Approximately 100,000 registered nurses left the US workforce during the Covid-19 pandemic in the past two years due to stress, burnout and retirement, according to a survey by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Inc. Another 610,388 registered nurses reported an intent to leave the workforce by 2027 due to stress, burnout and retirement.

“The data is clear: The future of nursing and the US healthcare ecosystem is at an urgent crossroads,” said Maryann Alexander, chief officer of nursing regulation at NCSBN. Solutions must be put in place to prevent a crisis that threatens patient populations, Alexander added.

Also, the report found that an additional 188,962 nurses younger than 40 years old reported intentions to leave the healthcare workforce. Altogether, about one-fifth of registered nurses across the US are projected to leave the healthcare workforce.

The report, which also examined the personal and professional characteristics of nurses experiencing heightened workplace burnout and stress due to the pandemic, found 62% of those surveyed reported an increased workload during the pandemic. In addition, nurses reported feeling emotionally drained (50.8%), used up (56.4%), fatigued (49.7%), burned out (45.1%) or at the end of their rope (29.4%) a few times a week or every day.

The report analyzed a subset of the 2022 National Nursing Workforce Study. It included 29,472 registered nurses and 24,061 licensed practical and vocational nurses across 45 states.