What Are The Least Stressful Nursing Jobs? 9 Roles To Consider (2024)

Nursing has never been easy, but it’s become even more challenging in recent years. Faced with long hours, staff shortages and hectic environments, a majority of nurses report feeling burned out. These issues were exacerbated by Covid-19, which caused the nursing workforce to shrink, according to the Journal of Nursing Regulation.

There are many career paths for nurses who don’t want to leave nursing, but prefer a more relaxed environment. Jobs removed from emergency settings, such as administration, research and technology roles, offer more consistent hours and less intense situations. Read on to learn more about the least stressful nursing jobs.

What Makes Nursing a Stressful Career?

Making a difference—and saving lives—is rewarding. But even the most meaningful roles can lead to burnout. Nurses working the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic faced significant burnout, the Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine reported. Contributing factors included fear, isolation and even the physical stress of wearing PPE.

Resilience is one of the key qualities for nurses, but job stress leads to deteriorated mental health. A stressful work environment bleeds over into nurses’ personal lives, which can even have adverse effects on patient care, according to BMC Nursing.

Many RNs exited their roles during the “Great Resignation” of 2021–22, and although the turnover rate has slowed, it still remains elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels. Turnover among registered nurses was 18.4% in 2023, a NSI Nursing Solutions, Inc. study found. This level of turnover creates its own challenges, like staffing shortages, training costs and a tumultuous work environment.

Fast-Paced Work

Due to budget constraints and higher demand for services, hospitals are facing pressure to perform care at a faster pace. Nurses in faster-paced environments report higher levels of stress, burnout and dissatisfaction with their workplace culture, a PLoS One study found.

Feeling Underappreciated

A majority of nurses reported an increased workload during Covid-19, according to a study in the Journal of Nursing Regulation. More than 50% of nurses reported feeling “emotionally drained” and “used up” at least a few times per week. Younger, less experienced nurses felt the most burned out.

Insufficient Training

The pandemic also interrupted up-and-coming nurses’ ability to learn. Instead of getting the hands-on training they needed, nursing students had to adapt to online learning. That transition meant losing valuable campus resources and lab time, a study published in Academic Medicine found. After graduating, new nurses were expected to keep up, even without the full nursing school experience.

Long Shifts

Nurses work in eight-, 10- and 12-hour shifts. Everyone has their own schedule preferences, but the hours can be grueling, especially for nurses working overnight or weekend shifts to provide around-the-clock care. Many nurses take on overtime—or even a second job—which contributes to longer workweeks.

A Nursing Times study found that working overtime is negatively associated with good nursing practices. Nurses who worked overtime on their last shift were more likely to report loss of information during shift changes, less time to discuss care problems and less time for personal development.

Physical Exertion

Nursing is mentally exhausting, but the physical aspect is often overlooked. In addition to long hours, bedside nurses spend a lot of their shift standing and walking. They may also have to lift and physically support their patients.

Staffing Shortages

High levels of resignation and turnover have left already-strained facilities with a shortage of nurses. The national RN vacancy rate stands at 9.9% in 2024—down from a high of 15.7% in 2023—NSI Nursing Solutions, Inc., reports. While vacancy levels have fallen from their peak, the current rate, coupled with a high recruitment difficulty index (the length of time it takes to fill open positions), means that a significant staffing gap persists. This cycle of burnout means that stressed nurses are spread even thinner with extra shifts and higher patient loads.

Unpredictable Schedules

Hospitals that provide 24-hour care need nurses at all times, even if someone calls in sick or schedules a vacation. Nurses may have to unexpectedly cover a shift, and many work holidays, nights and weekends.

What Does a Low-Stress Nursing Job Entail?

It’s important that nurses can effectively perform their jobs and provide the best level of care. According to the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, healthy work environments foster good communication and collaboration. The best workplaces recognize the value of their employees and make them feel appreciated.

Nurses have the right to feel safe, receive fair compensation and advocate for their patients and themselves, the American Nurses Association (ANA) says. The ANA also emphasizes that nurses should be able to negotiate fair wages, consistent work schedules and performance evaluation standards.

9 Least Stressful Nursing Jobs

Experiencing burnout doesn’t mean that nurses are ready to leave the field. In a Nursing CE Central study, 28% of surveyed nurses were actively looking for a low-stress nursing job. Options include administrative, advanced and non-emergency roles.

We sourced the below career data from Payscale and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Case Management Nurse

Average Annual Salary: Approximately $79,000
Job Overview: This role involves a lot of communication and collaboration. According to the American Case Management Association, case managers advocate for patients and coordinate their care between different services, specialists and locations. These professionals are especially critical for patients who have underlying health conditions that would affect their treatment, such as diabetes or heart disease. This position has more predictable hours and is less strenuous than bedside nursing.

Home Health Nurse

Average Annual Salary: $87,430
Job Overview: Home health nurses work one-on-one with patients in their homes—which can be a lot more relaxed than a fast-paced hospital environment. Patients include people who are elderly, disabled or adjusting to parenthood. Home health nurses get the chance to build long-lasting relationships in a slower-paced setting.

Nurse Administrator

Average Annual Salary: Approximately $96,400
Job Overview: RNs who have a bachelor’s degree in nursing and strong management skills may be well-suited for nurse administrator roles. These senior-level nurses oversee teams and perform regular management responsibilities like hiring, training and conducting performance reviews. Nurse administrators work in offices, usually with regular hours, and earn a competitive salary as higher-ranking employees.

Nurse Educator

Average Annual Salary: $78,580
Job Overview: Nurse educators work in faculty positions at nursing schools and teaching hospitals. Educators are registered nurses who have at least a master’s degree. Teaching is a great option for registered nurses with experience and good people skills. Since the job involves training up-and-coming nurses, rather than working with patients directly, the day-to-day tasks are much less hectic.

Nurse Informaticist

Average Annual Salary: Approximately $84,000
Job Overview: Nursing informatics integrates technology into health care. Nurse informaticists may report to IT or nursing departments. Among other responsibilities, they manage and communicate data, create a smooth transition to electronic health records, optimize workflows, and develop and improve information technology systems. RNs with an interest in technology and computer science could find a fulfilling career removed from the intensity of hands-on patient care.

Office Nurse

Average Annual Salary: $83,110
Job Overview: Office nurses work in doctor’s offices or clinics. They are the first people patients interact with; they gather information about patients’ needs and histories and perform minor medical care, such as administering vaccines. Clinics often have set hours and provide routine, non-emergency care, which makes this a more sustainable environment for many nurses.

Public Health Nurse

Average Annual Salary: Approximately $71,800
Job Overview: Public health nurses combine their nursing experience with an understanding of social issues to serve their communities. Employers include community health clinics, health departments and nonprofit organizations. Some public health nurses perform patient care, but the role is often focused on creating health education programs and advocating for policy change.

Research Nurse

Average Annual Salary: Approximately $76,000
Job Overview: RNs who want to impact public health on a larger scale should consider becoming research nurses. They are a vital part of medical research, including developing studies, monitoring clinical trials and writing grants. This advanced career path is open to RNs with a master’s or doctorate degree and experience in clinical research.

School Nurse

Average Annual Salary: Approximately $51,500
Job Overview: School nurses are often the only health care professionals in their workplace, so a wide range of responsibilities fall to them. These may include performing CPR in an emergency, providing education about sexual health, starting school-wide initiatives and working with parents of children with chronic health conditions. School nurses enjoy limited hours and the opportunity to help students succeed in their education.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Low-Stress Nursing Jobs