
  • 41.3% of LPN/VNs and 9% of RNs reported an intent to leave the workforce or retire within the next five years. 
  • Since 2022, more than 138,000 nurses have left the workforce, due to retirement, burnout, or stress. 
  • The percentage of RNs younger than 30 years of age declined from 11.1% in 2022 to 7.9% in 2024. Similarly, the proportion of the LPN/LVN workforce under 30 is the lowest that has been observed since 2015, at 7.0%. 

For more information, the full NCSBN report is available, along with the summary on the Healthcare Workforce Coalition site.