By Ashleigh Hollowell

Not only does the nursing profession have a shortage, but according to Gen Z social media users, the career path also has an image problem, a June 4 report from ShiftKey, a digital healthcare platform for providers, found.

Around 1,000 healthcare workforce hopefuls were surveyed for the report, who are between the ages of 18 and 26. A majority — 66% — said they use TikTok for information about career research, and another 16% say it is the most influential platform to find work information on.

Given that, when it comes to nursing, an analysis of 749,000 nursing career-released posts on TikTok, ShiftKey found 64% to be negative while only 36% of posts spoke positively of or highlighted benefits of the nursing profession.

"If the perception of nursing on these platforms doesn’t change, the number of new nursing students will continue to decline," Mike Vitek, CEO of ShiftKey said of its analysis. "Nursing has a branding problem, and it's clear from our survey results that giving young people a realistic view ― both the good and the bad ― of this profession on social media is what will attract them to enter the healthcare field."

Gen Zers who have opted not to go into nursing noted they recall "being fed negative social media content at a higher rate than those who did — including issues with patients (50% vs. 44%) and mental health issues from working in the field (45% vs. 39%)," according to the news release.

Of those who are interested in going into nursing — despite the career field's woes as seen on TikTok — 91% reported it is because they want to make a difference in people's lives.

Gen Zers who do want to go into nursing are 12% more likely to have a family member in the field, and if they do, their career choice is often heavily influenced by that family member more than it is by TikTok, the study found.