Survey of 1,700 Nurses Unveils Key Insights into the Nursing Profession as the Country Celebrates Nurses Week

• May 11, 2007
• Arlington, Texas

Nursefinders, Inc. nursing trends survey uncovers motivations for entering field of nursing, advice to nurse graduates, and how the profession has changed

Nursefinders, Inc. today announced the findings of its semi-annual Nursing Trends Survey which explores significant changes in, and attitudes about, the nursing profession according to a survey panel of 1,700 nurses throughout the United States. In addition, the survey uncovers advice to younger nurses just entering the profession and/or graduating from their experienced colleagues.

How Nurses’ Motivations for Entering the Nursing Field are Changing

According to the survey, most nurses’ primary motivations for entering the field of nursing were a desire to help others and love of the medical field. Thirty-six percent of nurses said their motivation for being a nurse has changed since they entered the profession and now focuses more on salary (39%) and flexibility (20%).

Primary Motivations for First Entering Nursing Profession
Primary Motivation		%age Response
1.	Desire to Help Others	48%
2.	Love of Medical Field	25%
3.	Job Security	18%
4.	Salary/Money	4%
5.	Flexibility in Schedule	1%

Projected Turnover for Nurses and the Driving Factors

Less than half of nurses (43%) said they are not considering leaving the profession. Nearly one quarter (24%) stated they are considering leaving the nursing profession, but not anytime soon. Another 14 percent of nurses said they are considering leaving the profession in the next six to 12 months.

Of the 38 percent of nurses who are considering leaving the profession, the most common reasons stated were the feeling that they are powerless to affect change (50%) and it is too stressful (45%).

Reasons Why Nurses are Considering Leaving the Profession
Reason		%age Response
1.	Powerless to Affect Change	50%
2.	Too Stressful	45%
3.	Not enough time for one-on-one patient care	32%
4.	Don’t feel appreciated by hospital staff	32%
5.	Not satisfied with current salary	24%
6.	Not enough opportunity for career advancement	22%
7.	Too Long Hours	21%
8.	Don’t feel appreciated by patients and families	15%
9.	Treatment from doctors	15%

How the Profession has Changed, according to Nurses

Nurses in the survey were given a series of statements about how the nursing profession has changed since they first entered. They were asked to either agree or disagree on a scale of 1 to 5 with each of the statements.

Not Enough Nurses. According to the survey, nurses felt most strongly about the statement “there are more patients to care for with fewer nurses” with 74% of nurses strongly agreeing.

Impact of Technology on Nursing. On the subject of technology and its impact on the profession, more nurses agree that technology has made nursing more complex, versus making it easier. Seventy-seven percent of nurses either strongly or somewhat agreed that “technological advances have made nursing more complex” while only 47 percent strongly or somewhat agree that “technological advances have made nursing easier.”

Respect of Nurses. More nurses believe they have less respect from hospital staff than in previous years versus those who feel they have more. Forty-nine percent somewhat or strongly disagreed with the statement “nurses have more respect from hospital staff than in previous years,” compared to 28 percent who somewhat or strongly agreed. Less than one-quarter (23%) felt neutral on the subject.

Advice to Nurses Just Graduating or Entering the Profession

Respondents were asked a series of questions about advice they would give to younger nurses, changes they would have made in managing their career, and identifying traits or skills that make a successful nurse. The findings are:

One Piece of Advice You Would Give to Younger Nurses Just Entering the Profession
Advice		%age Response
1.	Treat Your Patient like Family/Be a Patient Advocate	16%
2.	Enter Nursing for the Right Reasons (Don’t do it for the Money)	14%
3.	Ask Questions/Find a Mentor/Shadow a Seasoned Nurse	9%
4.	Persevere/Stick with it/Don’t Get Discouraged	8%
5.	Be Aware It Is Hard Work/Stressful Profession	7%
6.	Choose another Profession	6%
7.	Love What You Do	5%
8.	Continue Your Education/Become an RN	4%
9.	Be Flexible	3%
10.	Specialize	3%
11.	Start out in Med-Surge or Large Institution	3%
12.	Multi-Task/Prioritize	2%

One Thing You Would Have Done Differently in Managing Your Career
Response		%age Response
1.	Continued my Education/Pursued More Advanced Degrees	19%
2.	Become a Nurse Earlier in Life/Completed or Started School Sooner	14%
3.	Nothing, I am Satisfied with My Career	14%
4.	Immediately Gotten my RN vs. Stopping at LVN	13%
5.	Gone into a Different or Less Stressful Career	8%
6.	Tried Different Areas of Nursing/Started with More Med-Surge	4%
7.	Specialized or Specialized Sooner	1%
8.	Started in a Hospital Setting	1%
9.	Not changed jobs so often/Stayed with One Employer	1%

Most nurses stated the most important trait or skill that makes a successful nurse, outside of clinical proficiency, is the ability to multi-task with 31 percent stating so. The full list of traits included:

Most Important Trait or Skill That Makes a Successful Nurse (Other than clinical proficiency)
Trait or Skill		%age Response
1.	Ability to Multi-Task	31%
2.	Empathy	23%
3.	Bedside Manner	18%
4.	Attention to Detail	11%
5.	Humor	7%

The Nursefinders, Inc. Nursing Trends Survey was conducted with a panel of 1,700 nurses from across the country, between May 3, 2007 and May 8, 2007.