Nurses Are at the Breaking Point: How to Remedy a Workforce in Distress!

Nurses are with patients and families at both the happiest and saddest times of their lives. They work tirelessly to provide clinical expertise and emotional support, day in and day out.?But a relevant question today is: Are we working tirelessly to support them as they care for and save lives? The short answer is no.

Increased demand coupled with staffing shortages has resulted in an overworked and underappreciated workforce. This is not a new revelation, and we need to act. We must pull back the curtain on their day-to-day experience and explore the state of their mental health and how it can be addressed.

To do this, in partnership with Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, we conducted our third annual nursing survey and surveyed nearly 1,500 nursing professionals and students. The results of the survey will help inform healthcare facility leaders and academia, nursing students and professionals with the current obstacles facing this workforce and provide insights on how to make actionable change.

The survey found that only about one-third of nurses plan to work in their profession for the foreseeable future, with two in three nurses reporting symptoms of anxiety, insomnia and depression. Understaffing continues to cause career dissatisfaction, resulting in nurses feeling stressed, burned out and overworked. More than four out of five nurses do not use mental health or well-being counseling, despite employers offering such services.

I find these findings frightening. They are a clear indicator that sustainable solutions that benefit not only the well-being of healthcare professionals but also patients are needed. We must establish or re-establish a holistic foundation and evolving every industry vertical—from mental health initiatives to retention strategies and introducing new technologies. A shift of this size may sound unattainable and overwhelming for healthcare leaders, but it’s not, so let’s break it down.

First, we must create New Opportunities for Education and Growth

In the healthcare arena, opportunities for additional training and education are never-ending. As healthcare evolves, so do techniques, medications, procedures and skills. Modern practices and continued education are not only a requirement but essential to providing quality care.

While many employers offer growth and development opportunities, 31 percent of employed nurses said they were unaware if they offer any such programs, and 18 percent said, “My employer does not offer growth opportunities.” The most popular programs offered included training courses, tuition reimbursement and opportunities to share perspectives and options. These findings were consistent with last year’s survey results, signaling that not much has changed in this area.

Promoting and increasing awareness for these existing programs could make all the difference for healthcare professionals seeking growth opportunities.

Of employed nurses surveyed, only 15 percent said that their employer offers job rotations/ cross-training, and 11 percent said that their employer offers coaching or mentoring programs. Cross-training is a vital component to improving communication, collaboration and education. Research has demonstrated that teams that have been cross-trained have proven better performance in a high-stress environment.[i] Introducing programs and practices that promote teamwork will help further education among healthcare professionals.

We must also invest in retention strategies and well-being initiatives that matter.

?Forty-seven percent of the employed nurses reported their mental health as “average,” followed by 14% who said it’s “not well.” Frequent symptoms included anxiety (46%), insomnia (36%) and depression (32%). The leading cause for poor mental health was staffing shortages (71%), followed by a lack of support resources (55%). Many employers (40%) offer employees mental health and well-being resources, although 43% of employed nurses said they “don’t know” if their employer-provided this type of assistance.

To help both hospitals and nurses, Cross Country has made it a top priority to raise awareness of and share mental health services and resources to support our nurses. Our Check Your Vitals wellness resource , encourages healthcare professionals to take the time to check in on mental and physical well-being and provides a variety of wellness resources to help individuals in crisis or under stress. The Cross Country Crisis Hotline, which has been active since the beginning of the pandemic, has a psychotherapist available 24/7 to help callers in need of assistance. The hotline has received over 33,000 calls to date.

As someone who has experienced first-hand the emotional burden a healthcare professional carries every day, the hotline is something I am particularly passionate about. I am proud to say that our hotline has helped save the lives of many individuals under extreme mental duress.

We must support the next generation of nurses.

According to the survey, 93% of student nursing are overwhelmingly satisfied with their decision to become a nurse. Finally, some good news.

This validates that student nurses are passionate and eager to enter the workforce and provide care to patients, a promising step forward for the future of nurses. In order to successfully equip student nurses, we should include experiential training in the learning phase to help nursing students understand the reality of doing the work and improving patient outcomes. It is also imperative that we recruit more nursing faculty and healthcare facilities to educate and train the next generation of nurses. Industry leaders should seek out new pathways at the high school, undergraduate and postgraduate levels to expedite and expand the supply of nurses.

The healthcare landscape won’t change overnight, but leaders must start taking small steps to address the issues healthcare professionals are facing. The industry is begging for change, and workforce solutions partners like Cross Country Healthcare can help navigate the complex and often challenging healthcare environment.

[i] Cannon-Bowers J.A., Salas E., Blickensderfer E., Bowers C.A. The impact of cross-training and workload on team functioning: A replication and extension of initial findings. Hum. Factors. 1998;40:92–101. doi: 10.1518/001872098779480550.