Nurse Staffing Levels Are Improving, Surveys Suggest

                                                            By Mackenzie Bean

Health systems are working diligently to improve nurse staffing, and early evidence suggests these efforts are starting to pay off.

Researchers surveyed more than 2,427 U.S. nurses between November 2023 and February 2024. One-third of nurses said their units were adequately staffed, compared to just 14% in 2022 and 15% in 2021.

Nurses' perception of the nursing shortage has also improved slightly since 2022, though a majority still believe the shortage is worsening. Eighty-four percent of respondents held this view, down from 91% in 2022.

The survey findings, released May 1, paint a picture of incremental progress and mirror insights from a small poll Vivian Health published in March.

Vivian surveyed 863 nurses, allied health professionals and certified medical or nursing assistants between Dec. 12, 2023, and Jan. 11, 2024. When asked about how patient ratios changed compared to the last year, 47% of respondents said it remained unchanged and 14% said it decreased. Thirty-nine percent said ratios went up.