Examining the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Burnout and Stress Among U.S. Nurses

Health System Change in the Wake of COVID-19

“…The major issue for health care will be figuring out how to keep a stable supply of workers in the future. One recent survey found that nearly 20% of the nursing workforce was expecting to leave within the next 5 years because of stress, burnout, and retirement, which were heightened by COVID-19 . Similarly, 24% of physicians in a recent study said that COVID-19 had made them want to retire early, though 40% of these physicians canceled such plans.…”

Addressing nursing shortages and patient safety using Maslow's hierarchy of needs

“…Although healthcare staffing shortages have been pervasive for years, they were amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. 4 The current critical nurse staffing shortage in the US has been projected to continue through 2030. The most significant impact for healthcare organizations is decreased available staff.…”

Praying the Psalms as a Nursing Resilience Intervention

“…One study of recent graduates found 42.5% had given serious thought to leaving the profession entirely, with 50.9% having plans to find a position at a different facility (Ulupinar & Aydogan, 2021). The stresses of the pandemic highlighted gaps within the profession as marked by the exit of 100,000 nurses, leading some researchers to predict a gap of 200,000 to 450,000 nurses by 2025 (Martin et al, 2023).…”

“…Nurses are confronting a range of unhealthy organizational, physical, psychological, and spiritual issues. Growing numbers of nurses are facing increased burnout despite their settings or work environments (Kelly et al, 2021; Martin et al, 2023; Shah et al, 2021). To be sure, nurse turnover, burnout, and discontent are caused by multifaceted, complex issues.…”