Hospital Nurse Staffing and Patient Mortality, Nurse Burnout, and Job Dissatisfaction

Abstract

The past decade has been a turbulent time for US hospitals and practicing nurses. News media have trumpeted urgent concerns about hospital understaffing and a growing hospital nurse shortage.^1-3 Nurses nationwide consistently report that hospital nurse staffing levels are inadequate to provide safe and effective care.^4-6 Physicians agree, citing inadequate nurse staffing as a major impediment to the provision of high-quality hospital care.⁷ The shortage of hospital nurses may be linked to unrealistic nurse workloads.⁸ Forty percent of hospital nurses have burnout levels that exceed the norms for health care workers.⁴ Job dissatisfaction among hospital nurses is 4 times greater than the average for all US workers, and 1 in 5 hospital nurses report that they intend to leave their current jobs within a year.⁴