UConn Newswrit\u00ading Course<\/p>\n\n\n\n
March 21, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By: Kwasi Osei-Amankwah<\/p>\n\n\n\n
STORRS \u2014 There will be a nurs\u00ading cri\u00adsis in the Unit\u00aded States by the year 2027, stud\u00adies say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is because nurs\u00ades have been leav\u00ading their jobs in droves due to burnout, exhaus\u00adtion, and oth\u00ader fac\u00adtors. Since the offi\u00adcial shut\u00addown in March 2020, pro\u00adjec\u00adtions show that the num\u00adber of nurs\u00ades who have quit will only increase in the next four years. The gov\u00adern\u00adment is now inves\u00adti\u00adgat\u00ading the impact of the pan\u00addem\u00adic on nurs\u00ades\u2019 men\u00adtal health and the fac\u00adtors con\u00adtribut\u00ading to this cri\u00adsis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The COVID-19 pan\u00addem\u00adic has hit the health\u00adcare indus\u00adtry hard, and nurs\u00ades have borne the cri\u00adsis. Four years lat\u00ader, as the world is still try\u00ading to come to terms with the after\u00admath of the pan\u00addem\u00adic, it\u2019s becom\u00ading clear that nurs\u00ades\u2019 men\u00adtal health has tak\u00aden a hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Around 100,000 nurs\u00ades have left their jobs dur\u00ading the pan\u00addem\u00adic, lead\u00ading to a short\u00adage of health\u00adcare pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adals and increased pres\u00adsure on those who remained. Over 60% of the sam\u00adple report\u00aded an increased work\u00adload dur\u00ading the pan\u00addem\u00adic, and more than half of the nurs\u00ades report\u00aded feel\u00ading emo\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly drained, fatigued, burned out, or at the end of their rope a few times a week or every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eileen L. Ken\u00adny, Reg\u00adis\u00adtered Nurse and Nurse Coor\u00addi\u00adna\u00adtor at Stu\u00addent Health and Well\u00adness at the Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty of Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut, who was work\u00ading at the school at the time, echoed these sta\u00adtis\u00adtics. \u201cThe stress lev\u00adel of peo\u00adple work\u00ading in hos\u00adpi\u00adtal set\u00adtings was even worse (than you could imag\u00adine) because they tru\u00adly did\u00adn\u2019t know what they were deal\u00ading with and could get peo\u00adple that they cared about sick.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ren\u00e9e M. Con\u00adstant, Reg\u00adis\u00adtered Nurse and Nurse Coor\u00addi\u00adna\u00adtor at Stu\u00addent Health and Well\u00adness at the Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty of Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut, who worked at a hos\u00adpi\u00adtal dur\u00ading the pan\u00addem\u00adic, had thoughts sim\u00adi\u00adlar to Ken\u00adny\u2019s. \u201cEvery nurse has their own expe\u00adri\u00adence, but I felt I was the go-to in a health care set\u00adting. Then I went home, and I\u2019m the go-to for my friends and fam\u00adi\u00adly who know I\u2019m a nurse. It\u2019s almost like you could\u00adn\u2019t escape it. It was all day, every day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experts have warned of nurs\u00ading short\u00adages in the U.S. for decades due to an aging work\u00adforce and issues such as burnout and stress caused by high patient-to-nurse ratios, low pay, and work\u00adplace safe\u00adty con\u00adcerns. This has led to many walk\u00adouts, strikes, and oth\u00ader protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The COVID-19 pan\u00addem\u00adic has accel\u00ader\u00adat\u00aded these issues, lead\u00ading to unprece\u00addent\u00aded burnout among nurs\u00ades. This report uses data to iden\u00adti\u00adfy poten\u00adtial indi\u00adca\u00adtors of stress and burnout among the cur\u00adrent nurs\u00ading work\u00adforce, which can help pol\u00adi\u00adcy\u00admak\u00aders devel\u00adop tar\u00adget\u00aded solu\u00adtions and allo\u00adcate resources effec\u00adtive\u00adly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Accord\u00ading to the Nation\u00adal Library of Med\u00adi\u00adcine, the psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal term for burnout can be defined as a \u201d psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal syn\u00addrome emerg\u00ading as a pro\u00adlonged response to chron\u00adic inter\u00adper\u00adson\u00adal stres\u00adsors on the job. The three key dimen\u00adsions of this response are an over\u00adwhelm\u00ading exhaus\u00adtion, cyn\u00adi\u00adcism, detach\u00adment from the job, and a sense of inef\u00adfec\u00adtive\u00adness and lack of accom\u00adplish\u00adment.\u201d And while it is easy for most to think back to the pan\u00addem\u00adic and remem\u00adber that it would nev\u00ader end, that feel\u00ading was dou\u00adbled for front-line work\u00aders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Con\u00adstant and Ken\u00adny shared that this made sense to them as they\u2019ve wit\u00adnessed peo\u00adple leave their jobs or retire ear\u00adly due to the pan\u00addem\u00adic. \u201cI know from what my daugh\u00adter had said, who had been a nurse for a cou\u00adple years (at the time), she saw many new nurs\u00ades come in and said to me, \u2018I don\u2019t think that they\u2019re gonna stay for very long.