“Nurses Don’t Like to Work Short-Staffed”

Consequently, only 14 percent of 2021 respondents said they were very satisfied with their current job, down from 29 percent in 2018. Two-thirds of 2021 respondents said they plan to leave their current position within the next three years — and more than half of those respondents (36 percent) planned to leave within six to 12 months.

Staffing Shortfall = Vicious Cycle

The survey data makes clear that inadequate staffing is already a major problem: Fifty-one percent of the 9,335 working RNs who responded to the 2021 survey said their unit has appropriate staffing less than half of the time.

Only 24 percent of 2021 respondents said their unit is appropriately staffed at least three-fourths of the time, down from 39 percent in 2018.

“That should be scary to a lot of people,” says Beth Ulrich, RN, Ed.D., lead author of the 2021 and 2018 studies.

These results are especially concerning because staffing shortfalls can quickly become a vicious cycle: Nurses are more likely to report planning to leave a unit that lacks appropriate staffing, and that trend becomes more pronounced the longer the problem goes unaddressed. “Nurses don’t like to work short-staffed,” Ulrich remarks.

Improving Retention

The study authors warn that simply hiring more nurses will not be enough to stem this tide unless healthcare organizations also focus on improving work environments. “[I]f you bring new nurses into an unhealthy work environment,” says Ulrich, “they will go right out the back door.”

“Fortunately,” the authors note, “the study data also powerfully show that actively focusing on the work environment makes a difference, and across the board, results are improved when the environment is addressed.”

Another effective strategy may be to pay nurses more. Sixty-three percent of the 2021 respondents who reported planning to leave their current jobs said higher salary and benefits would be likely to change their minds.

“It is time for bold action, and this study shows the way,” the authors conclude.

You can read the full study in the August 1 online edition of Critical Care Nurse. Learn more about the AACN Healthy Work Environment standards and how to implement them.

In this Article: Nursing Workforce, Stress and Burnout