Health care workers in the U.S. are overworked, and thus hospital stakeholders are now calling for systemic solutions that would help retain critical personnel and, at the same time, prepare a new generation to take over in the future, according to U.S. News and World Report.
"We knew we were in trouble pre-COVID," Dr. Redonda Miller, president of Johns Hopkins Hospital, told U.S. News and World Report. She noted that while all segments of the workforce are stressed, the causes vary depending on each individual's role.
About 40% of physicians surveyed reported depression and suicidal ideation before the pandemic, according to Dr. Victor Dzau, president of the National Academy of Medicine. Some of the main reasons behind front-line workers becoming overwhelmed are the pressure of meeting an increasing number of regulations and requirements, health care systems becoming more like businesses and the overwhelming increase in patient volume.
Some 60% to 75% of clinicians reported symptoms of exhaustion, depression, sleep disorders and PTSD, Dzau said. Four out of five nurses say that staffing shortages have affected their ability to work safely and to tend properly to patient needs.
The U.S. will need an additional 1.2 million nurses by next year to meet the growing demand for their services and to replace those who have retired or left the field, according to Dr. Ernest Grant, president of the American Nurses Association.
