Getting paid to travel and help people? What could be better than that? Travel nursing is an alluring career option with its flexible schedule, high pay, and other benefits. But is travel nursing the best decision for your career long-term?
Like every job, travel nursing has pros and cons, and there’s a lot to consider before deciding. I recently had the chance to discuss this topic with Jerome Alacre, Director of Nursing (DON) at Vista Manor Nursing Center, a Generations Healthcare facility in San Jose, CA. Before becoming a DON, Alacre worked as a travel nurse from 2013 to 2016, traveling to 13 states. Throughout his career journey, Alacre learned three important lessons that are helpful to anyone debating whether to become a travel nurse or dedicate themselves to a singular facility:
1. You Have Less Support
As a travel nurse, you make big adjustments every time you move to a new facility. With new systems, people, policies, and procedures, there’s much to figure out with each move!
Because he was only in each facility for a short time as a travel nurse, Alacre felt less support in this role than he did staying with a facility long-term. Additionally, he thought that long-term employees were given higher priority while he was often left with more complicated tasks or transferred between units more frequently.
On the other hand, when Alacre became a nurse dedicated to a single SNF, he saw a huge change in how he was treated. “Because they knew me better,” he say, “upper management was better able to understand my needs and help me progress in my career. Even though the recent pandemic was a challenge, I still felt support from all who surrounded me at Generations Healthcare.”
2. More Difficulty Focusing on the Future
Travel nursing is an excellent option for those who are younger, more active, want experience, and want to see other parts of the country. However, because travel nurses are always on the go and never know where they will end up next, travel nursing can make it difficult to plan and focus on future career goals.
“In the long run, I didn’t see the position as a permanent job,” Alacre says. “As I got older, I decided it was better to settle down in one location and focus on my plans and goals. So once I settled down at one SNF, I finally had time to sit down, focus on my future, and set goals.”
3. Great Opportunity to Gain Experience
As a travel nurse, you get to meet many different people and learn a lot from different facilities around the country. With that in mind, Alacre is grateful for his time in this position. “My experience as a travel nurse has enabled me to perform better in my current role as a DON,” he says. “Because of my exposure to many different patients and hospitals around the US, I have an easier time understanding and managing patients.” In addition, Alacre’s experience and broad clinical skills allow him to be a strong support for the whole facility.
Generations Healthcare strives to recognize and appreciate the contributions of every staff member. Alacre says, “Generations has been very vocal and appreciative of my clinical experience. In 2019, I was the winner of Generations’ Presidential Award due to the tremendous decrease in readmissions to the hospital that Vista Manor saw in relation to my clinical skills and experience developed from travel nursing.”
Travel nursing has its perks. Depending on where you are in your career journey, it could be a great option to gain some valuable experience before settling down at one facility. Alacre is very grateful for his time as a travel nurse and has no regrets about his career.
If you are in a position where you want to travel and gain experience, consider travel nursing. If you prefer to have more support and focus on your future, consider choosing a facility where you can settle down. To see examples of the benefits available for staff nurses in skilled nursing facilities, visit lifegen.net/career.
Travel nursing is a fantastic opportunity for nurses to gain new skills in various facilities, learn new treatments and procedures for different medical conditions, receive excellent pay packages and benefits, and cross cities off their bucket lists as they travel around the country. There will never be a demand shortage for a diverse range of skilled healthcare workers. However, as lucrative as travel nursing is, many married nurses and those with children don’t consider it a viable career path.
Some registered nurses consider travel nursing to be a niche profession. Still, more and more professionals are joining the field every year, and nurses can take advantage of opportunities in states where healthcare systems need nurses to meet high demands. This year alone has seen a 19% growth rate in travel nursing jobs, providing numerous opportunities in today’s healthcare environment for exploring new locations while pursuing your passion.
Even so, there is still a misconception that traveling nurses are always on the go and can’t make time for their loved ones. But with some tips and tricks of the trade as resources to guide potential travelers through the process, even the wariest of nurses will understand just how much flexibility and control travel nurses have to make their careers work for them—regardless of their familial circumstances.
If you are still determining if this career path will suit your lifestyle, keep reading to see if travel nursing is the right fit for you and your family.
