- Utah faces a growing nursing shortage, exacerbated by burnout.
- Nearly 140,000 nurses left the field in the U.S. since 2022, with 40% planning to leave by 2029.
- Northern Utah health care is strained, impacting patient care and increasing travel for services.
LOGAN — Michaela Long is not surprised that there is a nursing shortage in Utah. As a former nurse, she saw firsthand the burnout caused by this shortage and the challenges for those who stay behind.
She and her husband, Steve, who is a primary care physician, moved to the Beehive State — they currently live in Logan — from Michigan solely to serve in rural communities, allowing them to pay off their student loans faster.
They have called Brigham City, Logan, Tremonton, Smithfield and Hyrum their professional and personal homes over the last 15 years and feel they have an understanding of health care in northern Utah. What they know is this: Burnout — the exhaustion caused by prolonged stress, according to College of Nursing professors throughout Utah — is real.
And the shortage will continue if nurse burnout is not addressed.
"Let me tell you, I loved being a nurse, in the beginning. You got a real sense of helping people," she said, "But I just couldn't do it anymore. I always wondered what goes through someone's head when they just have to stop something they love. Well, I found out. To live a mentally stable life, I had to leave nursing. And let me tell you, that was one of the hardest, and most satisfying, decisions to make. And I'm not alone in feeling that way."
This past spring, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, which listed Utah as the state with the greatest nursing shortage, reported that 138,000 nurses left the field since 2022.
The council also reported that 40% of nurses plan to leave the field by 2029, with burnout listed as a major reason.
Although specific numbers for Utah are not currently available, those interviewed by KSL.com believe these national percentages are similar in Utah.
National and state statistics also show that, despite the need, colleges of nursing inside and outside of Utah are filled with men and women studying to become registered nurses. In other words, the problem is not in getting Utahns to become nurses.
It is in getting them to want to stay in the field. That is where burnout plays a massive role.
"I know people hear that there is a shortage, and nurses are experiencing burnout, but I really don't think people truly understand what a problem this is," said Sarah Victor, a former nurse who worked in northern Utah and left the field after 10 years. "Nurses are overworked. We're doing a million jobs to keep patients healthy and safe — and we start out loving it. But one nurse leaves, and that increases the burden. Another leaves, increased burden. Then, you have to make a decision. I knew I had to leave."
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing reports that the nation as a whole needs an additional 1.1 million nurses by 2030 to meet the health care needs of those across the country.
Similar projections are not yet available in Utah, but there are nearly 3,000 registered nursing positions available to be filled, according to the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity.
The repercussions of not having enough nurses — especially given the fact that the state also does not have enough medical doctors, according to the University of Utah Health Sciences division — are massive, according to medical professionals, including former nurses, in Utah.
For Long, her biggest concern is for northern Utah. Without enough primary care physicians and registered nurses, residents will have to travel farther distances to seek care, often opting not to seek the care at all, she said.
Her husband Steve also relayed the point that doctors may have to do the work of nurses, with a major problem being, in his opinion, they aren't trained to do the work of nurses, including "dealing with patients for more than five minutes.
"We don't have the same people skills so people will end up not coming at all," Steve Long said.
Victor and the Longs also note that like much of Utah, Cache County, Box Elder County, and Weber County are growing, increasing the need for health care.
"And what's the plan for that problem?" Victor said.
Michaela Long said she would have loved to help come up with solutions in the past, but she does not have the mental capability to do so.
Besides, as much as she loved northern Utah, she and her husband are moving back to Michigan in August. They hope to have a baby soon, and health care needs are huge for them.
"Look, I'm not a kid. I'm guessing I'm going to need to some help to have this baby and all the other issues that may come up," she said. "I'm going to need to see nurses. And I know Michigan has a nursing shortage, too, but it's not as bad as Utah so I'm thinking — and hoping — I'll get what I need back home."
