HRSA survey: Nursing diversity up, but job satisfaction declines

The nursing workforce is becoming more diverse and highly educated but less satisfied, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration. In the first comprehensive federal RN survey since the pandemic’s onset, conducted between December 2022 and April 2023, Black and Asian RNs comprise 11% and 9% of the RN workforce, respectively, compared with 8% and 5% from the 2018 survey. Over 45% of nurses entered the workforce with a bachelor’s degree, compared with 39% in 2018. Although job satisfaction was 80%, the share of nurses expressing some degree of dissatisfaction with their primary nursing position nearly doubled between 2017 and 2022 to nearly 20%. About four in 10 RNs who left the workforce during the pandemic said they intended to return to nursing. (HRSA news release, 3/29/24)