Why More Families Should Consider Travel Nursing
For travel nurses, having family around means feeling supported while entering new and sometimes uncertain environments. But it isn’t just valuable for the nurse. Family members of travel nurses gain the travel benefits of travel nursing when they accompany their family members on assignments, and with remote workstyles becoming the norm in many industries, traveling together is more possible than ever before
With a little advanced planning and creativity, you can unlock amazing opportunities for your With a little advanced planning and creativity, you can unlock incredible opportunities for your family to experience your career’s best moments. Travel nursing puts the power back in nurses’ hands, helping them prioritize their professional and personal lives with their families right by their side. While travel nursing might not be the ideal fit for every family, it’s undoubtedly an incredible option for many.
Preparing Your Family For The Traveling Life
Whether traveling with a significant other, with children, or both, there are a few things to consider and set up in advance to ensure you all have an amazing adventure.
Ensure Your Family Is Ready To Travel. Think of them as patients and have their health checked before you start traveling so you know they’re fit to join you on the road. Consult your primary care doctor or pediatrician to assess and double-check if family members have the green light to travel and ensure you will have access to prescription refills even if you are out of state and away from your regular pharmacy.
If you’re traveling with children, consider any events they may be missing. If you’re taking a long-term contract, consider how that can impact their education. Will they need to be enrolled in a different school? Can you set them up with a tutor or a virtual school option? Travel nurses often take assignments near home during the school year and assignments away from home in the summer when their children have more flexibility. On the other hand, nurses can take a long-term 24-month contract in a new location with great schools to give their children more educational opportunities.
Regardless of the ages of your family members, be sure to consider how being away from home will impact them, and make sure to gather all paperwork and necessities, including identification, up-to-date vaccination records, medications, food, and water.
Plan The Journey With Them In Mind. Whether driving or flying to your next travel nurse assignment, having your kids, significant other, or all of the above changes the dynamic. The journey, while doable, can be exhausting for everyone, especially young children stuck in a car going cross country! Research your route and incorporate a few entertaining stops to take a break, stretch your legs, and get them excited about traveling. If you’ve signed up with a traveling nurse agency, they might have a few ideas of what to do depending on where you’re headed. Fun activities are also great to keep everyone refreshed, relaxed, and excited about traveling.
Will They Be Comfortable? Like your patients, your loved ones will want your attention if they accompany you during your travels. Being in a new location together calls for some quality time exploring—this is where research comes in again. There are guaranteed numerous family-friendly events and activities in your temporary place for your family to enjoy. Scoping out the area as soon as possible helps everyone feel less like a stranger in new territory. The last thing you want to do is leave them home alone in new surroundings before they’re comfortable.
Every family is unique, so your additional preparation depends on the scope and size of your family, but traveling together is very doable. Again, communicating with your agency about what your family requires will make the process smoother for everyone.
Make Your Location Work for Your Family
There are a wide variety of options open to travel nurses, and you can take ownership of your contract schedules to suit the needs of your loved ones. A standard assignment is 13 weeks, but there are many out there for shorter or longer periods, including 8 or 26 weeks. So, for example, you can choose shorter contracts over the summer when your kids aren’t in school and create a memorable yet sustainable summer vacation for the whole family in an area you want to spend time exploring.
And while you can select a wide variety of locations, you don’t have to go thousands of miles from home to find good opportunities (contrary to what many believe). Travel nurses can even find assignments within driving distance of their homes, so they can have all the benefits of travel nursing without having to relocate entirely. In addition, if you sign up with an agency, they can help you streamline your search by destination to find the perfect accommodations.
Accommodations and Childcare
In addition to the location, when you sign up to work with a travel nursing agency, they’re always ready to help however they can. Your recruiters—or “traveler advocates” as we call them at Nurse First—usually find travel nurse housing. However, these options usually only lodge an individual or a couple. Luckily, you can request a housing stipend instead. You can use this stipend to rent an apartment or other accommodation (like an Airbnb) that will suit your needs. But keep in mind that this could require some out-of-pocket expenses. Your travel nursing agency can help connect you with local resources to find the best housing options..
Before signing your contract, explore local schools, childcare centers, and pediatricians. Suppose you are travel nursing during the school year. In that case, some families opt to homeschool their children to maximize their time in each location, enriching their kid’s education with local history, libraries, museums, and other exciting sights. Likewise, bringing your kids with you on your adventures opens them up to cultural experiences they wouldn’t otherwise have, enriching them and their education.
