Educating to Exhaustion: Intention to Leave Among US Full-Time Nursing Faculty

In this episode, host Dr. Steven Palazzo speaks with Dr. Jacqueline Christianson about her study, Educating to Exhaustion: Intention to Leave U.S. Full-Time Nursing Faculty, published in Nursing Education Perspectives. Their conversation explores the growing nursing faculty shortage and examines how workload demands, inadequate rewards, and burnout contribute to faculty members’ intentions to leave academia. Dr. Christianson discusses key findings from a national survey of nursing faculty and highlights practical strategies for improving retention, including fostering autonomy, recognizing contributions, strengthening leadership support, and creating meaningful workplace connections. She also emphasizes that while salary remains an important factor, no single solution exists for addressing faculty burnout. This episode offers valuable insights for nursing education leaders seeking to build healthier work environments and sustain the academic nursing workforce.

Christianson, J., Malin, K., Leiberg, J., Grabert, L., Moser, S., & Zemlak, J. (2026). Educating to Exhaustion: Intention to Leave Among US Full-Time Nursing Faculty. Nursing education perspectives, 47(2), 86–95. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000001492

Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the leading organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education. Find past episodes of the NLN Nursing EDge podcast online. Get instant updates by following the NLN on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube. For more information, visit NLN.org.