When seeking a professional certification, the task of finding just the right certification can feel overwhelming because there are so many options from which to choose and so many factors to consider.

Arguably, nurse managers have one of the toughest roles in healthcare. Their responsibility comes with oversight over direct care nurses, the work environment, job satisfaction, retention, quality nursing care, as well as patient safety and clinical outcomes.

Contract provisions that stick nurses with the cost of training programs if they leave or are terminated before their contracts are up will largely be prohibited under the Federal Trade Commission's April 23 ruling to ban noncompete agreements — a decision National Nurses United is applauding.

Government is the highest-paying industry for registered nurses, where they earn an average of almost $30,000 higher than the lowest-paying industry, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Direct care nurses should be involved in all aspects of staffing, according to standards set forth in new guidance from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. 

Men are increasingly entering the nursing profession and continue to outearn their female peers, federal data suggests.

The amount of registered nurses who reported being "extremely satisfied" with their jobs fell 12 percentage points between 2018 and 2022, federal data shows.

Gen Z and millennials healthcare workers are less likely to report feeling unsafe at work and suffering burnout, but are more likely to report experiencing depression, a Vivian report found.

On average, registered nurses' workweeks were 84 minutes longer in 2022 than in 2018, federal data shows.

From 2022-23, four-year colleges and universities turned down 65,766 qualified applications — not applicants, as people may apply to more than one program — which likely resulted in thousands of applicants being turned away, according to a new report from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. 

Enrollment in BSN programs at nursing schools across the U.S. held steady in 2023, though fewer students are entering in master's and PhD programs, according to new data from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. 

More and more healthcare organizations are seeing the benefits of third-party 1:1 coaching for physicians. Coaching is helping to reduce burnout, provide growth opportunities, and increase retention among these professionals who work under incredibly high pressure daily. However, many personalized coaching programs have historically been reserved solely for physicians.

Twenty-five percent of clinicians reported seeing more workplace violence in the past year, and 33% reported seeing the same amount, but 48% said their employer has not implemented safety protocols to protect staff, a Vivian report found.

Pay has increased for some nurses, and the same can be said for the number of nurses seeking a higher degree or additional certification — but workplace violence also is on the rise, a Nurse.org report found.

The U.S. has an all-time record number of actively licensed nurses — 5.6 million — but hospitals are struggling to recruit and retain enough. To discover missed opportunities, researchers surveyed 7,887 nurses who recently exited the healthcare industry. 

Some hospitals and health systems are embracing self-scheduling options for nurses and other team members in a bid to attract and retain younger workers. A recent survey suggests the strategy could also bring back nurses who've retired or left the field. 

The District of Columbia has the most registered nurses per capita, and Idaho has the fewest, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In two years, Newark, Del.-based ChristianaCare has expanded virtual nursing to 41% of its beds without adding a single new staff member.

Nearly two-thirds of registered nurses practicing in the U.S. still had student debt as of 2021, according to the most recent federal data available. 

Reimbursement alone isn't among nurses' top priorities. However, a lack of transparency in nurse reimbursement is a contributing factor to many of the top issues they do want addressed, such as workplace violence and inadequate staffing.