Nurses Leave Jobs for New Careers

Reporter Megan Burbank spoke with former nurses who, amid grievances like staffing shortages and low pay, changed their careers. Nurses took on immense responsibilities as COVID-19 raged across the country, overloading hospitals and overextending health care workers.  Today, some of these nurses have left the field completely due to mounting pressures that were exacerbated by the pandemic – but had existed long before. Freelance reporter Megan Burbank talked to several former nurses in Washington about the stressors that led them to leave their field for new career paths like massage therapy and web development.    In this episode of Crosscut Reports, host Maleeha Syed talks with Burbank about what drew these nurses to the field; what pushed them out; and how their lives have changed for the better since leaving.  Read our full report on how people are adjusting to life after nursing here. --- Credits Host/Producer: Maleeha Syed and Scot Michael  Reporter: Megan Burbank Executive producer: Sarah Menzies --- If you would like to support Crosscut, go to crosscut.com/membership. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Seattle’s PBS station, KCTS 9.