Iman Abuzeid, MD

At Incredible Health, we are dedicated to our mission: helping healthcare professionals live their best lives and find and do their best work. To achieve this, it’s fundamental for us to deeply understand the challenges faced by both nurses and healthcare leaders. While we’ve highlighted the pressing concerns of 1 million nurses nationwide, we believe it’s important to consider the perspectives of healthcare executives to gain a comprehensive understanding of workforce challenges in healthcare.

Today, we are excited to reveal the findings from our 2024 Healthcare Executive Report. Our latest report offers a comprehensive view of the concerns in healthcare from the perspective of over 100 US healthcare executives and proprietary data from over 1500 US hospitals.

The report paints a concerning picture: 90% of healthcare executives surveyed predict that the nurse shortage will worsen in the coming years. With the U.S. projected to be one million nurses short by 2030, this is an unsettling reality. However, there is a silver lining. This year’s report outlines a promising path forward, offering opportunities for positive change and support for nurses nationwide.

Understanding the Landscape

The pressure on nurses is undeniable and is exacerbated by the difficulty in hiring and retaining nurses. Only 32% of healthcare executives are satisfied with the current patient-to-staff ratios, and a staggering 78% do not feel adequately prepared for a large-scale health crisis.

Additionally, healthcare executives report that:

• Medical surgical, OR / perioperative, critical care, and emergency nurse specialties are the hardest to hire, further complicating staffing challenges. On the Incredible Health marketplace used by 1 million US nurses and 1500 US hospitals, we’ve seen the largest increase in demand for medical surgical roles, as in the last 2 years new graduate nurses are hired directly into specialized units, resulting in understaffed medical surgical units.
• Inadequate staffing (43%) and not having enough nurses entering the field (37%) are tied as the biggest concerns for the healthcare industry.

Addressing Burnout and Workplace Violence

Burnout and workplace violence are significant contributors to the current nurse shortage. According to our 2024 State of US Nursing Report, 46% of nurses cite burnout as their primary reason for leaving their roles, and 26% are likely to leave due to workplace violence. These statistics are alarming, but they also highlight key areas where healthcare systems can intervene and improve.

Healthcare executives are increasingly aware of these issues. 66% say that they have seen an increase in verbal and/or physical assaults on nurses by patients or a member of the patient’s family within the past year, and are working to implement measures to intervene and improve nurse experiences. From establishing zero-tolerance policies for workplace violence to investing in security systems that allow nurses to alert when they are in danger, steps are being taken to ensure a safer and more supportive working environment. For burnout, the top strategies leaders are implementing for retention are:

• Increasing salaries for nurses (36%)
• Offering career advancement opportunities (20%)
• Retention incentives (11%)

Pathways to Improvement

One of the most promising aspects of this year’s report is the alignment between what nurses want and what healthcare executives are willing to offer. For example, salary increases have been identified as one of the most effective methods for attracting and retaining nurses. More than 40% of healthcare executives reported raising nurse salaries in the past year, directly addressing the concern of 64% of nurses who feel they are not fairly compensated.

Technological advancements, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), also offer benefits. Over half (54%) of healthcare executives are exploring AI technologies to reduce the administrative burdens that contribute to nurse burnout. By streamlining scheduling and operational processes, AI can help nurses focus on what they do best—caring for patients. We have seen the benefits of how generative AI can help both nurses and health systems: 

• Currently, 47% of healthcare executives report using AI for scheduling and administrative processes, with 22% believing AI will improve shift scheduling. 
• Since we implemented our generative AI features, there has been a 20% increase in nurses accepting interview requests on the Incredible Health platform.
• More than half (53%) of healthcare executives are asking team members to use AI to increase operational efficiency within their health system
• Only 12% of healthcare executives reported nurses using AI for recommending patient care

A Collective Effort

Valerie Hernandez, Vice President of Talent Acquisition at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, highlights the collective effort required to address the nurse shortage: 

Healthcare professionals, including nurses, play a crucial role not only within hospitals but also across the entire country. Our top priority is to adequately staff our facilities to ensure optimal patient care outcomes. We’re actively implementing innovative initiatives that will empower our teams. However, the ongoing nurse recruitment challenge remains an existential issue that all hospitals must address. We appreciate Incredible Health for working with us, and shedding light on the progress and challenges faced by hospitals and health systems today.

