Young Adult Nurses Are Not Well

Young adult nurses have the lowest work-related well-being, highest turnover intentions and lowest overall job satisfaction across practicing nurses, according to a recent survey.

Sixty-seven percent had suboptimal work-related well-being. Initial regression analysis revealed that resilience, Magnet® designation, perceived similarities in practice worldviews with co-workers of a different age and COVID-19 explained 38% of the variance in young adult nurse work-related well-being.

Young adult nurses experience significant levels of work-related distress that place them at heightened risk for burnout, fatigue, patient care errors and intent to leave in the next 24 months. The moral dimension of nursing is especially relevant to young adult nurse work-related well-being, as are the nurse’s contemporary practice worldview and perceived similarities with co-workers’ and managers’ practice worldviews.