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National Nurses Week is a time to say thank you. But gratitude is not enough.
Health care is one of the largest forces in the American economy. In 2024, U.S. health spending reached $5.3 trillion, or 18% of GDP. Yet only about 20 physicians serve in the 119th Congress — roughly 4 senators and 16 representatives out of 535 voting members.
That matters because health care policy is often written by people who have never treated a patient, never rounded in a hospital, never relied on nurses during a crisis, and never watched burnout affect patient care in real time.
Connecticut knows this problem firsthand.
In 2022, Connecticut had 89,819 licensed registered nurses, but only 51,514 were actively working, and only 45,014 were employed in a nursing capacity in Connecticut. That means having a nursing license does not mean Connecticut has a nurse available at the bedside.
Nurses are Aging Out
The age picture is also concerning. The Connecticut Center for Nursing Workforce reported that 50% of Connecticut RNs were over age 50 in 2022, while only 11% were ages 20–29. That is not just a shortage today — it is a warning about tomorrow.
How about the Burnout?
Nationally, nurses are sounding the alarm. Recent nursing workforce reporting found 62% of nurses reported burnout and 23% were considering leaving the profession. Hospitals pay for that turnover, but patients pay the deeper price: fewer experienced nurses, more strain on staff, and more risk in the system.
What are the sources of Burnout?
According to a Nurse.com study [ [link removed] ], the 5 main contributing factors to burnout are:
Dissatisfaction with salary/wage increase policies (63%)
Lack of responsive leadership (60%)
Unequal work-life balance (54%)
Not being heard (54%)
Unmanageable workloads (54%)
Connecticut cannot afford to treat nurses as an afterthought. Nurses are the backbone of hospitals, clinics, long-term care, home care, emergency rooms, and community health. They see the system from the inside. They know where it breaks. And they deserve representation from leaders who understand medicine from the front line.
Physician Nurse Cooperation Works
For nearly a decade I served on the Operating Room Committee of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. The committee consisted of Physicians, Nurses and Administrators. We all worked together to make the operating rooms ran on time, ran efficiently. Everybody had a voice and everybody respected each other and each other’s opinion. We were a team that were all dedicated to making things work. As a tertiary care hospital we served the entire demographic spectrum of NYC. Despite providing specialty care to a large indigent population we still managed to operate in the black. More of that is needed today.
This National Nurses Week, the message should be simple:
Thank you to Connecticut’s nurses and all of our nurses Nationwide.
We see the burnout.
We see the workforce crisis.
It is time you have a seat at the table in Congress - We need more doctors, nurses, and health care practitioners shaping health care policy in Washington. Healthcare needs to refocus on the patients and the healthcare providers that treat them, rather than bureaucracy.
Nurses, please help put a doctor in the House — to make some house calls to DC. - Join the movement and spread this message.
Dr. Michael Goldstein
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