The shortage of nurses in America is a serious issue. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the nationwide nursing shortage is expected to grow by 40% by 2026 (Haddad et al., 2022). This shortage affects the healthcare system’s ability to provide quality care and address the growing demand for health services. The shortage can be attributed to a variety of factors, including aging baby boomers, increased regulation and cost-cutting measures, decreased reimbursements, and a lack of skilled workers entering the field. It is important to note that leaving work can be stressful for nurses and their families. However, it can also cause a decrease in patient care if caregivers are not able to provide adequate care because they are distracted or too tired from work. Although nurses cause a shortage of essential healthcare workers when they leave the workforce, it is ethical for them to choose to do so to protect their own physical and mental wellbeing.
One of the reasons why nurses leave their jobs is retirement. Every year that passes brings the retirement age of the nursing workforce closer. Additionally, some professionals have retired early as a result of pandemic stress, while others are approaching retirement age during the epidemic (Karakachian & Colbert, 2019). Nurses who quit their jobs during this time are leaving a shortage of essential healthcare workers in their wake.
Those who retire early by choice or due to other reasons will not be able to replace those they have left behind (Laurs et al., 2020). This leaves hospitals more vulnerable to a shortage of nurses, which means longer wait times for patients and higher costs for both healthcare providers and their insurance companies. However, it is recommendable that nurses who are eligible for retirement quit their jobs. Thus, elderly nurses leaving the workplace and causing a shortage cannot be termed as unethical.
Secondly, nurses opt to surrender their jobs to gain physical and emotional contentment. Nursing can be a physically and psychologically strenuous profession. Frequently, there are insufficient personnel given the number of patients, and the demand for additional nurses has risen in recent years (Abou Hashish, 2017). The number and severity of patients have grown, and there is insufficient staff to handle this demand. Numerous healthcare workers are overwhelmed and are opting to leave the field to recuperate their physical and mental health. It is recommendable that nurses who find themselves unable to cope with the involved situation find rest by quitting their jobs.
Emotional and physical stability is essential for the health of nurses and relates directly to the quality of services. Thus, it is justifiable for a nurse to leave the workforce if their job is a source of constant stress.
Thirdly, nurses leave their jobs to seek better opportunities to support their families. When nurses leave the workplace, they may be leaving behind jobs that pay more than their current position and provide an opportunity for advancement (Karakachian & Colbert, 2019). The nursing schedule may not allow them to care for their children full-time, and the amount of time required away from home is higher than in other occupations. While there are many factors to consider when deciding whether or not to pursue a career in nursing, some nurses have made this decision after carefully weighing their priorities and finding it unlikely they will be able to make enough money to support their households (Laurs et al., 2020). It is ethical for a nurse to leave the career to pursue another that would enable them to meet their family’s financial needs.
Some people argue that it is unethical for nurses to leave their jobs yet they are aware of the ever-growing shortage. They say that nursing is a vocation and that these professionals must perform their duties diligently because they took a vow to do so. Some individuals argue that when nurses leave the profession, they weaken the healthcare system and endanger the lives of patients. While it is indeed true that nurses are bound by a code of ethics that emphasizes their duty to care for patients, nurses cannot be expected to perform their jobs under these hostile working conditions (Karakachian & Colbert, 2019).
For instance, some nurses are forced to work long shifts because hospitals do not have a functional shift system. Additionally, the pandemic has placed additional stress on nurses, in some cases, being sent to the frontline with personal protective equipment (Iheduru‐Anderson, 2021). Consequently, these professionals have experienced work stress that may even interfere with their ability to perform their duties. It would be illogical to expect nurses to remain enthusiastic about their jobs without fixing issues inherent in the profession.
In conclusion, the reasons why nurses leave their jobs are ethically justifiable. Ethics is about the rationality of the mind and doing what is right. In their personal capacity, the nurses feel morally satisfied that they make the right decisions. For instance, leaving nursing to pursue a different career in search of better income is crucial when an individual is in need. Some nurses have family responsibilities that they would only meet if they pursued other sources of income rather than the profession. Nurses who are physically and emotionally strained are justified to seek rest to avoid further damage to their health. Also, nurses could leave after attaining their retirement age, especially for baby boomers. Considering the problems intrinsic in the US healthcare system, nurses cannot be faulted for wanting to leave the workforce.
References
Abou Hashish, E. A. (2017). Relationship between ethical work climate and nurses’ perception of organizational support, commitment, job satisfaction and turnover intent. Nursing Ethics, 24(2), 151-166. Web.
Haddad, L. M., Annamaraju, P., & Toney-Butler, T. J. (2022). Nursing shortage. In StatPearls StatPearls Publishing.
Iheduru‐Anderson, K. (2021). Reflections on the lived experience of working with limited personal protective equipment during the COVID‐19 crisis. Nursing Inquiry, 28(1), e12382. Web.
Karakachian, A., & Colbert, A. (2019). Nurses’ moral distress, burnout, and intentions to leave: An integrative review. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 15(3), 133-142. Web.
Laurs, L., Blaževičienė, A., Capezuti, E., & Milonas, D. (2020). Moral distress and intention to leave the profession: Lithuanian nurses in municipal hospitals. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 52(2), 201-209. Web.