Tips for Single Parents
Being a single parent isn’t impossible as a travel nurse, but it requires some extra planning. Most travel nursing assignments let you choose what hours suit your schedule. Having control of your schedule means you can plan to work while your children are in school and be off the clock when they finish their day. More local assignments are another great option, so you get the benefits of the travel nursing experience only a short drive from home.
No matter what the scenario is, communication and planning are key. Make sure your kids understand your schedule and give your agency as much notice as possible to extend your contract or switch locations. But if you’re looking for an adventure and your kids are older, enjoy a summer break in a brand-new location and let them explore during the day while you work, then meet up in the evenings and on weekends for some fun in the sun!
Maintaining Family Relationships While On Assignment
Establishing your routine on your new assignment and work-life balance are vital aspects of travel nursing with your family. There’s a common misconception that travel nurses must always be on the go, ready to leave everything behind at a moment’s notice. This is certainly not healthy for family dynamics; luckily, it simply isn’t true when it comes to travel nursing. Of course, some things may look different when you’re away and unable to take the family with you, but travel nursing’s flexible nature allows you to make the best of every situation.
Some travelers only work during a specific season or in a particular region, and others are open to more significant changes. In the end, you need to choose what works for you. Extended or short-term assignments allow travel nurses to determine how long they want to be away. Most agencies and recruiters are more than willing to help nurses find the best option to accommodate whoever travelers bring with them.
Travel nursing has many career and lifestyle benefits. So don’t let misleading information about travel nursing stop you from trying something new. When you bring your family in on the fun of travel nursing, you can form memories that will last a lifetime. Just be sure to check with your agency to secure the appropriate accommodation for your needs and get packing! Your next adventure is just around the corner.
For the last two years, hospitals have been reliant on travel nurses, with the demand for travel nurses skyrocketing. However, turnover has recently begun to increase, and hospitals and health systems are facing a turning point in addressing the staffing shortage crisis.
Minority Nurse chatted with Beth Brooks, Ph.D., RN, FACHE, and Clinical Advisor to Vivian Health, about how travel nursing is changing the nursing workforce and what hospitals can do to reconfigure the work environment to optimize the existing workforce.
Beth A. Brooks, Ph.D., RN, FACHE, and Clinical Advisor to Vivian Health
How is travel nursing changing the nursing workforce?
There have been travel nurses in the 30 years I’ve been a nurse. Of course, there have always been nurses who have chosen a full-time travel career path because they either wanted to travel the country or wanted the challenge of building robust clinical skills in a particular specialty. But for the most part, these travel nurses primarily filled temporary vacancies during past nursing shortages or labor strikes.
There are currently 4.4 million RNs in the U.S. nursing workforce. Between 2020 and 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 55% increase in travel nursing (from 43,160 to 66,790 RNs), representing 2.34% of the RN profession. Because travel nurses were all over the country working for different health systems during COVID, they are in a unique position to speak to how prepared (or unprepared) employers are to support nurses in their careers and mental health. As travel RNs consider permanent work, they are looking for employers to prioritize their mental health and well-being and provide flexibility, autonomy, career progression opportunities, and higher compensation to feel supported and respected.
Hospitals and health systems face a turning point in addressing the staffing shortage crisis. So what can we do to bring nurses back to nursing?
The industry has been facing many challenges. Recent research reveals that 600,000 Boomer RNs are expected to retire by 2030. The latest American Nurses Foundation (ANF) Workplace Pulse survey revealed that nearly half (49%) of direct patient care nurses intend to leave their position, 19% intend on leaving in the next six months.
That said, there’s some good news: 18-29-year olds remain interested in nursing careers. The National Nurse Work Environment study by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses indicated that 75% would recommend nursing as a career, and interest in nursing school remains high. Rebuilding the workforce with these nurses is crucial, but the need to reconfigure the nursing workforce is equally important. This means adjusting how hospitals address staff churn and changing the care delivery model to ensure nurses are working at the top of their licenses. In addition, increasing the focus on mental health and well-being support, improving compensation, and reducing the complexity gap as more veteran nurses leave the profession and are replaced by newer, less experienced RNs.
Another interesting trend we’re watching is the new careers available to nurses. ANF’s Workplace survey indicates that 18% of RNs intend to find a nursing position outside the hospital setting, showing a growing interest in career pathing among nurses to build their career so it’s tailored to their specific lifestyle and interests.
