2021’s Best & Worst States for Nurses

May 12th, 2020 marked the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, who is noted as the founder of modern nursing, a biostatistician and the first nurse researcher. There were 4,096,607 registered nurses (RNs) and 920,655 licensed practical nurses/licensed vocational nurses (LPN/LVNs) in the United States as of October 2019 (NCSBN, 2020).

Nurses are now actively involved in COVID-19 interventions, and they will remain key players in stopping the pandemic with adequate assistance. Thus, they must be provided with a healthy work environment to empower their efforts to control and manage the outbreak. nurses should be owed the right to reimbursement, psychological counseling, and therapeutic care if they are diagnosed with COVID-19 through contact at work.

With nurses working to administer the COVID-19 vaccine while facing continued PPE shortages, and with National Nurses Week kicking off May 6, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2021’s Best & Worst States for Nurses.

In order to help new nursing graduates find the best markets for their profession, theycompared the relative attractiveness of the 50 states across 22 key metrics. The data set ranges from monthly average starting salary for nurses to health-care facilities per capita to nursing-job openings per capita.

Best vs. Worst

• California has the highest annual mean wage for registered nurses (adjusted for cost of living), $88,740, which is 1.5 times higher than in Vermont, the lowest at $59,807.
• Utah has the lowest current competition (number of nurses per 1,000 residents), 8.81, which is 2.1 times lower than in South Dakota, the highest at 18.49.
• Nevada has the lowest future competition (projected number of nurses per 1,000 residents by 2028), 2.17, which is 10.7 times lower than in North Dakota, the highest at 23.17.
• Minnesota has the highest ratio of nurses to hospital beds, 4.98, which is 2.1 times higher than in Wyoming, the lowest at 2.42.

WalletHub Q & A

What can local governments and health systems do to attract and retain high quality nurses?

“Local governments and health systems can pay them more and provide more leadership opportunities,” said Helen Baker, PhD, MSc, FNP-BC, Emory University. “Nurses need to be able to grow and lead if they are going to be kept in an organization.”

“Local governments and health systems can attract and retain high-quality nurses when they also provide a quality education for nurses’ children,” said Deborah L. Hopla, DNP, APRN-BC, FAANP, FAAN, Francis Marion University. “Have occupations available for spouses to be employed. Clean air, clean water, affordable food and housing, low crime rates, and a stellar medical facility with great, quality staff members.”

Prior to the pandemic, nurses were already facing a high burnout rate, with nearly four out of 10 nurses reporting they felt burned out. What are some strategies for combating nurse burnout during the pandemic?

“We need to support nurses and teach them skills to handle the stress including how to set boundaries between work and personal life, how to care for themselves including getting enough sleep, eating a well-balanced diet, and get exercise,” said Patricia W. Stone, PhD, RN, FAAN, Columbia University. “Even though there is a nursing shortage with the number of hospitalized patients in some areas, hospitals need to support their nurses and empower them by fostering opportunities to participate in decision-making, providing autonomy and freedom from bureaucratic restrictions. The work environment is very important.”

“I think strategies are the same whether there is a pandemic or not,” said Christine Kover, PhD, RN, FAAN, New York University. “Easy access to free mental health services, "services" at work - drop off dry cleaning, shoe repair, car service, flexible hours so someone can leave work for two hours and get a haircut, etc.? and flexible hours in general - it is likely hard for older nurses to work 12-hour shifts.”

To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:

https://wallethub.com/edu/best-states-for-nurses/4041

Courtesy: WalletHub