Top Factors in Nurses Ending Health Care Employment Between 2018 and 2021

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chapman CL ; Hostler DP ; Johnson BD ; Schlader ZJ
• Description:
  Importance: The increase in new registered nurses is expected to outpace retirements, yet health care systems continue to struggle with recruiting and retaining nurses. Objective: To examine the top contributing factors to nurses ending health care employment between 2018 and 2021 in New York and Illinois. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study analyzed survey data (RN4CAST-NY/IL) from registered nurses in New York and Illinois from April 13 to June 22, 2021. Differences in contributing factors to ending health care employment are described by nurses' age, employment status, and prior setting of employment and through exemplar nurse quotes. Main Outcomes and Measures: Nurses were asked to select all that apply from a list of contributing factors for ending health care employment, and the percentage of nurse respondents per contributing factor were reported. Results A total of 7887 nurses (mean [SD] age, 60.1 [12.9] years; 7372 [93%] female) who recently ended health care employment after a mean (SD) of 30.8 (15.1) years of experience were included in the study. Although planned retirement was the leading factor (3047 [39%]), nurses also cited burnout or emotional exhaustion (2039 [26%]), insufficient staffing (1687 [21%]), and family obligations (1456 [18%]) as other top contributing factors. Among retired nurses, 2022 (41%) ended health care employment for reasons other than planned retirement, including burnout or emotional exhaustion (1099 [22%]) and insufficient staffing (888 [18%]). The age distribution of nurses not employed in health care was similar to that of nurses currently employed in health care, suggesting that a demographically similar, already existing supply of nurses could be attracted back into health care employment. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study, nurses primarily ended health care employment due to systemic features of their employer. Reducing and preventing burnout, improving nurse staffing levels, and supporting nurses' work-life balance (eg, childcare needs, weekday schedules, and shorter shift lengths) are within the scope of employers and may improve nurse retention. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Health Personnel Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Burnout Cross Sectional Studies Employee Satisfaction Health Care Workers Nurses Well-being Work-family Conflict Work-life Balance
• ISSN:
  2574-3805
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  7
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069776
• Citation:
  JAMA Netw Open 2024 Apr; 7(4):e244121
• Contact Point Address:
  K. Jane Muir, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, 418 Curie Blvd, Fagin Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19104
• Email:
  janemuir@nursing.upenn.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Performing Organization:
  Mount Sinai School of Medicine
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  JAMA Network Open
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b8b4fec1893a0233cbbb26d66c8fab72514f7b0dc08823eeafddc03bdc632ada31b97200f8fcd3f951db6ccfe95f32446ef528fe57a747b1c660c854c287e8e5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208132/cdc_208132_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 841.03 KB ]