Within the next 12 months, 61% of more than 12,000 nurses surveyed by AMN Healthcare said they plan to leave their current employer, switch departments, retire, return to school, or work part-time, per diem or in a virtual role.
High levels of burnout, stress and dissatisfaction continue to foment workforce instability. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s biennial 2024 National Workforce Study, which surveyed more than 800,000 U.S. nurses, found that 40% of RNs plan to exit the field by 2029.
In January and February, AMN Healthcare surveyed 12,171 registered nurses nationwide on their job satisfaction, career plans, scheduling preferences and other topics. AMN Healthcare is a healthcare staffing agency.
Here are key survey findings:
Job satisfaction: Seventy-five percent said they are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their choice of career, which is a slight increase from 71% in 2023 but still lower than prepandemic years when this figure was typically above 80%. Thirteen percent of respondents said they were “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied.”
Sixty-five percent said they are satisfied or very satisfied with their current job, and 17% said they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied. These figures have remained about the same since 2015.
Since 2021, the percentage of nurses indicating they are satisfied with their current employer has declined. In 2025, 57% said they are satisfied or very satisfied, while 23% said the opposite.
Support and safety: Less than half of nurses rated wellness support, patient ratio, safety or support from their supervisor as “excellent” or “very good.” Forty-nine percent said they feel valued by their employer. Notably, 56% percent rated support from their peers as excellent or very good.
Verbal abuse from patients is common, with 38% indicating they often or always experience it. Fifteen percent said the same for experiencing physical abuse from patients.
Burnout: Fifty-eight percent said they feel burned out most days, and 64% indicated compassion fatigue has affected their health.
Workforce volatility: When asked about their plans for the next 12 months:
- Continue working as I am — 39%
- Seek a new place of employment — 18%
- Return to school — 8%
- Work as a nurse outside of direct patient care — 6%
- Change work setting — 5%
- Explore internal agency opportunities within my facility — 5%
- Leave nursing for another field — 5%
- Work as a travel nurse — 2%
- Work part-time — 2%
- Work per-diem — 2%
- Work as a virtual nurse — 1%
- Other — 6%
