Nurses are quitting due to overwhelming burnout, stress, and heavy workloads from chronic understaffing, often exacerbated by the pandemic, leading to emotional exhaustion and feeling undervalued. Key drivers also include inadequate pay, lack of leadership/support, poor working conditions, bullying, and limited career development, causing nurses to seek better-paying, less stressful roles or leave the profession entirely, especially new graduates.
Nearly 18% of newly licensed registered nurses quit the profession within the first year. Like with more advanced nurses, common causes for leaving include stressful working conditions, lack of leadership and supervision, and understaffed facilities.
Ahpra's Workforce Retention and Attrition Project found the top five reasons influencing practitioners to leave their profession included mental burnout, retirement, feeling undervalued/unrecognised, lack of professional satisfaction, and work no longer being fulfilling.
Emergency department nurses tend to experience the highest rates of burnout. A study published in the Psychology, Health, and Medicine Journal noted that ED nurses feel that they have the least control in their job among nurses in different specialties, which may also influence their high burnout rates.
The " nurse syndrome" is often invoked in the field of private relationships, to refer to women (mainly) who tend to invest in intimate relationships with people in pain whom they find themselves taking care of, at the risk of permanently establishing an imbalance in the couple, or even toxic relationships.
According to one study, ICU nurses are more susceptible to professional stress and burnout, which negatively impact their physical and mental health. Since the ICU is often the last resort for patients in critical condition, ICU nurses face a blend of medical emergencies daily while on the job.
Having insufficient time to relax and recover is a significant cause of nurse depression and anxiety. Due to the nature of nurses' shift schedules, which often prevent them from doing much more than eating and sleeping during their off hours, finding time to focus on themselves and their families can be challenging.
Top 10 Happiest Nursing Jobs
The "42% rule" for burnout suggests dedicating roughly 42% of your day (about 10 hours) to rest and recovery activities like sleep, hobbies, exercise, and socializing to prevent mental and physical exhaustion, countering the "always on" culture that leads to burnout. It's a science-backed guideline emphasizing that sustainable success requires balancing intense work with sufficient downtime for your brain and body to recharge, not just a quick nap.
Primarily, ICU, NICU and emergency room nurses are among the most strenuous positions in the field. Those workplaces require nurses to deal with rapidly occurring, high-stakes situations and physically exhausting work over the course of a 12-hour shift.
Another factor that affects the pay discrepancy for nurses is the NSW public sector wage cap. While it was abolished in 2023, for over a decade, the NSW state government imposed an annual cap or maximum allowable wage increase for workers in state-funded public service.
Recognize – Watch for the warning signs of burnout. Reverse – Undo the damage by seeking support and managing stress. Resilience – Build your resilience to stress by taking care of your physical and emotional health (i.e. physical activity, proper nutrition, stress management and good sleep habits)
The average career length for nurses is now nine years, according to a 2023 report.
Reasons to Consider Quitting Nursing
Many nurses have experienced verbal abuse from patients and dont feel safe anymore at work. All of these factors can lead to nurse burnout and unhappy nurses.
20 Sample Answers to “Why Did You Leave Your Last Job”
Ideal shift schedule: Late-morning to evening shifts (9 AM–5 PM or 11 AM–7 PM) work best with their sleep cycle. If rotational shifts are necessary: A structured weekly rotation (rather than daily changes) gives your team time to adjust and minimizes sleep disruptions.
As a result, you might:
However, taking time off for work-related stress might give someone the space and time to recover. This can be helpful if stress is making their physical or mental health worse. If a worker needs time off work, they should follow their organisation's sickness policy, if they have one.
Nurses tend to be predominantly investigative individuals, which means that they are quite inquisitive and curious people that often like to spend time alone with their thoughts. They also tend to be social, meaning that they thrive in situations where they can interact with, persuade, or help people.
Norway, a Scandinavian country known as the land of Fjords, has one of the highest standards of living in the world as well as job satisfaction for nurses.
Nursing Named Most Trusted Profession for 23rd Consecutive Year. Over 75% of respondents in Gallup's annual Most Honest and Ethical Professions Poll consider nurses to be the most trusted profession. This marks the 23rd consecutive year nurses have earned the top spot in the poll.
While depression can arise in any job or career, research has shown that some of the most depressing careers include social workers, disability lawyers, long-term care administrators and nurses, mental health counsellors, and first responders.
Breaking Down the 5 Ps