By Cara Lunsford, RN, CPHON, Nurse.com
LinkedIn: Cara Lunsford RN
LinkedIn: Nurse.com
Nearly 15,000 nurses from several major New York City hospitals walked out on January 12, 2026, making it the largest nurses’ strike in the city’s history. There are many reasons for this strike, with staffing levels, workplace safety, and higher wages being the leading issues.
At the heart of the strike are problems many nurses know all too well: chronic understaffing, unsafe patient loads, repeated exposure to workplace violence, lack of meaningful support, and wages that don’t reflect the complexity of the job.
In fact, data from our 2024 Nurse Salary and Work-Life Report highlighted how widespread some of these issues have become, particularly workplace violence. Sixty-four percent of nurses reported experiencing verbal abuse from patients or family members, and 23% reported being physically assaulted by them. These findings reinforce the urgency behind the demand for stronger workplace protections and safety measures.
As nurses, we understand the delicate balance of continuity of care. We know the risks patients face when systems are strained. But many also know that continuing to work under unsafe conditions isn’t preserving continuity. It’s compromising it.
The human reality for nurses
For many bedside nurses, striking is never ideal. It happens when every other option has been exhausted. Nurses enter this profession to care for patients. But when staffing levels remain unsafe, workplace violence continues, and protections feel fragile or temporary, continuing under those conditions can feel like a betrayal of the care that nurses are trained to provide.
Even after hard-won contract gains, progress hasn’t always been sustained, reinforcing the role of ongoing advocacy in addressing patient care and workplace concerns.
According to our report, 12% of nurses said their organization experienced workplace violence weekly, while another 10% reported monthly incidents. These represent a systemic problem that contributes directly to burnout and staff attrition.
Continuity of care isn’t just a system metric
Continuity of care may often appear in terms of numbers and coverage plans. But for a practicing nurse, continuity means:
- Knowing your patient’s story from admission to discharge
- Having time and resources to safely assess and intervene
- Being supported to anticipate complications, not just respond to them.
- Working in teams where each member is valued, rested, and protected
When nurses strike, continuity is redefined. Nurses strike because work environments are put at risk through unsafe staffing, exhaustion, and burnout.
Why are nurses striking: What nurses need
The key demands you hear from nursing strikes are deeply tied to continuity of care:
- Safe staffing ratios that prevent rushed assessments and missed findings.
- Protections from workplace violence, reducing trauma that interrupts care delivery.
- Better wages that reflect the skill, risk, and complexity of a nurse’s work.
- Respect and dignity so the profession can retain experienced nurses rather than burn them out.
These demands are echoed by what nurses say motivates them to stay. Our report found that some top retention factors included higher pay, flexible scheduling, better support for work-life balance, and a more reasonable workload. These insights showed that what nurses are asking for is foundational to a functional and sustainable workforce.
Unpacking the system behind the nursing strike
Many nurses walk into work each day feeling like they’re rolling the dice, not only with patient safety, but with their own licenses and livelihoods. That fear doesn’t come from a lack of commitment — it comes from working inside a system where nurses are still classified as a cost, not a billable asset.
Health systems aren’t wrong to feel financial pressure. They’re trying to keep the lights on in a reimbursement model that fails to account for the time nurses spend delivering care. Unlike physicians or therapists, nursing care isn’t directly reimbursed by insurance, which creates an incentive to cut staffing where budgets feel tight at the bedside. It’s not unlike expecting other professions to enter their field underprepared or without support, yet this is the reality many nurses face when they’re asked to work in high-risk environments without the support they need.
This is where the real solution lies. Until nursing time is reimbursed and valued as essential to care outcomes, not just absorbed as overhead, hospitals and nurses will remain stuck on opposite sides of the same problem.
Strikes like this one aren’t just labor disputes. They’re signals that the current model no longer works. Reforming how nursing care is financed isn’t about choosing sides, it’s about creating a system that protects patients, sustains nurses, and allows healthcare organizations to function without sacrificing safety.
Impact on continuity of care
Hospital systems are using contingency plans, including hiring travel nurses and temporary staff, to keep services running. But what continuity looks like with agency staff differs from continuity when your regular team provides care day after day. Even the best temporary nurse can’t always replicate the depth of patient familiarity built by primary caregivers.
That said, continuity doesn’t disappear during a strike. Nurses working behind the scenes, nurse leaders coordinating care, and peer support all contribute to keeping patient care safe during this time.
Supporting nurses’ well-being
Continuity of care and nurse well-being are inseparable. Advocating for conditions where nurses can provide continuous, high-quality care benefits patients and preserves the profession.
Here are a few of the central issues raised by nurses that relate directly to care continuity and long-term workforce sustainability:
- Staffing that prevents critical incidents and reduces turnover
- Workplace safety measures that protect nurses and patients
- Contracts that include enforceable standards, not just good intentions
- Recognition that emotional and physical well-being influences the quality of care
Conclusion on the NYC nursing strike and beyond
The recent NYC nurses’ strike reflects how deeply nurses care about doing their jobs well. Continuity of care can’t exist without continuity of nurses. Until the systems that rely on nurses’ commitment also recognize and reimburse the value of their time, safety, and clinical contributions, continuity of care will remain at risk, not because nurses are unwilling, but because the structure itself is unsustainable.
This article was originally published on the Nurse.com blog and is republished here with permission.
