The Registered Nurse Workforce: Examining Nurses’ Practice Patterns, Workloads, and Burnout by Race and Ethnicity

Background

Over the past decade, the registered nurse (RN) workforce has grown increasingly more diverse. However, while evidence of progress is clear, so too are signs that such gains lag behind documented shifts in the general demographic makeup of the United States.

Purpose

The goal of the present study was to provide current evidence to overcome potential barriers to ongoing efforts to diversify the nursing workforce and thereby inform future workforce planning.

Methods

Data from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s 2022 National Nursing Workforce Survey were used for this analysis. This study provides a descriptive breakdown of the RN workforce by race and ethnicity and compares observed trends to national demographic shifts over the past decade.

Results

Despite an uptick in the racial diversity of the RN workforce over the past decade, the gap between the racial makeup of the RN workforce and that of the broader U.S. population has grown. By contrast, while a gap in ethnic diversity (e.g., those of Hispanic/Latino origin) certainly persists in the RN workforce, the overall trajectory related to ethnic diversity growth is more in line with that of the U.S. population during the same timeframe. Overall, the employment profile of minority RNs, across various racial subcategories, is strikingly different from their White/Caucasian counterparts, contributing to increased workloads and emotional exhaustion during the pandemic.

Conclusion

A diverse nursing workforce is critical to ensuring culturally competent care that improves access, quality of care, and patient outcomes for underserved populations. As such, continued efforts to diversify the nursing workforce are a critical priority for the long-term health of our nation. Only by identifying and overcoming potential barriers to diversify the RN workforce can we foster a more inclusive, more effective, and safer U.S. healthcare system.