During the pandemic, travel nurses tripled their pay by moving from job to job. But many see the short-lived boom as a temporary fix for a long-term decline in the nursing profession. So, do you think the travel nurse gold rush is over?
Travel nursing is not for everyone. It is its specialty, like pediatrics, critical care, peri-operative, medical/surgical nursing, or nursing leadership. Every nurse chooses a specialty area to focus on at some point in their career. Travel nurses feel that a higher salary compensates them for ever-changing patient assignments and adapting quickly to new organizations, making travel nursing their specialty. Some generational cohorts, such as millennials, are also drawn to travel nursing, but typically for a finite period.
Nurses attracted to travel nursing for the first time did so because early in the pandemic, they wanted to assist in regional COVID “hot spots.” Certainly, the salaries were a big draw. Still, these new travel nurses enjoyed control over their schedules, more autonomy, and flexibility, but whether these factors outweigh what they gave up – being part of a team, knowing the system, and professional development opportunities – remains to be seen.
We don’t know how many RNs will return to permanent roles or choose travel nursing as their specialty.
What has been the impact of travel nurses treating COVID patients for two traumatic years?
The pandemic has impacted every nurse – research studies of stress, fatigue, anxiety, moral distress, burnout, and some post-traumatic stress disorder reveal these findings. And let’s not forget that most of the 100,000 RNs who left the workforce during the pandemic were 49 years old or younger – not retirement age, as many assumed. What has been interesting is looking at the years of experience of travel nurses data: RNs who decided to travel for the first time during the pandemic report slightly higher stress, fatigue, and burnout levels than experienced travel RNs.
Do travel nurses feel like they answered the call and raced to help COVID patients, and now they’re being cut? Are the cuts attributed to federal and state funding drying up or something else?
During the early phases of the pandemic, permanent staff nurses were less tolerant of the initial drastic nurse staffing cuts when elective procedures were canceled. Then, during COVID surges, it was all hands on deck. This was hugely unsatisfying and may have fueled the interest in travel nursing (in addition to high salaries).
Nurses understand that when patient census decreases, there is less need for RNs, so their unit assignment or work schedule may change. This is true of permanent RN and travel RN staff. A lower patient census for RNs on travel contracts has led to a flurry of travel contract re-negotiations with hospitals. Negotiations to either end a contract early happened because patient census has decreased, or, where travel RN agencies benefited from federal and state funding by drastically increasing their billing rates, hospitals have been re-negotiating contract rates.
What can hospitals do to reconfigure the work environment to optimize the existing nursing workforce?
There are two areas to highlight: The first one is toxic cultures. Bullying, incivility, and violence perpetrated by patients and families towards nurses and hospital staff occurred at alarming rates. In acute care settings, 65% of RNs reported bullying or incivility, and 40% of RNs experienced violence. Nurses must have safer and more secure workplaces to provide the best care.
The second is to use more sophisticated math for nurse staffing and scheduling. Some savvy hospitals now view nurse staffing and scheduling as a logistics problem. Using a logistics management approach enables hospitals to use the science of operations research and more powerful math like linear programming. Predictive modeling is used to deploy the right number of staff with the right skills, at the right location, at the right time, with the appropriate patient assignment, and factor in the lowest cost with the best patient outcomes. This complex problem requires big data and sophisticated math, which is different from how nurse staffing and scheduling is typically done today. Nursing staff budgets are based on the “flaw of averages,” using rudimentary math to base nurse staffing on the census at midnight (Average Daily Census) and Nursing Care Hours per Patient Day (HPPD). This inevitably leads to some shifts being overstaffed (a nurse is sent home or floated to another unit) and some understaffed (not enough nurses during the day when the patient census is higher than at midnight). It is very dissatisfying for nurses.
Nurses are looking for scheduling flexibility and control. Health systems should consider creating different scheduling options like 8- or 10-hour shifts. Since nurses are familiar with gig economy-type jobs or travel nurse positions, they should also consider implementing these or similar options, which will be particularly attractive within large, geographically dispersed health systems.
Please discuss Vivian Health’s State of the Healthcare Workforce Survey findings. For example, why are nurses willing to trade the higher pay of travel nursing for a stable job with a strong employer?
