What if the very people we rely on to treat us are so completely stressed out that they are actually the ones in need of healing? LegalNurse.com undertook a national survey of over 3,300 nurses to uncover how the stress of being a registered nurse impacts their health, lifestyle and ability to do what they're most passionate about - helping patients.

2. Nurses
Nurses represent the largest percentage of workers
within the U.S. healthcare system. With an aging population,
they are critical to our population’s well-being.

3. But what if the very
people we rely on to treat
us are so completely
stressed out that they
are actually the ones
in need of healing?

4. Nurses’ Stress Survey
LegalNurse.com
surveyed 3,312 nurses
over a two-week period
to uncover how the stress
of being a registered
nurse (RN) impacts their
health, lifestyle and
ability to do what they’re
most passionate about —
helping patients.

5. Survey Scope
Our survey questions ranged from RN’s sleep habits and diet to their
ability to openly communicate in the workplace and their authority
to make the decisions they need to do the best job possible.
The survey is highly representative of those nurses who know the
healthcare system best. Over 73% of our respondents had been
a nurse for 11+ years. In fact, 50% had been a nurse for 20 years
or more. These are nurses who have dedicated
their lives to helping others. Which
makes their responses all the more
important…and troubling.

6. The bottom line…
Our nurses are completely
stressed out and our
healthcare system is broken!

7. Mission
For 32 years, LegalNurse.com has been at the forefront of
helping registered nurses advance their careers and improve the
quality of their lives. With the current changes and uncertainty
in our healthcare system, registered nurses continue to be
neglected by a system that overworks, under-appreciates and
marginalizes the experience of individuals who are the most
connected to patients. The people who we rely on to help
us need help themselves.
LegalNurse.com has undertaken this survey
in order to continue to draw attention to
the urgent need to recognize the challenges
registered nurses are facing in the workplace,
the impact it has on their ability to use their
expertise, and the effect it has on them as
some of the most caring and important
members of our society.

8. Mission
This survey comes at a time
when our healthcare system
is putting tremendous stress
on RNs to work with new
technologies, conform to new
government policy, and work
with hospital administrations
trying to provide more cost-
effective care. As these changes
and challenges continue to
mount, they have pushed
nurses to a point where they
are potentially becoming
unable to do what they love,
helping people, in a way that is
effective and sustainable for
them as individuals.

9. Survey Results

10. Challenges of the
Work Environment

11. RNs Always On
“It’s 24-hour nursing, not 12-hr shifts.”

12. RNs Always On
For the average RN, there is no downtime.
With an average completion time of 03:31 minutes, 53%
of our respondents completed the survey on a mobile device.
Not having even 4 minutes to
yourself to sit at a computer
and take a survey is typical of
the kind of on-the-go, “on call,”
no time for themselves,
lifestyle nurses are forced
to balance due to the stresses
and commitments of work,
life and family.

13. What causes stress:
“Feeling like work never gets completed
and feeling that I could have done more.”

14. Lack of Authority

15. With 73% of RNs who responded to this survey having more than 11
years experience in nursing, they should feel empowered to put their
experience and expertise to work. In reality, the exact opposite is true.
75% of RNs feel they
do not have the authority
they need to do their
job effectively.
Lack of Authority

16. Inexperienced management, government
bureaucracy and hospital administrations
focused more on the bottom-line than
patients are taking the ability to provide
quality care out of the hands of those
most qualified to provide it.
Lack of Authority

17. What causes stress:
“Not having the authority to take care of the things
that need to be done, but being responsible for it.”
Lack of Authority

18. What causes stress:
“Government bureaucracy and all the educated
stupid people who have authority to make decisions
about stuff they have no practical experience in.”
Lack of Authority

19. Mismanagement —
The Business of Healthcare

20. Mismanagement
In our survey, one of the most often cited sources of stress
for registered nurses is management. That nurses are
forced to walk the “tightrope of navigating with integrity
between nursing practice and company policy and
procedures. The two do not complement one another.”
Nurses’ ability to provide care is impacted both by
inexperienced management focused on monetary goals
and older management, still stuck in hierarchies of the
past, not in tune with new challenges of care.

21. Nurses are forced to do more with less, as cost-cutting at a patient-level
for compliance and profitability takes precedence over care.
What causes stress:
“Not being able
to care for my
patients properly
due to new
lean values.”
Mismanagement

22. What causes stress:
“Employers’ scrutiny on cutting costs at bedside
while hiring more administrators and expensive
programs to streamline services.”
Mismanagement

23. Respect,
Appreciation
and
Compensation

24. • 84% of RNs stated that they do not feel respected and
appreciated in some capacity within their organization.
• In fact, over a third (34%) of RNs stated outright that
they are not respected nor appreciated for their years
of expertise.
• This is in stark contrast to the level of respect and
appreciation our healthcare system provides doctors
for their work and expertise.
Respect, Appreciation
and Compensation

25. Nurses are the frontline of communication between patients,
doctors and hospital staff. However, only 14% of RNs feel they
can express themselves freely at work. In fact, 24% of RNs
NEVER feel they can express themselves freely at work.
As a patient, this is incredibly
alarming that the individual
you communicate with most
at a hospital isn’t allowed to
share their opinion.
Respect, Appreciation
and Compensation

