With nursing in crisis, why do nurses stay in the profession?

It has undoubtedly been the most demanding decade to be a nurse.

With government mandates on healthcare, insurance regulations, documentation requirements, and hospital policies exuding mounting pressure, providing bedside care has become incredibly challenging. 

Critical staffing shortages have collided with a wave of baby boomers nurses leaving the profession. This population makes up over one-third of the total nursing workforce and will reach retirement age in the next 10-15 years. Many delayed their retirement plans, and some bumped them up as the world grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic.

New nurses have entered the profession during the most critical and turbulent time in our nation's healthcare history, and some are unable to gain a sense of resilience to continue. Choosing to remain in the nursing profession has wracked the hearts and minds of every nurse at some point in their career, yet evokes deep thought now more than ever.

Before the pandemic, nurses were already encountering extreme levels of burnout, and this was severely exacerbated during and post-pandemic. Nurses everywhere experienced a moment of reckoning and reflection on our career trajectory while we watched hospitals amp up to accommodate COVID-19 patients, as the healthcare industry prepared for uncharted territory.

We knew extreme PPE shortages were about to cripple our protection against an invisible enemy, yet we continued into the abyss of the unknown. Some encountered voluntary or involuntary layoffs, as they were forced home indefinitely as outpatient facilities and organizations scaled back elective procedures and halted in-person care. 

Many walked toward the fire, staying to endure what was to come holding a deep sense of obligation to their organizations and patients. A considerable number of nurses left their bedside roles to travel providing respite to areas hit hard and in most need of additional staff.

Yet many felt they were left with no choice other than to stay or leave the profession, feeling paralyzed to control what was occurring. Those who persisted have endured the most extreme time in healthcare with many unknowns and constantly changing protocols, tackling deep-seated fears and making it difficult for the general population to understand why countless nurses have made the decision to stay. 

I posed the NurseSocial community with the question: “What makes nurses stay at their jobs?” Many respondents felt that being a nurse was a calling and something they were driven to become at a young age as life-long caregivers. Some felt a deep ambition to seek a career in nursing while caring for family members with chronic illnesses early on in their lives. Many feel incredibly vested in the success of the nursing profession and felt drawn to stay and lead in a positive way – feelings that grew during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a natural caregiver from a young age, I have always felt the pull to care for others like many in the nursing profession. I’ve cared for family members with chronic illnesses that ultimately ended their lives, and it feels natural for me to provide a level of understanding and empathy in the care I give that is hard to produce.

I have reflected on my career many times throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and at various stages of my career. After experiencing a serious life-changing health crisis, I shifted my sails and was forced to leave the challenging ER nursing environment.

Yet during the pandemic, I opted to remain and do whatever was asked of me.

Like many other nurses I held a strong commitment to my organization, profession, and the patient populations we serve. It was in this decisive moment of choosing to stay that why I became a nurse weighed so heavily on my heart, yet the decision was an easy one. I love caring for others. I love being a nurse. I love everything about it. Even on the worst days, my decision remains unwavering.

For me, nursing is not just what I do. It is ingrained into the fabric of who I am, a feeling shared with many of my colleagues in the field.