The “widest survey” of nurses, midwives and nursing associates by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) reveals that over half of respondents (58%) are satisfied in their work – motivated by making a difference to people’s lives.
Many professionals also told the NMC how much they valued their positive interactions with the people they care for, as well as with their colleagues.
However, the insights gathered from 37,961 professionals in March last year (5% of the Register of 842,460 people at the time) also show that only 12% of respondents would recommend the nursing and midwifery professions as a career.
The survey lays bare the prevalence of harassment, bullying and abuse faced by those working in health and care: 70% of respondents reported experiencing such behaviours in the past year – most commonly from the public but also from managers or other colleagues.
40% of respondents said they had experienced discrimination, most often on the grounds of ethnicity or age – more internationally educated professionals reported this (53%) compared to those educated in the UK (35%).
This is particularly concerning given that the Register is more ethnically diverse than ever: there are 286,058 Black, Asian and minority ethnic nurses, midwives and nursing associates – a third of the total workforce at 33.2%.
Around a quarter of respondents told the NMC that they are ‘struggling’ with workload – meaning they regularly worked beyond their contracted hours and felt unable to cope with their workload at least weekly. This particularly affected midwives.
Almost a third (32%) of respondents – including 45% of midwives – reported witnessing situations where patient safety or care was compromised, often linked to inadequate staffing and pressure on workloads.
Emma Westcott, Executive Director of Strategy and Insight, said:
“It’s encouraging that a majority of the professionals on the Register remain energised by the most positive aspects of nursing and midwifery practice. These include making a difference to people’s lives, and forming rich relationships with the people they care for and work with. However, our findings are a stark reminder of the urgent need to tackle unacceptable behaviours that drive people out of work they love.
“Our insight suggests that employers who take their duty of care for our registrants seriously are more likely to retain their nursing and midwifery staff. A zero-tolerance approach to discrimination, bullying and harassment is needed across the sector. Our review of the Code will strengthen our expectations around equity and anti-racism in the professions.”
Spotlight also includes new insights into where NMC registrants work, and what they do – based on data captured as part of the revalidation process. This will be of particular value for workforce planning and forecasting.
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