This collaboration to support healthcare professionals, aided by organizations like Incredible Health, is essential in navigating the future of nursing. By highlighting the challenges and solutions being implemented to changing nurses’ lives, we can work together to create a more stable and supportive healthcare system.

Looking Ahead

While the nursing shortage remains an ongoing challenge, the response and steps taken by healthcare executives inspire optimism. The increasing alignment between what nurses need and what healthcare executives are willing to offer, combined with the adoption of new technologies, provides a roadmap for a brighter future.

If your hospital is looking for a better way to hire and retain nurses, click here. Incredible Health’s award-winning marketplace technology helps your talent acquisition and nursing teams hire permanent, experienced nurses in 20 days or less, save an average of $5 million per year per facility, and improve nurse retention. With over 1 million US nurses using Incredible Health to manage their careers, 1,500 U.S. hospital locations trust Incredible Health with finding its most important resource: top, permanent nursing talent to deliver high-quality care.

If you’re a nurse looking to join 1 million nursing peers, and take control of your career, access Incredible Health’s suite of services for free, click here. 

You can download the visual report that includes more data from the 2024 Healthcare Executive Report here.

Methodology

We surveyed executives from 100 hospitals and health systems in May 2024. Proprietary data from over 1,500 hospital locations using our platform was also included. Respondents included employers inside and outside the Incredible Health employer network. While anonymous, the survey included some of the largest health systems in the United States, academic medical centers, regional systems, community hospitals, in both urban and rural areas.

Incredible Health is celebrating two exciting milestones in 2024. Our career marketplace is now trusted by over 1 million nurses and 1,500 hospital locations across the United States, making it the largest healthcare career marketplace in the US.

Founded in 2017 to address the challenges of the national nursing shortage, Incredible Health uses automation, data, and technology to streamline the job search process enabling nurses to find their dream permanent jobs. Incredible Health simultaneously helps hospitals and health systems efficiently hire to deliver care to their communities. 

Nurses embrace the concept of hospitals applying directly to them (instead of the other way around), while hospitals have witnessed a drastic reduction in hiring time, from an average of 95 days to 20 days or less, when partnering with Incredible Health. This has resulted in more nurses finding their dream roles, annual cost savings of $5 million per facility, higher nurse retention, and an elevated standard of care for patients. Nurses have used Incredible Health to advance their careers and skills, get paid more, move into nurse leadership, and nearly 40% of nurses have relocated to a different state for their dream permanent job. We’re proud of our 4,200+ 5-star reviews from nurses across the App Store, Play Store, Google and Facebook.

While these achievements are cause for celebration, our journey is just getting started. Access to a diverse pool of qualified nurses remains crucial for hospitals, and nurses deserve a wide array of hospital employers to choose from – including jobs that advance their career, expand their skills, improve their schedules, and enable relocation. We are committed to continuously enhancing our technology, algorithms, and AI to further refine job matching, making it even more valuable and efficient for users. 

Recently, we introduced exciting new features that let nurses rapidly create resumes in under five minutes, ensuring that the 30% of nurses that start their job search without a resume are not left behind. We’ve implemented generative Artificial Intelligence that enables recruiters to automatically send personalized messages about unique benefits and perks to nurse candidates, helping hospitals differentiate from their competition. Today, resumes and applications are verified and processed instantly using AI, matching positions with the perfect candidates in seconds.

Beyond our platform’s powerful capabilities, Incredible Health provides nurses and hospitals with an up-to-date source of nursing news and trends. Our 5th annual State of US Nursing report, which was published last week and extensively covered by the press, provides valuable insights about how nurses feel about their careers, their workplaces, and plans for the future.

At Incredible Health, we believe the future of nursing is bright. Our mission is to empower healthcare professionals to find and do their best work. As we celebrate these milestones, we look forward to continuing to pursue our vision of helping healthcare professionals live better lives. 

We would not be here today without the amazing Incredible Health team, our 1 million nurses, and our 1,500 hospital partners. Learn more about joining our team here. If you are a nurse looking for your next permanent role, find out more here. If you are a hospital looking for a better way to hire and retain nurses, find out more here.

