The NurseWeek/AONE Survey of Registered Nurses was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of NurseWeek and the American Organization of Nurse Executives to learn more about the nursing shortage and the issues that surround it from the perspective of nurses themselves.

RNs were surveyed on their perceptions of the shortage and its impact, their experiences in their work environment and their career plans.

The survey was conducted from Oct. 24, 2001, through March 13, 2002, among a nationally repre-sentative sample of 7,600 registered nurses, randomly selected from a list of all RNs licensed to practice in the United States. Respondents were invited by mail to participate in the survey and given the option of completing the questionnaire either on paper or via
the Internet. The questionnaire averaged 15 minutes in length.

A total of 4,108 RNs completed the survey for a response rate of 55 percent (177 out of the 7,600 invited to participate were determined to be ineligible).
Figures for age and region of the country were weighted to align them with their actual proportion in the nursing population.

A research advisory team of nationally recognized nursing and workforce researchers was assembled by NurseWeek and AONE to provide oversight of the study, and to guide the development of the question-naire, the research methodology and the analysis of the data. This team consisted of Mary A. Blegen Ph.D., RN, FAAN; Peter Buerhaus Ph.D., RN, FAAN; Karen
Donelan, Sc.D.; and Karen Sechrist, Ph.D., RN, FAAN. The team also included Karen Haase-Herrick, MN, RN, representing the AONE board.

Deloras Jones, MS, RN, served as project leader on behalf of NurseWeek and AONE, providing overall leadership and guidance. Carol Bradley, regional vice president and editor, NurseWeek California Edition, and Pamela Thompson, executive directive of AONE, representing the sponsoring organizations, provided direction and oversight to the study. Peter Risher served as senior project director for Harris Interactive and was assisted by Sandra Applebaum, research associate.

Virtually all registered nurses in the United States believe there is a nursing shortage and the vast majority have wit-nessed its effects firsthand. Most RNs also report that staffing problems at the place where they work have gotten worse in the past year and that these problems are having a
negative impact on the quality of patient care.

Barring a reversal of current trends, the nursing shortage that now exists can be expected to worsen as RNs reduce their active participation in the nursing workforce.

Despite these trends, most RNs like their jobs, offering hope that larger numbers can be retained and attracted as working nurses. A majority of RNs are satisfied with being nurses and would recommend nursing to others as a
career choice.

Younger RNs — and those with higher levels of education — are even more likely to recommend nursing. And, despite some signs of strain in the working relationships between nurses and management, RNs overwhelmingly
agree that patient care remains a priority at the organizations

Along with these positive views toward nursing, oppor-tunities clearly exist to attract and retain more RNs as working nurses. Many RNs who plan to leave their present jobs in the next few years say they would consider staying — and many others who have left nursing altogether say they would consider returning — if certain conditions were met. Among these conditions are better compensation, an improved work environment, better hours and more respect from management. Nurses with no immediate plans to leave echo many of these same sentiments.

Attracting and retaining nurses in the face of a shortage will surely be a challenge. Reducing stress in the work envi-ronment — a leading cause of nurses leaving the profession prior to retirement — will be particularly difficult because this stress is a result as well as a cause of the shortage.

Still, even as the shortage continues, steps could be taken to reduce stress by giving RNs more say in workplace decisions; more opportunities for professional development; more recognition; and a physically safer and more accommodating workplace.

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