2022 Data on New Nurse Graduates and Employers Preferences

In August 2022, AACN conducted its 13^th online survey of nursing schools offering entry-level baccalaureate and master’s programs in the U.S. to better assess the experience of new graduates in finding employment.  

The survey found that the employment rate at graduation was 77% for BSN students, with the employment rate rising to 93% at 4-6 months after gradutation. By comparison, the National Association of Colleges and Employers found in a survey of 361 schools that within 6 months of graduation, 63.5% of baccalaureate graduates from the Class of 2018 were employed part- time or full-time.

AACN also collected data on entry-level master's degree programs, finding the employment rate among MSN students to be 67% at graduation, with that rate rising to 94% 4-6 months after graduation.

Again this year, AACN asked nursing schools if employers in their region were requiring or indicating a preference for hiring new nurses with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Findings showed that 27.7% of hospitals and other healthcare settings are requiring new hires to have a bachelor’s degree in nursing, while 71.7% of employers are expressing a strong preference for BSN program graduates.

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