Men leave nursing at higher rates than women amid acute national shortage

For the first time in more than 20 years, the share of men in the U.S. registered nursing workforce has declined amid an ongoing national nursing shortage. The share of men fell between 2022 and 2024 to just 10.4% of the workforce, suggesting that men are disproportionately represented among nurses reporting burnout. “The conversation about the nursing shortage has focused almost entirely on volume,” says Jennifer Endean, head of partnerships at RegisteredNurse.jobs. “This is a reminder that the composition of the workforce is shifting and that retention pressure isn’t gender-neutral.