Nurse.com's 2024 Nurse Salary and Work-Life Report Reveals Workplace Violence and Mental Health Concerns
Nurse.com, a community where more than 3 million nurses can connect with peers, apply for jobs, and earn continuing education, has released the 2024 Nurse Salary and Work-Life Report, which provides insights into nurses' current priorities, challenges, and aspirations related to salary, education, safety, and work culture.
For the first time in this biennial survey, nurses were asked about their experiences with workplace violence and how their job affected their mental health and wellness. This revealed concerning trends with 64% of nurses reporting verbal abuse, and 23% reporting physical assault or abuse by a patient or a patient's family member. Many nurses also expressed a need for greater emphasis on physical and mental health.
"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."
Other key findings in 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).
- Nurses across all licensures share the same goal of obtaining additional education. Among all nurses in our 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.
- Most nurses felt overwhelmed, burnt out, or stressed. 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 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%. By reporting on this data, Nurse.com is spotlighting the desires and concerns of nurses nationwide.
Across all licensures and age groups, nurses reported their profession affected their mental health and overall well-being. The majority (73%) said their job usually has a positive effect, most commonly noting positive interactions with patients and families. Yet 17% of nurses reported that their job negatively affected them, with most respondents citing dissatisfaction with salary or wage increase policies. Almost 20% of nurses said they decided not to seek mental health support because they feared it would negatively impact their career.
"It's crucial for nurses to have access to mental health benefits," said Cat Golden, BSN, RN, Partner at Nurse.com. "As a pediatric nurse who faced frequent encounters with the untimely death of young patients and their families' grief, being able to speak with a therapist while on duty was vital for preserving my own mental well-being and played a pivotal role in my effectiveness as a nurse."
Nurse.com is committed to supporting nurses year-round, exemplified by initiatives like National Nurses Week, where nurses are celebrated and recognized for their invaluable contributions to healthcare with giveaways, discounts, and nurse-led events. The community at Nurse.com provides a place where nurses can connect, learn, and grow in their careers, consolidating everything they need to succeed in one place.
For more information or to access the full report, please visit Nurse.com.
About Nurse.com
As the trusted career resource built by and for nurses, Nurse.com fosters one of the largest online communities of nurses, reaching nearly 3 million nurses per month. Nurse.com serves nurses with lifelong career support through accredited continuing education, job opportunities, and a thriving community that supports their passion and empowers them to flourish. Nurse.com is part of parent company Relias' family of brands, including the Wound Care Education Institute, Relias Academy, FreeCME, and Relias Media, which share a common goal of improving the lives of the most vulnerable members of society and those who care for them.
About Relias
Relias provides lifelong workforce enablement solutions for 12,000 healthcare and human services organizations and 4.5 million caregivers to drive measurable outcomes. Customers use Relias solutions to attract and retain talent, elevate care quality, and reduce risk with our technology, services, community, and expertise. The Relias family of brands ? Nurse.com, Wound Care Education Institute, Relias Academy, FreeCME, and Relias Media ? serves the entire healthcare community and shares a common goal of improving the lives of the most vulnerable members of society and those who care for them.
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