The primary reasons nurses consider leaving the profession are pursuit of a better salary and benefits as well as job-related mental health issues such as stress or burnout, according to survey results released by healthcare staffing provider Medical Solutions.

It found that 40.2% of nurses cited mental health issues such as stress and burnout as one of their top three reasons. Other responses related to mental health include unmanageable workloads, cited as a primary reason by 27.5%, and feeling undervalued or unsupported, cited by 27.2%.

“Several of the reasons we saw correlate with support and mental wellbeing,” Medical Solutions Chief Nursing Officer Patti Artley said in a press release. “What that should tell us is that we need to shift some of our current practices to focus on fostering workplaces where every team member feels genuinely happy and valued every day.”

Medical Solutions’ survey included 7,117 registered nurses and took place in December 2023. It included travel nurses, staff nurses and PRN nurses.