Crisis is upon U.S. nursing profession: survey

NEW YORK, May 5 (Xinhua) -- A "perfect storm" of problems for the nursing profession could leave the U.S. health care industry without the nurses it needs, CNN reported early this week, citing the 2023 Survey of Registered Nurses from AMN Healthcare, a nurse staffing company.

The survey, which was conducted in January, shows a group of professionals who care very much about their work, but it also shows a significant decline in work satisfaction and a significant increase in stress levels. "Many are thinking about leaving the profession," said the report.

For more than a decade, nurses' career satisfaction was around 80 percent to 85 percent. Yet when they were asked in the new poll whether they were extremely satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their choice of nursing as a career, the number dropped a full 10 percentage points from the most recent AMN survey, done in 2021.

Another troubling sign, said the report, is that younger nurses seem less satisfied with their careers than older professionals.

Research has shown that nurses who are satisfied with their work typically stay on the job. But only 63 percent of millennials and 62 percent of Gen Zers said they were satisfied with their career choice, as opposed to 78 percent of baby boomers, it added.