Incredible Health has reached a monumental milestone in pursuing our mission to help healthcare workers live better lives, and we couldn’t have done it without you. With the release of our fifth annual State of US Nursing Report, we’re thrilled to announce that our platform now supports over one million nurses and partners with 1,500 hospitals across the United States. This remarkable growth speaks volumes about the strength of our community and the trust nurses and health systems place in us.

This year’s report is more than just numbers and statistics – it’s a testament to the resilience and dedication of nurses across the country. It sheds light on the challenges US nurses face, particularly the ongoing staffing shortages that continue to impact patient care, and also shines a light on bright spots in the profession.

We analyzed our proprietary data of over 1,000,000 nurses (300,000 more nurses than last year) and surveyed 3,300 nurses nationwide.

A positive outlook

Despite the challenges highlighted in the report, there are reasons to be hopeful. Mental health among nurses is improving (up 6% from 2023), thanks to efforts by health systems to combat burnout and foster a sense of community. It’s reassuring to see that the desire to remain in the nursing profession remains strong, with 79% of nurses expressing they will remain a nurse until retirement, pointing to their passion for helping others as the driving force behind this dedication. While this is a similar sentiment from last year’s report (81%), it is an overall improvement from 55% in 2022 when nurses were grappling with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Staffing shortages continue to be a sticking point for nurses

Despite the strides made, staffing shortages remain a significant challenge for nurses. While nurses are slightly less dissatisfied with current staffing levels (48% in 2024 vs. 55% in 2023), overall, they believe that patient care is negatively impacted due to staffing shortages. A staggering 88% of nurses point to these shortages negatively impacting patient care, with 63% feeling stretched thin by caring for too many patients at a time. Additionally, 53% report lacking adequate support from nursing peers or managers – a concerning trend that we’re committed to addressing.

Integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Another area of focus in the report is the integration of AI in healthcare – a topic that sparks both excitement and concern among nurses. While 70% do not foresee AI impacting their roles in the next year, there’s a growing recognition of its potential to support technological education and streamline processes. Of the 11% of nurses who have used AI in their roles, they have used it for recommendations on patient care, during the patient intake process and care summary creation, or through Incredible Health in their job search.

A generational divide

In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare, there’s an undeniable generational shift taking place within the nursing profession. On the topic of AI, many nurses expressed that one negative impact of AI adoption in the field is creating an imbalance between younger and older generations of nurses. 69% of nurses 55 years of age and older think that AI will have a negative impact on the industry compared to 44% of 18 to 24-year-olds. Additionally, 68% of nurses expressed a lack of hope for the next generation of nurses, specifically Gen Z.

Other significant findings include:

As we continue to expand our platform and support more nurses and health systems, Incredible Health remains committed to driving positive change in healthcare and ensuring nurses have the resources they need to thrive. The results of our State of US Nursing Report are proactively shared with over 1,500 hospitals, and engagement with health system leaders inspires action, just like our past reports.


Incredible Health is free to all nurses and helps them plan and manage their careers. One million US nurses use the platform to land roles across 1,500 US hospitals, access resources, and tools, including continuing education and an exclusive community, and receive one-on-one support from coaches regarding career decisions. Incredible Health champions nurses by putting them in the driver’s seat of their careers.

75% of the nation’s top-ranked hospitals trust Incredible Health’s award-winning marketplace technology to quickly hire and retain top, permanent nursing talent while saving at least $5M per year per facility in travel nurses, overtime, and HR costs. Incredible Health also provides analytics to benchmark speed, conversion rates, brand, and salaries of hospitals with their local and national competitors, helping hospitals set themselves apart in attracting and hiring the best talent. Hospitals using Incredible Health hire permanent nurses in fewer than 20 days.


If you’re a healthcare leader looking for a better way to hire permanent nurse talent, schedule a demo here.


If you’re a nurse looking to take control of your career and access Incredible Health’s suite of services for free, click here.

You can download the visual report that includes more data from the State of US Nursing Report here or visit our interactive report here.

Methodology

We analyzed hiring data from more than 1,000,000 Incredible Health nurse profiles as of February 2024. We also surveyed over 3,300 registered nurses in the United States in February 2024.