WASHINGTON (April 17, 2023)--About 100,000 registered nurses left the workforce during the past two years due to stress, burnout and retirement, according to a new study by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Public health experts say the nursing workforce must be strengthened in order to avoid quality of care problems.
The George Washington University has experts available to talk about all aspects of the nursing shortage. To interview an expert, please contact Kathy Fackelmann at [email protected] or Cate Douglass at [email protected].
Patricia (Polly) Pittman, director of the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity at the George Washington University, has done extensive research on factors that can help strengthen the health care workforce. She can talk about the nursing shortage in the United States and how COVID 19, burnout, stress and retirement trends have exacerbated the situation. She can also discuss how adequate nurse staffing levels help keep quality of care high.
Ashley Darcy-Mahoney, associate professor of nursing, is a neonatal nurse practitioner and researcher, who has worked throughout her career to advance nursing research, education and practice, with a focus on neonatology, infant health and developmental pediatrics. Darcy-Mahoney was part of the study staff for the The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She can discuss what actions and interventions should be taken to better foster nurse well-being.
Darcy-Mahoney says, “The survey data essentially shows that while COVID didn't make burnout better, it is not the primary driver of nurse burnout. Burnout was here long before COVID and the primary drivers of burnout are largely system level, including unsafe staffing, violence, overtime, and unsupported work environments. These have resulted in high levels of turnover. Responding to crises takes a serious toll on nurses’ mental and physical health, but nurses were experiencing a well-being crisis long before COVID-19.”
Richard Ricciardi, professor at the School of Nursing and Executive Director for the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement, can speak to the workforce challenges nurses face, including burnout and staffing shortages. He says, “This is the most important workforce issue facing health systems and our nation's health care delivery.”
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