For National Nurses Month (May), University of Phoenix surveyed nurses across the nation to better understand their perception of the nursing profession since the start of the pandemic. Among the findings:
* 78% of nurses say that working during the pandemic has been the most challenging time in their careers.
* Nurses reported feeling exhausted (65%), fearful (49%) and underappreciated (36%).
* Many said they were concerned about their risk of exposure to COVID-19 (88%) or their organization’s ability to keep up with a surge of COVID-19 patients (63%).
* 46% of nurses thought about quitting their job at some point during the pandemic.
* But despite the challenges, 99% of nurses are proud of the work that they do and 87% say their job is more important than ever right now.