Why Nurses Are Quitting in Droves

The episode opens with breaking news that luxury real-estate brokers Tal and Orrin Alexander, along with their brother Alon, were each sentenced to 30 years in prison. A jury had convicted the brothers earlier in the year on sex-trafficking charges. Prosecutors said they used a years-long pattern of luring women with luxury experiences before drugging and raping them. In court, the three brothers said they regretted past behavior but denied committing sex trafficking. The show then reports problems with Apple’s first foldable phone, the $2,000 iPhone Duo. Demand is far ahead of supply, but several customers told The Wall Street Journal that the phone’s hinge became stuck, followed by a loud pop and a bright streak down the middle of the display. Apple acknowledged that the problem affects a “small number” of phones, though it did not provide a figure. The company is not recalling the device; instead, it is telling affected customers to contact Apple for a replacement.

In the day’s markets segment, technology stocks extended what the program calls the “Anthropic Inspired Rally” for a second day. The Nasdaq gained 1.2%, while the S&P 500 also rose. The Dow was nearly unchanged. The report presents the move as part of continued enthusiasm around artificial-intelligence companies and technology stocks, but it does not identify a specific new announcement from Anthropic or provide further details about the individual companies driving the gains.

Israel saw unusually heavy voting in an election described as potentially the most consequential in the country’s history. Long lines formed at polling places, and the elections authority said roughly three-quarters of eligible voters had cast ballots with two hours remaining before polls closed. That put turnout on course to exceed every previous Israeli election. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was seeking another term, and the program directed listeners to The Wall Street Journal for further analysis of what the turnout could mean for him. In Brazil, authorities canceled the passport of Flávio Bolsonaro, who had lost the presidential election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. A Brazilian official told the Journal that Bolsonaro had disobeyed a Supreme Court order to surrender his passport. He is being investigated for financial crimes, which he denies, and had been ordered not to leave Brazil after Sunday’s election. Authorities were investigating reports that he had fled to Argentina on the way to the United States; his spokesman did not respond to requests for comment. British prosecutors also charged two British men with national-security offenses linked to a foiled attack on a U.K. base housing U.S. military aircraft. One man was accused of inspecting a “prohibited space,” while the other was charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service that police believe was Iran. Six other arrested men had been released on bail without being charged.

A temporary ceasefire began in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky, where several thousand civilians had been trapped and starving after food deliveries stopped in May. The pause is intended to permit humanitarian aid deliveries and evacuations. WSJ foreign correspondent Ian Lovett explained that roads out of the city are heavily mined and monitored by drones, preventing aid vehicles from reaching it. A small number of people have escaped on foot or bicycles, but anyone unable to walk long distances has effectively been stuck. Residents interviewed after getting out said people were growing food in their gardens and scavenging destroyed buildings for canned goods. The ceasefire began at 3 a.m. Ukrainian time. Russian forces were expected to clear land mines first, after which aid would be allowed into the city. Residents who wanted to leave were told to gather outside the hospital at 10 a.m. Friday. Lovett said Ukrainian officials credited Melania Trump with helping coordinate the ceasefire, although details of her role remain unknown. Her office had been in contact with both Ukrainian and Russian officials. Pope Leo had also taken an interest in the situation, and Lovett said Ukraine’s publicity campaign appeared to have put pressure on Russia. A Russian analyst in exile told him that Moscow wanted to appear flexible after receiving recent concessions from the Trump administration, including a temporary suspension of sanctions on Russian diesel. Because Oleshky is not strategically important, the analyst viewed the ceasefire as an easy concession—not evidence that Vladimir Putin wants a broader halt to the war.

The episode’s main feature examines why nurses are quitting at increasing rates even though health care remains a bright spot in the labor market. Nurses have a median annual income of nearly $100,000, are in high demand, and perform hands-on work that is relatively protected from artificial intelligence. Nursing-school enrollment has also increased. Yet data from NSI Nursing Solutions, a nurse-placement firm, show that turnover among bedside registered nurses rose from 11% 15 years ago to 18% last year. Page Campbell, a 33-year-old emergency-room nurse near Destin, Florida, said the conditions after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to her burnout. She had personally cared for four or five ICU patients at once, even though national guidelines recommend one nurse for every two ICU patients. Campbell said nurses entered the profession to heal people, not to do harm, but inadequate staffing made that goal difficult. Journal reporter Te-Ping Chen said exhaustion is being intensified by a more continuously occupied hospital system with fewer beds. Patients and families are also becoming more hostile as emergency-room waits lengthen; one nurse told Chen that some people waited 30 hours for care. Workplace violence and routine verbal abuse have increased, making nurses less willing to stay even as they understand that patients are reacting to an overstretched system.

Chen said nurse turnover is expensive because hospitals must pay to fill vacant positions, but the damage extends beyond recruiting costs. Losing experienced nurses reduces a unit’s ability to work efficiently, triage patients and draw on years of practical knowledge. Chen said the effects can appear in outcomes such as patient falls and IV-associated infections, meaning high turnover can directly affect the quality of care. Hospitals are responding with several retention strategies. Some are creating residency programs that provide additional support during nurses’ early years. Others are offering higher pay, which Chen said can make difficult working conditions feel more adequately compensated. Nurses are also pressing for greater safety and protection, including measures such as metal detectors and redesigned hospital floors. Chen said hospitals that have tried these approaches have often found substantial success. The broader conclusion of the segment is that salary and job security are not enough to retain nurses when understaffing, overcrowding, long waits, abuse and workplace violence make the job feel unsafe and unsustainable.