The American Organization for Nursing Leadership (American Organization for Nursing Leadership) released a study in which 1,338 nurses from 430 hospitals identified the priorities and pressures shaping their profession today.
Staffing is the dominant issue, with 51% citing recruitment and retention as their top issue. Financial resource availability follows at 15%, reflecting ongoing budget constraints that affect hiring and support capacity. Change management ranks next at 13%, showing the strain of constant organizational and operational shifts in healthcare settings. Emotional health and well-being of staff is identified by 11%, pointing to rising concerns around burnout and fatigue.
Smaller but still present challenges include workplace violence and safety (4%), interpersonal relationships (3%), and technologies and innovation (3%).
When it comes to improving nurse satisfaction, results vary by approach. The most effective methods are professional development opportunities (55%), governance councils (46%), open communication (45%), and work-life balance initiatives (45%). Compensation is cited as successful by 40%, while flexible scheduling follows at 30%.
Lower-impact approaches include RN day off on an as-needed basis (27%), leader recognition (23%), and reducing meetings (20%). Even fewer systems report success with centralized scheduling and administrative support (both 18%), as well as shifting tasks to non-RN staff and covering reports for leaders (both 17%). Resiliency programs are cited by 12%, while reducing direct reports ranks lowest at 9%.
Globally, the situation across the healthcare sector remains strained. For example, the Mental Health of Nurses and Doctors (MeND) survey is the largest of its kind to date, with over 90,000 responses collected and analyzed from across Europe.
According to its findings, in the past year, 1 in 3 doctors and nurses experienced bullying or violent threats at work. Additionally, nearly a third (32%) of doctors and a quarter (25%) of nurses are on temporary employment contracts, a factor strongly linked to increased anxiety about job security.
In the UK, nurses don’t have it easy, either. A survey by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) of more than 20,000 nursing staff found that 66% had worked when they should have been on sick leave, up from 49% in 2017.
Professor Nicola Ranger, the RCN chief executive and general secretary, said nursing staff were being driven to ill health by “working in understaffed and under-resourced services.”
Among the most concerning findings was that 1 in 10 doctors and nurses said they had had thoughts of hurting themselves in the past 2 weeks.
Such unsafe work is directly linked with poor mental health. Doctors and nurses who experience violence, work consistently long hours, and work in shifts (especially at night) are much more likely to be depressed and anxious.
Despite poor mental health and difficult working conditions, the MeND survey found that 3 out of 4 doctors and 2 out of 3 nurses still feel a strong sense of purpose in their work and are mostly satisfied with their jobs. This shows that healthcare workers care deeply about their work and are willing to go above and beyond to care for their patients. So they deserve to be taken care of, too.