Travel nurses learned to enjoy the sense of control and greater flexibility they had over their schedule while traveling during the pandemic. As a result, some want to continue traveling to see the country or build a robust clinical skill set. In addition, the pandemic created numerous work-at-home options. Those nurses with a partner who can “work from home” may choose to remain a travel nurse to continue enjoying greater control and autonomy regarding where and when they work.
It is becoming clear that while some first-time travel nurses want to return to permanent positions, they are demanding healthier work environments, flexible schedules, a sense of control, better staffing, more autonomy, and more significant compensation. Vivian Health’s recent survey asked travel nurses about their future career plans. Fifty-five percent were seeking a permanent position with a median salary of $65 per hour and being part of a team.
Why are nurses willing to trade the higher pay of travel nursing for a stable job with a strong employer?
Travel nurses learned to enjoy the sense of control and greater flexibility they had over their schedule while traveling during the pandemic. As a result, some want to continue traveling to see the country or build a robust clinical skill set. In addition, the pandemic created numerous work-at-home options, so those nurses with a partner who can “work from home” may choose to remain a travel nurse to continue enjoying greater control and autonomy as to where and when they work.
It is becoming clear that while some first-time travel nurses want to return to permanent positions, they demand healthier work environments, flexible schedules, a sense of control, better staffing, more autonomy, and greater compensation. Vivian Health’s recent survey asked travel nurses about their future career plans. Fifty-five percent were seeking a permanent position with a median salary of $65 per hour to be part of a team.
What about global nursing? What is the value of an American nursing degree internationally? What role do travel nurses play abroad?
First, there is a global nursing shortage. While we usually see nurses from abroad coming to the U.S. to work, many U.S. RNs travel abroad to work. There are a few interesting differences: First, travel contracts are for 1-2 years, not 13 weeks. Second, RNs traveling overseas need a U.S. Passport, an active, unencumbered RN license from a U.S. state, vaccines, and perhaps a work visa. Third, a language proficiency exam and board certification in a nursing specialty may be required. Finally, RNs who want to travel overseas must check each country’s regulations since they differ.
And yes, the value of an American BSN degree is significant. Unlike the U.S., where the minimum requirement for nursing is an AS degree, the BSN degree is the minimum requirement to be licensed in European countries.
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Prior to finding out about Mercy Ships, Christel A. Echu, RN, admits that if you asked her if she wanted to volunteer for any organization and not get paid, she would have said, “No.”
But when a friend who was an authority in the church she attended in Cameroon, Africa, she changed her mind. “I decided to volunteer with Mercy Ships because I was interested in being a part of the great work they were doing for the people of my country, and I wanted to help in any way that I could,” Echu says.
Mercy Ships Bring Hope and Healing
Mercy Ships is a non-profit Christian organization, she says, that sails across West and Central Africa with the mission and vision to provide hope and healing to patients who are poor and/or forgotten in countries there.
When Echu began volunteering with Mercy Ships, she had just graduated from nursing school. First, she worked as a volunteer translator when the ship, the Africa Mercy, was docked in the port of Cameron. She volunteered as a translator for 10 months.
Mercy Ships bring hope and healing
By then, Echo says, she was hooked. She ended up continuing to volunteer for another two years. “I transitioned from that [working as a translator] to working as a volunteer screening nurse until the end of my commitment,” she says. “Screening nurses, we see all the patients before they are seen by the rest of the hospital. We screen, assess, and ensure patients are healthy enough for surgery.”
She says that they pre-screened more than 6,000 patients in a day when they were in Guinea Conakry. “That was the longest shift I have ever had,” she says.
One of the aspects that Echu loved about Mercy Ships is that she got to work with nurses from all over the world: including the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, the United States, and others.
“I loved working with patients and with my team. We also worked alongside our wonderful translators, which was a blessing because they helped to facilitate communication between the patients and nurses,” she recalls. “I think I enjoyed the fact that we could learn from each other to provide the best care to the patients we served. I enjoyed seeing the joy the patients felt whenever we announced to them that they were getting surgery. “The dance of joy” was a thing in the screening tent and I enjoyed seeing the patients come back to show us their “new self” without the tumor or the deformity. Moments like that, reminded me why I decided to volunteer in the first place and kept me going on difficult days.”
Biggest Challenges
There were tough days. Echu says that one of her biggest challenges while working with Mercy Ships was being away from her family, home, and community. But another difficult part was when she had to say “No” to people they couldn’t help.
