61% of nurses plan to quit amid burnout, shortages: AMN Healthcare
CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES — A staggering 61% of nurses are planning to leave their current positions within the next year due to burnout, staffing shortages, and mental health strain, according to a new AMN Healthcare survey.
Despite 75% of nurses expressing career satisfaction, systemic issues such as inflexible schedules and excessive workloads are driving the profession towards a critical point, with 33% of nurses eligible for retirement this year alone.
Burnout, retirement threaten nurse workforce stability
According to AMN Healthcare’s Survey of Registered Nurses 2025, the nursing workforce faces a range of difficult issues.
The study shares that about 58% of nurses experience burnout frequently, and more than half of them declare that they also experience compassion fatigue. These factors have made a lot of nurses rethink what they want to do for their careers, so now only around 39% of nurses plan to stay in their current jobs for the next year.
Younger employees are seen in the survey as feeling happier at work than older staff. Older nurses generally find more satisfaction at work, but younger nurses usually have a more demanding job and less flexibility, so they tend to look for other jobs.
Because 33% of nurses are at the age to retire, the shortage of staff could become even more severe. Without some change or help, many hospitals may lose their experienced nurses when there is more demand for care.
Flexible scheduling, technology key to nurse retention
One of the most pressing demands from nurses is greater scheduling flexibility. According to the poll, almost 81% of workers believe flexible work hours would make them happier in their jobs, and 55% slightly less say it would give them a better balance between work and family life.
“It would reignite my passion to have a flexible schedule that would help balance my work and family life,” reportedly said one of the nurses in the survey.
Technology could be a major asset in dealing with burnout. Automated systems for schedules, charts, and records have all helped reduce the number of tasks doctors need to do. An example is Mercy Health System, where AI helped the number of nurses who stayed with the company go up.
Yet, 45% of nurses are concerned about AI possibly affecting patient safety, and 26% don’t want to lose their jobs, demonstrating that AI should be introduced in healthcare with care and with changes in policies.
