Nurses More Likely to Consider Leaving the Field Since the Pandemic Began

(HealthDay News) — In an online survey, nurses reported that they were more likely to consider leaving nursing since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The survey results were published in BMC Health Services Research.

The researchers conducted the survey of 437 registered nurses in Finland to assess resilience, job satisfaction, intentions to leave, and quality of care. The nurses were surveyed between February 2021 and June 2021.

Overall, 16% of nurses said they considered leaving nursing daily after the pandemic began, compared to 2% before the pandemic. Twenty-nine percent said they considered leaving weekly after the pandemic began, compared to 9% before.

The nurses had a mean resiliency score of 3.92 on a scale of 1 to 5. The mean overall job satisfaction score was 5.8 on a scale of 1 to 10. And the mean score for quality of care was 7.46 on a scale of 1 to 10.

The mean resilience score was lowest among nurses aged 41–50 years, nurses working in the anesthesia and operative unit, and nurses with 2-5 years of experience.

The mean job satisfaction score was lowest among nurses age 30 and younger, nurses working in the acute ward unit, and nurses with 6-10 years of experience.

The mean score for quality of care was lowest for nurses age 30 and younger, nurses working in urgent care, and nurses with 2-5 years of experience.

“Given the number of nurses who consider leaving nursing, there are clear needs to develop effective strategies to maintain quality healthcare with resilient, committed nursing staff,” the researchers wrote.

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