Nurses reported improved workplace conditions in 2023 compared to 2022, with significantly fewer planning to leave their jobs, according to results of a study published in JAMA Network Open. But respondents, who included workers in long-term care settings and geriatric care specialists, also reported persistent workplace concerns.
Participants were registered nurses in active clinical practice who responded to the Michigan Nurses’ Study in those years. In the 2023 survey, 32% of nurses said they were contemplating a departure from their workplace versus 39.1% in 2022. Workplace assessments also improved in the 2023 survey. But the proportion of nurses planning to leave remained high, with understaffing, safety and burnout cited as ongoing problems, wrote Christopher R. Friese, PhD, RN, of the University of Michigan.
“Nurses were more likely to plan to leave their employer if they had experienced an abusive or violent workplace event, reported higher levels of emotional exhaustion, and rated their hospital more poorly on patient safety,” Friese and colleagues noted.
The findings highlight the need for public policy initiatives that support nurse retention while expanding the number of nurses available to meet a growing need for high-quality, equitable healthcare, the authors wrote. Better policies will help to reduce the potential for workforce instability, patients’ risk for adverse events and the likelihood of nurse burnout, they concluded.
From the September 2024 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