26. In a career where
individuals have extensive
education and experience
and are working irregular
schedules of 12-hr shifts on
their feet in sometimes life
or death circumstances,
we would think that
compensation would not
be an issue. And yet 40%
of nurses feel
undercompensated.
Respect, Appreciation
and Compensation

27. What causes stress:
“Overworked with no relief in sight, working for
$3 to $5 dollars less than average city wages.”
Respect,
Appreciation
and
Compensation

28. What causes stress:
“Working two full-time jobs to cover bills.”
Respect, Appreciation
and Compensation

29. Impact
of Stress
on Nurses

30. Lack of Sleep

31. Lack of Sleep
“Working nights has my routine off. I feel sleepy and
lethargic all the time and I’m afraid that I will make a
mistake at work.”
For all workers, a good night’s sleep is crucial in being
able to perform your job effectively. For RNs, having to
contend with being on-call, changes in schedules and
shifts impact the body’s ability to adjust and get the
required sleep needed to perform at their highest level.
64% of RNs said they rarely get the recommended 7-8
hours of sleep per night in a week.

32. What causes stress:
“Working 12-hr shifts without breaks
sometimes, not enough time with my kids
because of work, lack of sleep, etc.”
Lack of Sleep

33. Poor Diet

34. Poor Diet
In an environment where nurses, doctors and nutritionists help
patients focus on eating healthy, you would think that poor diet
would be rare. However, access to healthy foods, tight family
budgets, and the stress of having to sneak in a quick meal on a shift,
lead to poor nutritional habits by nurses. In fact, nearly a third (31%)
of RNs rarely eat even two balanced meals per day.
Poor dietary habits impact the brain’s cognitive abilities including
memory and decision-making. Nutrition impacts the physical
endurance needed to work on your feet for 12 hours. And most
importantly, it can mean long-term implications of being able to
spend quality time with family members and loved ones.
77% of respondents do not eat properly.

35. Poor Diet
What causes stress:
“No breaks, nothing to eat or drink, peeing one time
because you are overwhelmed with your workload.”

36. Personal Life

37. Personal Life
82% of RNs find it difficult to strike a work-life balance.
What stresses these nurses out?
“I’m a single mother of three who works full time with a second job.”
“As a single mother, balancing work schedules with kid schedules and their
appointments is very difficult. My work doesn’t understand my family is my first job.”
“My child and who is going to watch her.”
“Missing out on being home with my child.”
“Having to work full time and feeling I’m short-changing my children.”
“A failing marriage, working two full-time jobs to cover bills and little time
with two small children.”

38. Personal Life
What causes stress:
“Not enjoying time with friends or family.
About to get married and can’t get time off.”

39. Personal Life
What causes stress:
“Feeling like I'm always on call, even when I'm not.
Getting texts from my boss at night on my personal time.”

40. Impact on
Healthcare System

41. Impact on Healthcare System
Nurses are on the frontline of helping
patients. Yet they are under-appreciated,
marginalized and placed in a work
environment that causes major stress.
The system is making the very people
who treat you sick themselves.

42. Impact on Healthcare System
The realities of the life of a nurse are going
to cause too many of our nurses to quit,
crippling our healthcare system.
All this, when the population of our seniors
(65+) is growing rapidly, reaching 72.1M
in 2030.

43. All this stress is causing high levels
of turnover in the nursing industry,
exacerbating the industry’s
nursing shortage.
340,000 to 1 million unfulfilled
nursing positions are projected
by the year 2020.
Impact on Healthcare System

44. Aging Population + Growing Nursing
Shortage
=
BIG PROBLEMS
Impact on Healthcare System

45. How We Can Help Nurses
Understand How Treatment of RNs Translates
into Client and Corporate Success…or Failure
• Make work hours realistic and humane.
• Provide access to nutritious meals and snacks.

46. How We Can Help Nurses
Give RNs a Voice
• Leverage the experience of long-time RNs, providing
them with the authority to get their jobs done well.
• Allow long-time RNs a seat at the management table,
balancing the “business” of hospitals with the
importance of patient care.

47. How We Can Help Nurses
Be a Great Leader
• Do the right thing for your RNs.
• Increase compensation and benefits for RNs and
you might just become the Starbucks of healthcare.

48. How We Can Help Nurses
Treat RNs Like the Heroes They Truly Are
• Take a step back and realize the many miracles
your RNs are producing.
• Change the culture in your workplace. Instead
of berating nurses, enforce a work environment
of mutual trust and respect.

49. About LegalNurse.com
LegalNurse.com is the authoritative
resource center for nurses seeking to
explore the field of legal nurse consulting.
As the pioneers in this booming profession,
the Institute is dedicated to revolutionizing
nursing careers one RN at a time.
LegalNurse.com is the nation’s oldest
and largest legal nurse consulting training
institute. Nationally recognized by attorneys,
the CLNC® Certification is the official
certification of the National Alliance of
Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (NACLNC®).

50. For a copy of the full survey results report, visit:
LegalNurse.com/legal-nurse-consulting-blog/2014/06/
rn-stress-survey-legal-nurse
For more information about LegalNurse.com, visit us online:
LegalNurse.com