Nurse Leadership Is in Crisis
Recruitment and retention challenges, workforce shortages, burnout, financial strain, and unrelenting operational pressure — all compounding at once are creating rapid turnover in nurse leadership.
- 1/3 of CNOs and CNEs are expected to step down within 5 years.
- 46% of nurse managers and directors are considering leaving within 2 years.
- 50%+ of leaders exiting the workforce are retiring, putting institutional knowledge at risk.
The Cost to Organizations
Replacing a senior nurse leader costs up to 125% of their salary and triggers operational instability: diminished care standards, higher staff turnover, culture erosion, and loss of strategic continuity.
Nurses are the backbone of the healthcare system—four million professionals who deliver not just clinical expertise, but the human connection and judgment that patients rely on every day. Yet the healthcare industry chronically underinvests in the very workforce that holds it together. The result is clear: persistent shortages, rising burnout, and a leadership pipeline too thin to support a system under growing strain. Underserved communities feel these pressures first and hardest, widening the gap in equitable access to care.
Despite these challenges, nurses remain the first and most trusted point of contact for patients. They champion health equity, navigate social and community needs, and provide care where others cannot. To continue this work at the level patients deserve, nurses need sustained investment from the healthcare system itself—particularly in leadership development, which has a powerful, multiplying effect. Strong nurse leaders stabilize teams, strengthen organizations, and improve outcomes across entire communities.
The Nurses Legacy Institute exists to address this critical gap. We develop, support, and elevate c-suite nurse leaders – CNEs, CNOs and ACNOs – so their expertise, resilience, and hard-won wisdom are not only preserved but strengthened and passed forward. Our work is grounded in a simple belief: legacy is built in the present, through leaders who lift others, shape healthier systems, and chart a better future for the profession. Nurses deserve more than recognition—they deserve the industry’s full commitment to investing in their growth, well-being, and long-term success.
