The insights from A New Nursing Crisis: How the Pandemic Has Changed Nurses survey, provide a critical picture of how nurses sentiments on various aspects of their profession and experience have changed prior to, during, and post-pandemic. 

As mass vaccinations and the slow opening of the country continues, now is the time to take a hard look back at what existing challenges within the nursing profession were exacerbated by the pandemic and are impacting the recruitment and retention of nurses. Cross Country Healthcare in partnership with Florida Atlantic University&rsquo;s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, has released groundbreaking research based on a survey of more than 570 practicing nurses and students across a range of ages, specialties, and employers.

The insights from A New Nursing Crisis: How the Pandemic Has Changed Nurses survey, provide a critical picture of how nurses sentiments on various aspects of their profession and experience have changed prior to, during, and post-pandemic. Based on the data and conclusions, healthcare employers and other nursing organizations gain clear strategies, priorities, practices, and policies to better the work and personal lives of nurses, from their own valuable perspective.

The topics addressed in the study span across many aspects of working within the profession including:

<ul>
	<li>Nurse satisfaction. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses answered the call to urgently care for and treat patients and their families in the worst of circumstances and barriers. But for many, these efforts have come at a cost &ndash; directly impacting their level of job satisfaction, dropping 20% post-pandemic when compared to pre-pandemic times.</li>
	<li>Burnout and staffing levels largely to blame. The issues of work stress and burnout among nurses has been present long before COVID-19. However, these risk factors were exacerbated during the pandemic by increased work burdens, more difficult work environments, and understaffing. When asked to name the top reasons nurses are dissatisfied in their profession, nearly 4 in 10 (37%) nurses named burned out/stressed/overworked as the top reason, followed by not enough nursing staff to meet demand.</li>
	<li>Career plans impacted by COVID-19. Long hours, staff shortages, and emotional strain have, for years, chipped away at the supply of critical nursing and frontline staff. However, the pandemic has made it harder to be a nurse and many are rethinking their frontline careers post-pandemic. Most notable, of the 39% of respondents who were already considering leaving the profession prior to the pandemic, 29% now say that desire is dramatically higher while 10% are now considering retirement.</li>
</ul>

In addition, the survey examines other key trends and perspectives among nurses, such as skills critical to nursing care, what changes need to be made within the industry, lessons learned during the pandemic, the future of licensure mandates, and a special report on the next generation of nurses.

As a valued and trusted staffing partner to healthcare organizations across the country, it is our responsibility to support our constituents through insightful research and our own industry and clinical expertise. This body of research will help us address the weaknesses that have been revealed in our healthcare systems and within the nursing profession to carefully craft a better and brighter future for our nurses.

To learn more about the A New Nursing Crisis: How the Pandemic Has Changed Nurses research, <a href="/sites/cch/lp-nursing-survey" target="_blank">download</a> the executive report or visit

New Research Uncovers How the Pandemic Has Changed Nurses