National Nurse Work Environments - October 2021: A Status Report

The health of nurse work environments has been shown to affect both patient and nurse outcomes. In 2005, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses published the AACN Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments: A Journey to Excellence, and a second edition was published in 2016. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses conducted critical care nurse work environment studies in 2006, 2008, 2013, 2018, and, most recently, October 2021, which was expanded to include registered nurses in all areas of practice.

To report the results of the October 2021 study with comparisons to previous studies and recommendations for continued improvement and to evaluate the current state of nurse work environments.

An online survey was used. A total of 9862 registered nurses responded to the survey; 9335 met the study criteria of currently practicing as a registered nurse.

The health of nurse work environments has declined dramatically since the 2018 study. However, as in 2018, evidence of a positive relationship exists between implementation of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Healthy Work Environment Standards and the health of nurse work environments, between the health of nurse work environments and job satisfaction, and between job satisfaction and the intent of nurses to leave their current positions or to stay.

It is time for bold, intentional, and relentless efforts to create and sustain healthy work environments that foster excellence in patient care and optimal outcomes for patients, nurses, and other members of the health care team.