healthcare workforce
Why New Nurses Need More Than Encouragement
Most new nurses don't leave because no one told them they were doing a good job. They leave because the first year is harder than anyone prepared them for. Encouragement helps, but real support shows up in the conditions nurses work in every day.
Eipnare makes scrubs for women in healthcare, so we pay close attention to the parts of a shift that are easy to overlook. This is a look at what the data says about first-year nurses, and where everyday support actually makes a difference.
How many new nurses leave in their first year?
More than one in five. According to the 2025 NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report, about 22.3% of newly licensed RNs leave within their first year, and first-year nurses account for close to a third of all RN turnover. Replacing a single bedside nurse costs hospitals an average of about $61,110.
The reasons are consistent across surveys: emotional stress, thin staffing, and the gap between what nursing school teaches and what a real shift demands. New nurses often step onto the floor without a structured onboarding or a dedicated preceptor to lean on.
Why do new nurses burn out so quickly?
Burnout isn't rare, and it isn't a sign of weakness. In a 2025 Joyce University survey of 1,000 registered nurses, 74% said they feel emotionally drained from work several times a week. Among Gen Z nurses, the newest in the profession, 28% reported feeling burned out every single day.
For someone in their first year, that exhaustion lands on top of a steep learning curve. Every task still takes conscious effort, every shift brings new situations, and small frustrations pile up fast.
What actually helps first-year nurses?
The biggest levers are structural, and they belong to employers:
- A real onboarding and preceptor program, so new nurses learn with support instead of being thrown in.
- Realistic patient loads during the transition, so the learning curve isn't also a safety risk.
- Peer support and regular check-ins, so new nurses know that struggling early is normal.
None of that can be solved by a uniform. But there's a smaller layer of support that's easy to dismiss: the everyday basics a nurse carries through a 12-hour shift. Shoes that don't hurt. A water bottle they actually get to drink from. And scrubs that fit, move, and hold up wash after wash, so the uniform is one less thing working against them.
Where uniforms fit in
We're careful not to overstate this. Comfortable scrubs don't fix staffing or workload, and we won't pretend they do. What they can do is remove a small, daily friction. A waistband that stays put, fabric that breathes on a busy floor, and pockets where you'd actually reach for them add up over a long shift. For a new nurse already managing a lot, small reliability is worth something. You can see how we think about that across our scrub sets and separates.
Key takeaways
- About 22.3% of new RNs leave within their first year (2025 NSI report).
- 74% of nurses feel emotionally drained multiple times a week; 28% of Gen Z nurses feel burned out daily.
- The strongest support is structural: onboarding, preceptors, realistic staffing, and peer support.
- Everyday basics, including comfortable and durable uniforms, are a small but real part of the picture.
Frequently asked questions
What is the first-year turnover rate for new nurses?
About 22.3% of newly licensed registered nurses leave within their first year, according to the 2025 NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report. First-year nurses make up close to a third of all RN turnover.
Why do new nurses experience burnout?
Common drivers include emotional stress, inadequate staffing, and the gap between academic training and clinical reality. A lack of structured onboarding and preceptorship makes the first year harder.
Can better scrubs reduce nurse burnout?
No single product reduces burnout, which is driven by workload, staffing, and support. Comfortable, durable scrubs can remove a small daily friction, but they are one minor factor among many larger ones.
Sources
Related reading
- What Nurses Actually Need From Scrubs in 2026
- The Real Cost of Becoming a Nurse
- Shop best-selling Eipnare scrubs
Edited by Hedy Nie, COO of Eipnare. Connect with her on LinkedIn.