Due to the nationwide shortage of registered nurses (RNs), currently employed RNs are having to work longer shifts than during the pandemic. In the first quarter of 2024, about a dozen states reported that full shifts for RNs averaged over 11 hours per day.

Registered nurses (RNs) working in nursing homes in Alaska and Utah are seeing the longest shifts, followed by Nevada, Montana and Kentucky.

Overall, full shifts for RNs average about 10.5 hours per day as of the first financial quarter this year, an increase compared to 10 hours in 2021, according to workplace data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and compiled by Vivian Health. The data represents the average daily hours workers during the first three months of 2024.

Alaska RNs in particular saw an average of 11.9 hour shifts, and there are more than 1,500 reported RN vacancies in the state, Vivian said. This figure is expected to exceed 5,000 vacancies by 2030.

The situation got so bad that Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed into law a bill to address the nursing shortage in the state, as long waits for nursing licensure is deterring people from pursuing a nursing career or renewing their licenses.

In Utah, nurses work 11.77 hours per shift on average. Almost one in five nurses are approaching retirement age in the state, Vivian found. Rural-heavy states like Nevada, Montana and Kentucky also face more significant workforce challenges because the distribution of workers is located in urban and metropolitan areas.

Other states where RNs worked 11 hours or more included Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Indiana.

Nursing homes across the country are limiting admissions and are concerned about closures as staffing shortages persist. The American Health Care Association found that 66% of long-term care facilities are concerned that if these workforce challenges continue, they would permanently close and worsen the crisis of access.

If the federal minimum staffing mandate is added, AHCA noted that four out of five nursing homes can’t meet the requirement to have nurses on staff 24/7. Only 6% of nursing homes can currently achieve all requirements listed in the mandate.