“This is a part of my job that we don`t talk much about. The ship has specific surgeries they do when they sail in a nation. However, there are patients who present with conditions that are not within Mercy Ships scope of practice and that`s when we get to do ‘no’ conversations. Screening nurses initiate that conversation before the chaplaincy team on the ship takes over,” she says. “That was the most challenging thing about my job—having those ‘no’ conversations was never an easy thing to do. Most of the patients we see come with the hope of being helped, but when we have to say no to them, it almost feels like that hope crumbles before their very eyes.”
Greatest Reward
She also, though, had many rewards—the greatest of which was forming relationships with the ship’s community. “The relationships I built during that time, [ones] that become an integral part of my life. The community is really special. Now, I have friends all over the world,” says Echu, who now lives in Minnesota. “I do not have family here in the United States, but I know friends with whom I worked with on the ship, [and they] are my family while I am here.”
Echu says she will never forget “the amazing patients I got to work with and their families and the joy they always had on their faces even without having much.”
If you’re a nurse thinking about volunteering with Mercy Ships, she says, “Do it! Go and see for yourself. Have an open mind and be ready to learn and receive as well,” she says. “Most volunteers go on the ship with the mindset of giving and serving which is good, but also go with the mindset of receiving. Receiving could be anything—like being welcome in the house of a local, or being encouraged by a patient who doesn`t have much, but they still have a big smile on their faces. It’s an experience that would change your life completely for good.”
At the end of each year, there are changes predicted for the following year in terms of the health care industry. Jennifer Flynn, CPHRM, Vice President of the Nurses Service Organization (NSO), gave us information on the top three trends that will shape the nursing profession in 2022.
You’ve identified 3 trends you believe will shape the nursing profession in 2022: Staff Shortages, Travel Nursing, and Telehealth. Why are these three the most prevalent?
We’ve seen constant change in the health care industry. And, never more so then in the last two years. These trends in nursing have great benefits for the facility and the patient, but may increase liability risks for nurses.
While telehealth has its benefits: patients have increased access to care, and they manage some chronic conditions better, especially where remote patient monitoring replaces many routine in-person visits. Telehealth saves patients’ time of travel and waiting in the office which, some studies have shown increases their overall satisfaction.
For nurses, telehealth does provide more flexibility at a time that is most convenient for patient and nurse. However, there are some parts of telehealth that can increase a nurse’s liability risks, such as, providing care to those patients where visits must be in-person. Clinically speaking, you can’t perform all nursing functions virtually, but nurses need to know which patients must be seen in-person versus virtually. Nurses needs to be aware of which patients have barriers to virtual care. While broadband connections are improving, not every patient has access to a good connection. Lastly, licensing laws and reimbursement may limit a nurse’s ability to practice across state lines or be reimbursed for telehealth services. It is the responsibility of the nurse to know the rules of telehealth in their state.
For some, travel nursing is a dream job enabling you to see the country while still enjoying the rewards of providing treatment and care to patients. For others, the endless adjustments of unfamiliar environments may make it not the right career choice. As with any job, there are pros and cons. Some liability risks nurses face with travel nursing are: the constant learning of policies and procedures at each new facility and assignment–though you may be contracted with a particular unit during your travel nurse experience, you may find yourself in even further unfamiliar territory when you have to float to another unit.
Many facilities will send the travel nurse first to float to an understaffed unit, again, learning the policies and procedures of that floated assignment. Lastly, you will need to check your licensing laws–travel nurses may have to have multiple licenses in order to practice. And, each state where you work will require you to hold an active and unrestricted license for that state.
Safe nurse staffing is essential to both the nursing profession and to the overall delivery of treatment and care. Adequate staffing levels ensure better care for patients and reduces nurse fatigue, prevents burnout, and increases patient satisfaction. However, inadequate nurse staffing can endanger patients. Research shows that shortages and inadequate staffing are linked to higher rates of infections, patient falls, medication errors, and even mortality. This is because nurses have too much work to juggle and cannot spend enough time on each patient, resulting in missed care. While staffing was a topic of discussion well before the pandemic, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the nursing shortage in the United States. Nursing leaders say nurses are tired and frustrated from being asked to work overtime. Some are even considering leaving the profession. Safe nurse staffing affects the ability of all nurses to deliver safe, quality care in all practice settings.
