Q3 Nursing Survey Report

Date: Aug/Sept. 2024
Researcher(s): Lindsay Franco-Medlin
Product Line: B2C – [Company Name Redacted]
Research Type: Survey
Methodology: Online Survey

Summary

More than 800 nurses completed a survey that UXR ran in order to gain a better understanding of [Company Name Redacted] users. The survey covered various topics including career motivations, education, and interactions with [Company Name Redacted]. Next steps for UX Research include targeting underrepresented groups, analyzing demographic gaps, enhancing survey content, and developing follow-up research strategies.

Background & Purpose

The purpose of this survey was to gain a deeper understanding of our [Company Name Redacted] user base, their unique motivations, and how they differ from nurses who do not use [Company Name Redacted]. Our overarching, long-term goal is to enhance our knowledge of nurses and the nursing profession, moving away from a one-size-fits-all perspective to recognizing nurses as a diverse group with varying career motivations, educational needs, and community engagements.

This comprehensive survey covers a wide range of topics, including questions tailored to student nurses, career motivations and behaviors, continuing education, and interactions with [Company Name Redacted]. The survey was distributed through multiple channels such as email, website pop-ups, and, where possible, external lists—though the latter came with significant limitations.

Top Insights

As of publication of this report, 835 nurses have taken and completed this survey, 761 of which came from [Company Name Redacted] in some capacity. 420 nurses surveyed indicated that they use [Company Name Redacted] regularly.

User Breakdown

• Only 14% of all nurses surveyed have less than 10 years of experience
• 73% of all nurses surveyed have been working in nursing for 10+ years
• 13% of all nurses surveyed are retired
• Less than 2% of all nurses surveyed indicated that they are currently in school for nursing
• 50% of all nurses surveyed indicated that they are active [Company Name Redacted] users, though 91% of them were sourced through [Company Name Redacted]’s homepage or email list

Key Analyses

Varied Career Motivations & Behaviors

Nurses are motivated by a desire to care for others, job stability, and career prestige. Some nurses frequently change jobs while others display loyalty to their current roles. Engagement in continuing education varies based on access, financial support, and career goals.

Nursing Motivations:

Nurses overwhelmingly indicated a strong desire to care for others when prompted about their career motivations, but other motivators included job stability and career prestige.

Career Behaviors:

There appears to be a few different behaviors amongst nurses surveyed relative to their career behaviors, suggesting that there are multiple “nurse personas” we should be careful to attend to.

• Desire to Help: Many nurses are motivated by a desire to care for others and make a difference in patients’ lives (78% of all nurses surveyed indicated that ‘caring for others’ was one of the main motivators for pursuing a career in nursing).
• Job Stability: Nursing offers job security, attracting those who prioritize steady employment (37% of all nurses surveyed indicated that ‘job security’ was a primary main motivator for pursuing a career in nursing, while 36% indicated that ‘diverse work opportunities’ was such).
• Career Prestige & Growth: Nursing offers both prestige and opportunities for advancement, appealing to those seeking long-term career development and respect among other careers (47% of all nurses surveyed indicated that ‘respect for the profession’ was one of the main motivators for pursuing a career in nursing).
• Job Switching: Some nurses frequently change jobs, influenced by workplace satisfaction and career growth opportunities, where others displayed a sense of loyalty or safety relative to their current roles and employers. (46% of nurses surveyed indicated that they weren’t actively looking for a new job, but would be open to the right opportunity, 36% of nurses surveyed indicated that they weren’t actively looking and were not interested any new opportunities).
• Leaving Nursing: Nurses who indicated they were interested in leaving the profession, (only 4% of surveyed users) said that they did so primarily for the following reasons: issues with culture, insufficient pay, burdensome workload, and burnout.
• Continuing Education Engagement: Engagement levels in continuing education differ, likely based on access, financial support, and career goals. (52% of surveyed users indicate they always take CE outside of what is required. 39% indicated they occasionally do this). Not every nurse is motivated to take CE beyond what’s required of them, but the [Company Name Redacted] user base at large seems very committed to their continuing education.

[Company Name Redacted] Engagement

Nurses engage with [Company Name Redacted] at varying levels, with a preference for practical and immediately applicable content. They value a seamless user experience, including mobile accessibility. Engagement with community features varies, with some nurses finding value in networking and professional support.

