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NHS staff who began their careers on the frontline during the Covid 19 pandemic – what happened next?

During Covid-19, many newly trained nurses and paramedics entered the NHS workforce and went straight into extremely challenging circumstances.

Through in-depth interviews with nurses and paramedics, new research has highlighted the intense day-to-day working conditions faced by newly qualified staff at the time – and how this has impacted their career choices, since.

The study includes the voices of frontline NHS staff, offering an insight into their lived experiences during a time of crisis. Staff reported being unprepared and unsupported, and trauma and burnout were common.

Participants who were interviewed described feeling ‘thrown out there’ and ‘muddling through’. One described waking at home in the night feeling anxious, confused, and convinced they were still on shift.

Many described experiencing a shift in values, as a result of these experiences; with greater emphasis on wellbeing as a factor for future job decisions. Many reported re-evaluating their careers, prioritising roles or teams that offered better support and manageable workloads, and even considering leaving healthcare altogether.

A number of those interviewed decided to step out of frontline care as a result of their early work experiences, and instead sought roles still within healthcare but that offered better support and flexibility  – including working in research and taking on managerial roles.

The study, led by Dr Megan Brown at Newcastle University, was supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria (NENC).

The findings highlight the importance of wellbeing as a central factor for staff, and offer important insights for NHS leaders responsible for workforce planning.

Wellbeing has become central to how professionals navigate their careers, and this research highlights the need for organisations to prioritise wellbeing as a foundation of workforce sustainability.

Dr Brown said: “This research shows that early-career experiences, especially during times of crisis, can have long-term consequences for staff retention and the sustainability of the healthcare workforce.

“Supporting wellbeing from the outset is essential to building a resilient NHS, and if newly qualified staff feel unsafe or unsupported, they are more likely to burn out or leave the profession altogether.”

Recommendations from the research include embedding wellbeing support into early-career training and supervision; developing structured peer networks and access to psychological support; and recognising and addressing the long-term impact of trauma.

The work offers an important starting point to further explore how early-career experiences can shape healthcare careers and workforce resilience.

Read a plain language summary of this research.

Read the full research paper: ‘Worth … the Nightmares’? A Qualitative Study of Early‐Career Healthcare Workers’ Wellbeing and Career Decisions After Starting Work During Covid‐19 – Brown – 2025 – The Clinical Teacher – Wiley Online Library