In the United States, the long-running shortage of nurses has worsened due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A growing number of nurses, feeling exhausted, have decided to leave the profession, as reported by France Info. According to a survey published by recruitment company AMN Healthcare, about 3 in 10 registered nurses say they are likely to leave their profession.
Another recent report from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing found that approximately 100,000 graduate nurses have left the profession since 2020. And more than 600,000 more intend to leave the profession by 2027 in due to stress, burnout and retirement. The United States today has 4.2 million registered nurses, but most are over 50 years old.
According to the National Nurses Union, New Mexico is the state most affected by the current shortage. California is expected to experience the worst nursing shortage in the entire country over the next ten years: it will be short nearly 45,000 nurses by 2030. In total, it will need 1.2 million nurses and nurses in the United States by 2030 to address this shortage.
These figures show the perception that nurses have of their profession as they emerge from a three-year health crisis during which hospitals have been overwhelmed with patients. Caregivers faced an exponential workload, leading to staff shortages. In addition to discomfort related to working conditions, the profession suffers from a lack of budget. Classrooms and teachers are lacking. So in 2021, more than 91,000 applicants were turned down in nursing schools.
