In the nursing workforce, intent to leave—particularly clinical care roles—remains high. Currently or previously retired nurses could be a crucial cohort to attract back to the bedside, given their experience and ability to help train early-tenure nurses, note senior partner Gretchen Berlin and coauthors. In a McKinsey survey, 34 percent of currently retired or previously retired nurses say they would consider clinical care roles if they could also educate nurses, while 31 percent of these respondents flagged mentoring as an important reason, the second- and third-highest choices behind schedule flexibility.
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A bar chart shows the motivations for returning to clinical nursing among respondents who are currently retired or were previously retired. Respondents’ reasons, in descending order, are as follows: ability to set my own schedule at 45%, ability to serve as an educator at 34%, ability to mentor nurses at 31%, reduced hours overall at 28%, no weekend work at 21%, enhanced benefits at 21%, ability to interact with patients at 20%, ability to have virtual shifts at 20%, reduced patient load at 19%, more support for physical tasks at 16%, no night work requirements at 12%, work in a different location or site at 9%, and flexible shift length at 5%.
Footnote: Question: What would make you consider returning to clinical nursing (select top 3)? Includes respondents who indicated they were or had been retired.
Source: American Nurses Foundation Nurses Survey, Oct 2023.
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To read the article, see “How to bridge the experience gap by supporting nurses of all tenures,” March 28, 2024.