The Under 35 Nursing Workforce in 2022: Overworked, Under Supported, and Burned Out

Abstract

Background:

Early career nurses face higher levels of burnout and stress than other nurses, and burnout and stress among this group was amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. The sustainability of the U.S. nursing workforce is dependent upon understanding whether these issues are causing young nurses to leave the workforce at increased rates.

Purpose:

To identify the personal and professional characteristics that distinguish early career registered nurses (RNs) and to examine factors that may contribute to early career nurses reporting an intent to leave the profession in the next 5 years.

Methods:

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s 2022 National Nursing Workforce Survey data were used for analysis. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to assess the significance of observed trends, and inductive thematic analysis was used to develop an understanding of free response data.

Results:

The sample in this study represents 1,011,972 RNs younger than 35 years (24% of the RN workforce). Younger nurses were overrepresented in hospital settings as well as among travel and staff nurses. Although nontravel nurses younger than 35 years were less likely to indicate they plan to leave nursing in the next 5 years (14.5%) compared to older nurses (31.8%), young travel nurses reported a high rate that was comparable to older travel nurses’ high rate (35.4% vs. 36.2%). Young nurses were more likely to attribute their burnout and stress to staffing issues rather than the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion:

Nurses younger than 35 years disproportionately reported high levels of stress and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a majority identified long-standing issues as the source of their stress and burnout rather than the transient aspects of the pandemic that may fade with time. Travel nurses seem particularly unlikely to return to staff nursing, which would likely result in lower wages and less control over their working conditions. To retain young nurses and reintegrate some of the young nurses who have already left the workforce, nursing leaders will need to be intentional about retention efforts and recruitment strategies.