North Carolina Nurses Struggling With Burnout According To New Survey

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —  Even as key Covid metrics move in the right direction, stress at North Carolina medical centers is still being shouldered by nurses, that’s according to a new survey from the North Carolina Nurses Association.

“We started to realize that we don’t have the capability to deal with this. WE didn’t have the PPE. We didn’t have the support,” said Kris.

She is a nurse who worked in the Charlotte area for several years before moving to Texas.

“It’s overwhelming being there and having no staff, but you also, being a nurse, take pride in your work. It’s not something we take lightly. We don’t just clock in and clock out,” said Kris.

The short staff, long hours, and just the nature of the work wore her down.

“We watch people die everyday. I think that nurses don’t take good enough care of themselves. So I think that self care would be step one,” said Kris.

According to a recent survey by the North Carolina Nurses Association, Kris isn’t alone.

Respondents said they were:

“Mentally and physically exhausted.”

 “Work life and home life are falling apart because there is just not enough of me to go around.”

“I have no more joy in nursing.”

“I am deeply concerned about the future of nursing and will it ever be the same.”

“It’s more so just brought the stress level to a higher place to where nurses who weren’t considering leaving nursing have made that consideration of I can’t take this anymore. I’m going to leave,” explained Bonnie Meadows.

Meadows is a Charlotte area nurse and board member with North Carolina Nurses.

She says strategies that used to bring stress levels down are no longer working.

“They are having to be innovative in regards to what we do and how we treat one another. All of those things,” said Meadows.

Moving forward, Meadows says it’ll be a long slow process to hire more nurses and retain them.

“We are strong. We are able to bounce back. We’re able to sustain as a profession. I would say just hold on,” said Meadows.

Atrium Health said in a statement that the survey results are heartbreaking, but not surprising. According to the statement from Atrium Senior VP Dr. Maureen Swick, the hospital system has increased base pay by more than 17 percent since 2020.  They’re also reevaluating staffing models and long term structures while working to recruit new hires and graduates.