The State of Nursing

Angie SzumlinskiNews

Nurse.org posted an anonymous survey in 2021 that was awarded the Gold Award for the Digital Health Awards, Best Media/Publications Article, Spring 2022! Congratulations to them and to all the nurses who took the time to share their experiences and feelings regarding the state of nursing. Nearly 1500 nurses participated in the survey, and they were asked about real issues they faced every day during the COVID-19 pandemic. What they found was not surprising but interesting! Here are a few of the findings: 

  • Nurses are struggling 
  • Only 12% of nurses are happy where they are 
  • Over 80% feel burnt out, underpaid, frustrated with their administrators 
  • Nurses are leaving the bedside because of: 
  • Inadequate staffing ratios 
  • Not getting equal pay for equal experience 
  • Not receiving hazard pay during a pandemic 
  • Not having adequate back up 
  • An inability to take breaks, sick days, or even turn down extra shifts 

Despite everything though, nurses still have hope, 70% think nursing is a great career and 64% still think that new nurses should join the profession! 

One of the questions that made me pause asked: “In the past year I have felt uncomfortable working outside of my specialty/scope of practice.” Over 50% of the participants said yes! Fast forward to Phase 3 of the RoP: staff competency and training. HealthCap has and continues to stress the importance of training and competency evaluations. Hopefully, most of you have listened but if you haven’t, maybe it is time to think about it. Not only is it a requirement that is being looked at by regulators, but it can also be contributing to staffing shortages. Think about it, do you want to suction a resident’s trach, flush a PIC line, replace an enteral feeding tube, etc. if you haven’t been trained and feel competent?  

The nursing shortage is an issue that affects us all, from the youngest of patients to the oldest; nurses fill so many roles from the bedside to administration to shaping the healthcare policies of the future. If you do nothing else today, look at the results of the 2021 study AND encourage your licensed staff to participate in the 2022 survey. Then take a walk around your center, talk to the staff, ask the hard questions, and bring your findings back to the QAPI committee. Chances are you will find that a PIP may be needed to address training and competency. Put a team together, tackle some of the issues, promote a safe work environment and never settle for less! Stay the course and stay well! 

Take the 2022 survey here: Take The 2022 State of Nursing Survey (Anonymously)