\u201d Ken\u00adny said, \u201cTo be brand new, even try\u00ading to learn stuff and not being taught nor\u00admal things because every\u00adthing you have to learn now is COVID-19.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Con\u00adstant talked about the peo\u00adple on the old\u00ader side, say\u00ading, \u201cI think you have the oth\u00ader extreme too where old\u00ader nurs\u00ades in hos\u00adpi\u00adtal set\u00adtings that have been there for a long time have basi\u00adcal\u00adly said \u2018I can\u2019t do this any\u00admore, maybe I was gonna work a few more years, but this is what\u2019s gonna push me out the door.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion is expect\u00aded to wors\u00aden in the com\u00ading years. By 2027, almost one-fifth of the nurs\u00ading work\u00adforce, near\u00adly 900,000 reg\u00adis\u00adtered nurs\u00ades, plan to leave their jobs due to stress, burnout, or retire\u00adment. This mass exo\u00addus pos\u00ades a sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant threat to the nation\u00adal health\u00adcare sys\u00adtem, cre\u00adat\u00ading an urgent need for imme\u00addi\u00adate solu\u00adtions. The main ques\u00adtion is, how do we keep nurs\u00ades at their jobs and encour\u00adage them to push through any poten\u00adtial issues?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Accord\u00ading to Ken\u00adny, \u201cWhat (hos\u00adpi\u00adtals) are doing more now than they used to is giv\u00ading sup\u00adport to new\u00ader nurs\u00ades; they have some pro\u00adgrams where nurs\u00ades get a peri\u00adod like ori\u00aden\u00adta\u00adtion and give them time to talk and debrief, which is prob\u00ada\u00adbly not enough. But rather than just assum\u00ading, \u2018Oh, nurs\u00ading is stress\u00adful, so you\u2019re going to be stressed,\u2019 instead say\u00ading, \u2018Okay, this par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar time is more stress\u00adful than usu\u00adal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Con\u00adstant, the one thing that got her through COVID-19 was \u201cthe col\u00adlab\u00ado\u00adra\u00adtion with our peers, talk\u00ading, and being with one anoth\u00ader. I feel that (UConn) is very dif\u00adfer\u00adent from a hos\u00adpi\u00adtal set\u00adting. We\u2019re an excel\u00adlent group, and we worked well togeth\u00ader (at the time). Where\u00adas in a hos\u00adpi\u00adtal set\u00adting, I don\u2019t know if you have that. You need more men\u00adtor\u00adship; you need some\u00adbody to talk to, to grieve with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In August 2023, the Biden and Har\u00adris admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion passed a $100 mil\u00adlion bill to train more nurs\u00ades and grow the nurs\u00ading work\u00adforce. Accord\u00ading to the U.S. Depart\u00adment of Health, These invest\u00adments will \u201caddress the increas\u00ading demand for reg\u00adis\u00adtered nurs\u00ades, nurse prac\u00adti\u00adtion\u00aders, cer\u00adti\u00adfied nurse mid\u00adwives, and nurse fac\u00adul\u00adty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Ken\u00adny, more needs to be done: \u201cWe need more lead\u00ader\u00adship (in hos\u00adpi\u00adtals). We need some\u00adthing like, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s been tough the last few weeks. Can we give you piz\u00adza or an extra half hour so you guys can meet and vent or some\u00adthing?\u2019 You just don\u2019t want to go home and vent about it and bring it to your fam\u00adi\u00adly; every\u00adone is stressed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cExact\u00adly; just because we\u2019re nurs\u00ades and we see these things often does\u00adn\u2019t mean we\u2019re super\u00adhu\u00adman,\u201d Con\u00adstant said<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There will be a nurs\u00ading cri\u00adsis in the Unit\u00aded States by the year 2027, stud\u00adies say.<\/p>\n
This is because nurs\u00ades have been leav\u00ading their jobs in droves due to burnout, exhaus\u00adtion, and oth\u00ader fac\u00adtors. Since the offi\u00adcial shut\u00addown in March 2020, pro\u00adjec\u00adtions show that the num\u00adber of nurs\u00ades who have quit will only increase in the next four years. The gov\u00adern\u00adment is now inves\u00adti\u00adgat\u00ading the impact of the pan\u00addem\u00adic on nurs\u00ades\u2019 men\u00adtal health and the fac\u00adtors con\u00adtribut\u00ading to this cri\u00adsis.<\/p>\n
The COVID-19 pan\u00addem\u00adic has hit the health\u00adcare indus\u00adtry hard, and nurs\u00ades have borne the cri\u00adsis. Four years lat\u00ader, as the world is still try\u00ading to come to terms with the after\u00admath of the pan\u00addem\u00adic, it\u2019s becom\u00ading clear that nurs\u00ades\u2019 men\u00adtal health has tak\u00aden a hit.<\/p>\n
Around 100,000 nurs\u00ades have left their jobs dur\u00ading the pan\u00addem\u00adic, lead\u00ading to a short\u00adage of health\u00adcare pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adals and increased pres\u00adsure on those who remained.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":993,"featured_media":59,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/files\/2024\/09\/IMG_7761-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/993"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50\/revisions\/63"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}