The physical and emotional traumas of Covid-19 are driving nurses to leave bedside nursing or the profession altogether, according to a research study released Sept. 7 by healthcare staffing firm Aya Healthcare.
From a labor standpoint, the US entered the Covid-19 pandemic with an already-strained healthcare system. Now, amid the ongoing pandemic, the healthcare workforce is experiencing unprecedented levels of burnout and high turnover, affecting quality care delivery and patient outcomes.
“The battle for nurses is tougher than ever,” said April Hansen, group president of workforce solutions at Aya Healthcare. “Understanding their motivation to remain in nursing, happiness levels with current employers and professional choice are critical to gauging long-term workforce stability. And our research found that, most importantly, nurses need our time and attention.”
The report, “Mind the Gap: Repairing the US Healthcare Workforce,” is based on 30 qualitative interviews conducted in May and June of 2021 with both travel and core staff nurses. Key findings from the report include:
- Covid-19 is driving major shifts in the US nursing workforce composition
- Happiness levels and stress levels are primary influencers on career decisions
- The emotional and physical impacts of the pandemic are extensive
- Animosity is growing between core staff nurses and travel nurses
- Nurses are seeking support from hospital management
The report also looked at motivating factors for core staff nurses choosing to take travel assignments. While financial compensation was a common driver for all groups of nurses, it found many switched to travel nursing to go where the need is, because they were burned out at their current hospitals and to avoid what the participants deemed “hospital politics.”
The report recommends the following to repair the post-pandemic healthcare workforce:
- Heal and advance mental well-being first and foremost with targeted interventions
- Understand each employee's current happiness and stress levels to predict likelihood to remain employed
- Address perceptions and expectations for financial compensation
- Connect the work back to the “why”
