Nurses Face Distinctive Challenges | By Brendan G. Dunleavy, CPA
Nurses and female hospital employees dedicate their careers to caring for others, often putting patients’ needs ahead of their own. Yet behind the scenes, many face unique personal and financial challenges that make planning for their own future far more difficult than in most professions. Healthcare employment is a female-dominated profession. Women make up 86% of the nursing workforce. Across the broader, 75% of hospital employees are female.
The “Dual Burden” Nurse’s often Carry: Work and Home
What makes this unique is the dual mental burden women carry. While managing the intense demands of healthcare work, they also shoulder a disproportionate share of household responsibilities. In the United States, women perform more than twice as much housework as men—an extra 65 minutes per day, adding up to more than seven hours each week (almost an addition day of work). On top of this, women carry the invisible “mental load” of coordinating family schedules, caregiving, and household tasks. These are duties that often spill into already stressful work hours. It’s no wonder fatigue and burnout are common.
Stress, Burnout, and Often Single Parenthoods
A Gallup poll found that half of all working women report feeling stressed “a lot of the day,” compared to about 40% of men. Women are also more likely to delay promotions, become the “default responders” for childcare emergencies, and are twice as likely to take sick leave due to stress or anxiety. Many of these challenges are compounded by family structure. Nurses generally follow national statistics where eighty percent of single parents are women (45% divorced or separated, and 34% never married). Eighty percent without a partner to share household or financial planning responsibilities.
The Financial Impact
Female healthcare workers clearly face a double burden: emotionally taxing healthcare roles, household labor, caregiving duties, and, for many, single-handed parenting. These realities make saving for retirement and managing long-term finances far more complex. On average, women retire with 30% less savings than men, yet they live longer and face higher healthcare costs in retirement.
Why Financial Guidance Matters
This is where professional financial advising matters:
- Translate complex retirement plans (such as 401ks and 403(b)s and pensions) into clear strategies.
- Help maximize employer contributions, so no money is left on the table.
- Build flexible plans that account for career breaks, caregiving needs, or reduced hours.
- Create retirement income strategies that provide lasting stability and peace of mind.
- Reduce stress by lifting the “financial mental load,” allowing women to focus on both work and family without sacrificing their future.
Bottom line: Female healthcare employees give tirelessly to their patients and families. They deserve the same care and guidance when it comes to their financial futures. Tailored financial advice isn’t just helpful, it’s essential for building the secure, balanced retirement they’ve worked so hard to achieve.
Tailored financial advice isn’t just a service; it’s a way to honor and support the women who carry such an outsized share of our healthcare system. Nurses take care of us. It’s time we help take care of their future.