News: One-fifth of nurse workforce will be gone by 2027, study says

About one-fifth of registered nurses are projected to leave the workforce by 2027, according to a study recently released by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). In research titled, "Examining the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Burnout & Stress Among U.S. Nurses,” NCSBN gathered data to uncover the effects of the pandemic on the healthcare system. The study shows about 100,000 RNs have already left in the last two years because of stress, burnout, and retirement, and another 610,388 have intention to leave for these same reasons, HealthLeaders reported.

NCSBN gathered their research as part of a biennial nursing workforce study, including 29,472 RNs and 24,061 licensed practical nurses and vocational nurses. Of those surveyed, 62% reported an increase in workload, and more than half reported feeling “emotionally drained” and “used” a few times a week or every day. Younger nurses with 10 or fewer years of experience reported these issues at a higher rate.

“The data is clear: the future of nursing and of the U.S. healthcare ecosystem is at an urgent crossroads,” said Maryann Alexander, PhD, RN, FAAN, the NCSBN’s chief officer of nursing regulation. “The pandemic has stressed nurses to leave the workforce and has expedited an intent to leave in the near future, which will become a greater crisis and threaten patient populations if solutions are not enacted immediately.”

The research suggests that nurses’ workloads and unprecedented levels of burnout during the pandemic are main contributors to the acceleration of such trends and threaten the future of the U.S. nursing workforce. In light of this data, NCSBN stressed the importance of fostering a more resilient workforce and safer environment to improve the future of nursing.

Editor’s note: To read HealthLeaders’ coverage of this story, click here. To read NCSBN’s news release, click here. To read more about clinician burnout, click here.