‘Heightened sense of concern’: New survey predicts a mass exodus of nurses in Massachusetts

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Nurses Association is predicting a mass exodus of nurses in the state if things don’t change soon.

Survey results released Monday revealed that twenty percent of Massachusetts-based nurses are planning to leave the field in two years or less.

The poll is based on feedback from 510 registered nurses, the majority of whom are not MNA members.

37 percent of those who plan to leave the profession said they are departing because of burnout, exhaustion, or lack of support from employers.

The three most common complaints included: deteriorating quality of care delivered in hospitals, understaffing, and low pay.

Nurses reported not having enough time to care for patients and needing to care for too many patients at one time.

“When you feel like you can’t take care of your patients properly, it causes great moral distress,” said Meghan Mahoney, a registered nurse at Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

Mahoney said that the ethical dilemma and the physical danger she faced on the job in the emergency department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital caused her to step away from her nursing role for an entire year.

“I’ve been screamed at. I’ve been spat on, hit, kicked, punched, slapped,” she explained. “That’s not what I signed up for.”

64 percent of nurses surveyed reported that workplace violence and abuse is a “serious problem”.

That’s a 22 percent increase compared to a similar survey done in March 2021.

“We’re losing a lot of talented people,” said Katie Murphy, President of the Massachusetts Nurses Association. “There’s a heightened sense of urgency and a heightened sense of concern.”

Nurses from across Massachusetts are planning to gather outside the State House Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in recognition of National Nurses Week.

Murphy said they’ll be advocating for better working conditions and support from state lawmakers.

Nurses have been working with state legislators for years in hopes of passing measures to make it easier to punish people who attack healthcare workers and to limit the number of patients that can be assigned to a registered nurse at one time.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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