Mental health, violence top list of concerns in biennial nursing report

Editor's Note

The 2024 Nurse Salary and Work-Life Report, a biennial survey from nurse.com, asked participants for the first time this year about workplace violence and how work affects their mental health and wellness. According to an April 9 press release, 64% reported verbal abuse and 23% reported physical assault or abuse by a patient or a patient’s family member.  

“Workplace violence in any healthcare setting impacts both staff well-being and patient care quality. When nurses or other healthcare professionals face the risk of physical injuries, psychological trauma, and job dissatisfaction, high turnover rates and staffing shortages ensue,” said Cara Lunsford, RN, CPHON, Vice President of Community at Nurse.com and host of the NurseDot Podcast. “This violence generates a culture of fear and strains entire healthcare systems by diverting resources away from patient care to address security concerns and staff support.”

As for mental health and well-being, 17% of nurses reported that their job negatively affected them. Most cited dissatisfaction with salary or wage increase policies. Almost 20% said they decided not to seek mental health support because they feared it would negatively impact their career.

Other key findings from the report include:

• RN salaries increased by 2.6%, but APRN salaries dropped 4.4%. The median RN salary reported by survey respondents was $80,000, an increase of $2,000 from Nurse.com’s 2022 survey. Median salary for LPNs and LVNs was $58,000, an increase of $10,000 compared with the 2022 survey.
• The gender pay gap for RNs has narrowed but has not disappeared. The median salary for a male RN is $6,000 higher than the median salary for a female RN, compared with a $14,000 gap in the 2022 survey.
• 37% said they planned to pursue a degree. Intent to pursue a certification was expressed by 42% of LPNs and LVNs, 51% of -RNs, and 68% of APRNs and ARNPs. Across license types, 40% of nurses who earned certification said it resulted in a salary increase.
• In the past two years, 68% of nurses reported feeling overwhelmed, 59% of nurses reported feeling burnt out, and 54% of nurses reported experiencing prolonged stress.

Participation in this study increased significantly from the 2022 Nurse Salary Research Report, with 3,662 nurses surveyed this year. The majority of the survey’s 3,662 respondents were registered nurses (RNs) at 72%, followed by licensed practical nurses or licensed vocational nurses (LPNs and LVNs) at 24%, and a small percentage of advanced practice registered nurses or advanced registered nurse practitioners (APRNs and ARNPs) at 4%.