The survey data also sheds light on how nurses interact with [Company Name Redacted], revealing distinct patterns in engagement and content preferences:

• Why Do Nurses Come to [Company Name Redacted]? Active [Company Name Redacted] users tend to use the site primarily for their education needs (74% of surveyed nurses who indicated they actively use [Company Name Redacted], do so primarily for educational content, whether that be a subscription, state package, or certification review course).
• Mobile Prioritization: Feedback on [Company Name Redacted]’s usability indicates that nurses value a seamless, user-friendly experience. There is a notable interest in mobile accessibility, especially for accessing CE (62% of surveyed [Company Name Redacted] users indicated some likelihood of downloading a [Company Name Redacted] app to access their continuing education, 51% said they would do so to access the job board and job search tools, and 55% they would do so to access the [Company Name Redacted] community).
• Community and Networking: Engagement with community features, such as forums and peer discussions, is more varied. While some users value these spaces for networking and professional support, others do not engage as actively, suggesting that the sense of community may not be as strong across the entire user base or that these features are not yet meeting their potential for fostering deeper connections among users (64% of [Company Name Redacted] users indicated that they were not currently part of an online nursing community. Those that did indicated they were part of an online community for nurses said that they value privacy, protection from employers, and content moderation in such a community, above other listed concerns).

Demographic Gap & Response Distribution

Most survey respondents are [Company Name Redacted] users. The data represented in this report reflects that, and it should be noted that key user groups are underrepresented, including student nurses and nurses with fewer than 10 years of work experience.

Underrepresented Groups

• Student Nurses: Low response rates from student nurses (Less than 2% of all survey respondents indicated they were in nursing school) are concerning as they are the future workforce with unique educational needs and career expectations that differ from experienced nurses.
• Nurses with Fewer Than 10 Years of Experience: Early-career nurses are also underrepresented (14% of all survey respondents indicated they had fewer than 10 years of experience). Their perspectives on career development, job satisfaction, and continuing education are crucial, given their formative career stage.

Possible Reasons for Underrepresentation

• Survey Distribution Channels: Current distribution methods (email, website pop-ups, external lists) may not effectively reach student and early-career nurses, who might not be on these lists or frequently visit the website.
• Survey Accessibility and Relevance: The survey content may not be tailored to younger or less experienced nurses, potentially reducing their participation.

Impact of Representation Gaps

• Skewed Insights: Underrepresentation leads to skewed data, potentially hindering the development of strategies and offerings that reflect the full nursing population’s needs.
• Missed Engagement Opportunities: Insufficient data from these groups limits our ability to engage and support them with relevant educational content and programs.

Next Steps & Recommendations

Enhance Survey Content and Design

• Objective: Ensure the survey is engaging and relevant to all demographic groups.
• Potential Actions:
  • Review and refine survey questions to ensure they are inclusive and applicable to the targeted demographics.
  • Include questions that specifically address the experiences and challenges faced by student nurses and early-career nurses.
  • Pilot the revised survey with a small sample from the target groups to test for clarity, relevance, and engagement

Targeted Survey Distribution

• Objective: Reach underrepresented groups, particularly student nurses and nurses with fewer than 10 years of experience.
• Potential Actions:
  • Partner with nursing schools and educational institutions to distribute the survey to student nurses.
  • Utilize professional networks, social media groups, and online forums that cater to early-career nurses to increase survey visibility and participation.
  • Explore partnerships with nursing associations or organizations that have access to these specific demographics.

Develop Follow-Up Research Strategies

• Objective: Build upon initial findings to gain deeper insights.
• Potential Actions:
  • Plan focus groups or in-depth interviews with participants from underrepresented groups to gather qualitative data.
  • Consider conducting longitudinal studies to track changes in motivations, behaviors, and educational needs over time, particularly for student nurses transitioning into their careers.
  • Utilize the findings from this survey to inform the development of new survey instruments or research methodologies.

Survey Plan(s)

• Collaborate with other teams to broaden survey scope and ask additional questions, particularly centered on more detailed user behaviors, such as: course modality preferences, course content preferences, etc.
• Outline discovery plans for global nurse behaviors and trends, including nurse attrition and changing demographic ratios.

Distribution Channels (and Breakdown)

• Homepage Pop-Up: Lower right dismissible pop-up on the homepage of [Company Name Redacted] that ran for four weeks. Total users acquired through this channel: 108
• User Email: Single email that ran (once) to the larger [Company Name Redacted] email database. Total users acquired through this channel: 653
• Quantitative Test: Provided survey link to [Testing Tool Name Redacted] (internal UX Research tool) users who were screened to meet user requirements. Total users acquired through this channel: 54
• Word-of-Mouth: Internal [Company Name Redacted] staff sharing the survey link word-of-mouth to nurses in their personal circles. Total users acquired through this channel: 16
• Other: Miscellaneous and untracked user sources. Total users acquired through this channel: 4

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