COVID's Devastating Impact on Younger Nurses

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN

The long-term impact of COVID-19 on the nursing workforce is something that researchers will likely study for years to come. Although collectively, nurses were in the same COVID storm, they were not in the same boat. New evidence indicates that the experience with COVID has had a devastating impact on our youngest nurses. The new ANA pulse on the nation’s nurses survey last week sounds alarm bells that we must pay attention to as we look to rebuild the wellbeing of the nursing workforce. The most recent assessment was conducted between January 8th and January 29th of 2022. Over 12,000 nurses participated in the research. 59% of the respondents work in acute care. The findings indicate that there is a statistically significant relationship between age and the emotional health of nurses. Some key findings include the following:

While 30% of nurses indicate that they are not or not at all emotionally healthy – the number jumps to 46% of nurses under 25.
While the average net thriving score and optimism for all nurses averaged 5.0 – the score was 3.77 for nurses under 35 (a score that indicates a high level of suffering).
66% of nurses under 35 reported feeling anxious and 43% reported feeling depressed far higher than other age groups.
Only 19% of nurses under the age of 35 feel that their organization cares about their well-being compared to 42% of nurses over 55.
63% of nurses report that they intend to leave or are considering leaving their current position – far higher than other age groups.

These findings are distressing but understandable. Even pre-COVID, data from the American Psychological Association indicated that younger Millennials and the Generational Z cohort reported far lower baselines of excellent or very good mental health. Their natural trait anxiety and stress levels are higher and then they were situationally placed in the middle of a very stressful healthcare disaster. No seasoned leaders (unless in the military) experienced what these nurses have in their first years of practice which has included:

The world was in the middle of a pandemic.
Everyone wore PPE and masks.
There have been very high death rates in the patients they have cared for.
Most of their nursing education has involved remote learning and simulation.
Turnover rates among their colleagues skyrocketed.
You are asked to care for complex patients, serve as a preceptor or even take charge before you are clinically proficient.
You don’t socialize with your colleagues at work or outside of work.

This most recent ANA survey should be a call to action for all of us. While nurse wellbeing should be a key strategic initiative, special attention needs to be given to our youngest nurses. We know from research that growing up with digital devices has made it harder for younger Millennials and Gen Z to have face-to-face conversations. Nurse leaders cannot wait for their young Gen Z nurses to initiate a conversation about their well-being because they are unlikely to do. Leaders must take the initiative. They are the future of this profession and their responses to this survey are a call for help.

Reference

COVID-19 Two-Year Impact Assessment Written Report Final American Nursing Foundation, March 2022.

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