4,000 Nurses Left the Hospital. 66% Say They’d Return—If Hospitals Fix 3 Major Problems

As nurses, we often hear that there isn't a nursing shortage—there's a shortage of nurses who want to work in a hospital setting.

So, how can we address that? A new multistate survey of over 4,000 registered nurses who left hospital employment between 2019 and 2024 (a large period of nurses leaving the bedside during the pandemic) might have the answers.

The research, published in JAMA Network Open, reveals that approximately two-thirds of non-retired nurses would consider returning to hospital employment if specific organizational conditions were met. 

Let's take a closer look at what it would take to get more nurses back at the bedside. 

The Top Three Retention Factors: Staffing, Scheduling, and Pay

There were three standout factors that the nurses mentioned that would entice them to return to a hospital job.

1. Adequate Staffing 

Perhaps unsurprising to anyone who has actually worked in a hospital setting, adequate staffing came in as the #1 condition that would need to change. About 65% of nurses said they’d return if staffing improved. 

The nurses surveyed also pointed out that adequate staffing is not just about adding more nurses—it’s also about patient assignments that consider acuity levels, language barriers, and care complexity. 

General medicine units are often the most strained, leaving nurses overwhelmed. Researchers called acuity-based assignments the “holy grail” of nursing.

2. Flexible Scheduling 

Described by researchers as "possibly the easiest factor to improve retention," scheduling flexibility addresses a significant pain point for hospital nurses. 59% of the surveyed nurses cited scheduling conflicts as the deal-breaker that led them away from the bedside. 

Many healthcare facilities continue using outdated scheduling practices that particularly impact younger nurses and may leave nurses at all levels unsatisfied with their ability to have a work-life balance. 

Progressive hospitals are implementing collaborative scheduling approaches, such as codesign methods, where unit staff work together to establish 24/7 coverage and holiday scheduling rules.

A decade-old article on Medical Solutions explains how collaborative staffing allows nurses to physically choose their shifts and collaboratively decide on holiday coverage, allowing them better control over their schedules and easing the burden of nurse managers. This method not only helps increase nurse work-life balance, but it also helps identify potential gaps in the schedule early on to allow those holes to be filled with less stress. 

3. Better Wages and Benefits

While nursing offers competitive starting salaries, compensation typically plateaus after approximately one decade unless nurses pursue advanced education. In the survey, 59% of nurses responded that they would return to the bedside for better wages and benefits. (Also, fun fact: the survey found that nurses working at for-profit hospitals make less than at non-profit hospitals.)

The research emphasizes that addressing compensation requires a comprehensive understanding of nurses' economic well-being, including:

• Health insurance needs
• Raises that cover more than just cost-of-living rises
• Tuition reimbursement
• Professional development
• Loan assistance and forgiveness programs
• Retirement benefits
• PTO
• Paid leave
• Unemployment benefits
• Gender-driven wage inequities within the profession

The Business Case for Change

Here’s something hospital admins should be paying attention to: keeping nurses happy saves money.

One example from NYC Health + Hospitals showed that investing in nurse residency programs and supportive work environments slashed turnover rates from 46% in 2019. 

The result? They saved over $12.7 million annually.

On a broader scale, research shows that every 1% drop in RN turnover saves the average hospital $289,000 a year.

So, while it might feel expensive to hire more staff or adjust pay scales, the long-term savings are significant—and let’s not forget the improved patient outcomes that come with a stable nursing workforce.

What This Means for Nurses

The survey findings may encourage any nurse who has been feeling guilty for leaving the bedside or who is struggling with finding a positive work-life balance at the bedside, because as the results show: it's not you, it's them. 

Bedside nursing can be different, and if hospitals want to save money (which they always do), the data shows that supporting nurses makes sense. With the majority of nurses who have left reporting that they would return to the bedside under specific conditions, it's proof that the nursing workforce shortage isn't necessarily permanent. 

The study makes one thing crystal clear: nurses aren’t asking for the moon. They want to work in environments where they can provide safe and effective care while still maintaining a life outside of work. With two-thirds of former hospital nurses saying they’d return under the right conditions, this is a problem hospitals can fix.

🤔Nurses, what do you think? If you're a nurse who's left the bedside, what would it take to get you to return? Share your thoughts below. 

 

Nursing Industry Research