Latest report from Incredible Health reveals 88% of nurses point to staffing shortages negatively impacting patient care
SAN FRANCISCO, March 14, 2023 – Incredible Health, the largest healthcare career marketplace, announced today the release of its highly anticipated State of US Nursing Report, now in its fifth year. This year's report marks a significant milestone for the platform, as it now boasts a staggering one million US nurses and has expanded its reach to support over 1,500 hospitals across the United States. The report, which includes the platform's proprietary data of one million US nurses and results from a survey of more than 3,300 nurses, sheds light on the critical challenges facing nurses in today's healthcare landscape, highlighting the ongoing staffing shortages as a major concern.
"Incredible Health is proud to reach monumental milestones in pursuing our mission to help healthcare workers live better lives," said Iman Abuzeid, M.D, co-founder and CEO of Incredible Health. "As we continue to expand our platform and support more nurses and health systems, we remain committed to driving positive change in healthcare and ensuring nurses have the resources they need to thrive. The results of our State of US Nursing Report inspire action by health systems and government, just like our past reports."
Staffing shortages continue to pose a critical risk to patient care
An alarming 88% of nurses surveyed pointed to staffing shortages having a detrimental impact on patient care, with 63% being assigned to care for too many patients at a time. Nearly a quarter (23%) reported they were required to perform tasks outside of their job description due to staffing shortages. While nurses are slightly less dissatisfied with current staffing levels (48% in 2024 vs. 55% in 2023), overall, they believe that patient care is getting negatively impacted due to staffing shortages.
Despite the increasing presence of AI in healthcare, adoption, and impact remains limited among nurses
A significant 70% of nurses do not foresee artificial intelligence (AI) impacting their roles in the next year, a 9% increase from 2023. That being said, 64% believe AI will have a negative impact on their employment, and 65% think it will impact the industry negatively. Positive impacts of AI in their roles include supporting technological education and making processes more efficient. Negative impacts include trust in AI being greater than trust in staff and that it could create an imbalance between younger and older generations of nurses. There is a generational divide in how nurses perceive AI: 69% of nurses 55 years of age and older think that AI will have a negative impact on the industry compared to 44% of 18 to 24-year-olds. Of the 11% of nurses who have used AI in their roles, they have used it for recommendations on patient care, during the patient intake process and care summary creation, and through Incredible Health in their job search.
Other significant findings include:
- 68% of nurses do not feel hopeful about the next generation of nurses, specifically Gen Z.
- 50% of nurses have been verbally and/or physically assaulted by a patient or a member of the patient’s family within the past year. Over a quarter (26%) of nurses noted they are likely to leave their current role because of this incident.
- When describing their household's financial situation, 78% of nurses described meeting their basic needs, with little to nothing left over for extras.
- 23% of nurses stated they are very likely to leave their role this year, up 8% from 2023.
- Factors such as burnout, inadequate staffing, and dissatisfaction with compensation contribute to their sentiment, with 64% of nurses feeling they are not fairly compensated for their work.
- Cardiac Care, Medical-Surgical, and Operating Room specialty nurses saw the highest spike in demand from health systems on the Incredible Health marketplace.
- 21% of nurses have relocated to a different state for a role through the Incredible Health marketplace.
Looking ahead, the report offers glimpses of positivity, with mental health improving among nurses (up 6% from 2023). This increase could be attributed to health systems implementing tools to fight burnout and build community. Despite the challenges nurses are facing, 79% of nurses expressed a desire to remain in the field until retirement - a near constant from last year’s report (81%) and an overall improvement from 55% in 2022 when nurses were grappling with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A desire to help people is the top reason nurses want to stay in the nursing profession.
Incredible Health is free to all nurses and helps them plan and manage their careers. One million US nurses use the platform to land roles across 1,500 US hospitals, access resources, and tools, including continuing education and an exclusive community, and receive one-on-one support from coaches regarding career decisions. The platform helps health systems quickly hire and retain top, permanent nursing talent while saving at least $5M per year per facility in travel nurses, overtime, and HR costs.
The full report, with more data on AI in nursing and the impact of the economy and compensation on US nursing, can be found here.
Resources for nurses can be found here, and resources for health systems can be found here.
About Incredible Health
As the largest career marketplace for permanent healthcare workers, Incredible Health puts nurses in the driver's seat. Hospitals apply directly to nurses rather than the other way around. The first and only platform to focus on permanent employees rather than contractors, Incredible Health is already used by over 1,500 hospital locations nationwide. Incredible Health's proprietary algorithm-based technology custom matches the needs of hospitals with the right nurses. Co-founded by MD and Wharton alum Iman Abuzeid and MIT alum from a family of nurses, Rome Portlock, Incredible Health is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, and operates nationally.
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