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Report: 90% of nurses considering leaving the profession in the next year

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Re: Report: 90% of nurses considering leaving the profession in the next year

#21

U.S. nursing salaries relative to average U.S. wages are above the OECD average: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/health_glance-2017-58-en... So pay isn't the problem. The U.S. is also above the OECD average for the number of nurses per 1000 population: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334515420/figure/fi... So staffing isn't the problem either. The U.S. is below the OECD average for the number of doctors…

From such a high level, staffing may not seem like a problem. When it comes to the hospital floor level, staffing's been a big issue these last two years. Keep in mind that the common 12 hour shift for a nurse came about because of 70s staff shortages.

Re: Report: 90% of nurses considering leaving the profession in the next year

#22
Poor pay, shift work, bad working conditions and multiple chances of catching all kinds of diseases. Most nurses I know have above average intelligence with an excellent work ethic. Just one bootcamp away from a much better life.

So much sacrifice for the greater good, we the public are not worth it.

Another profession I always think of are math teachers, they are good people.

Re: Report: 90% of nurses considering leaving the profession in the next year

#23

A family friend was talking to a doctor who was considering quitting. The reason why, at least for that doctor, wasn't really the stress from patients. It was all the damned paperwork and the stress that created.

During my last physical, the doctor was trying to listen to my symptoms while getting frantically pinged from the hospital or something. I don't blame him at all, but this trend of always-on + interruptions at work is disastrous, I imagine especially so for people like doctors doing extremely high level intellectual work.

Re: Report: 90% of nurses considering leaving the profession in the next year

#24

U.S. nursing salaries relative to average U.S. wages are above the OECD average: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/health_glance-2017-58-en... So pay isn't the problem. The U.S. is also above the OECD average for the number of nurses per 1000 population: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334515420/figure/fi... So staffing isn't the problem either. The U.S. is below the OECD average for the number of doctors…

> U.S. nursing salaries relative to average U.S. wages are above the OECD ... So pay isn't the problem

Do you think when someone evaluates if they're paid enough they're thinking 'what is my income relative to what someone else's income is in Belgium relative to other people in Belgium?'

Re: Report: 90% of nurses considering leaving the profession in the next year

#26

U.S. nursing salaries relative to average U.S. wages are above the OECD average: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/health_glance-2017-58-en... So pay isn't the problem. The U.S. is also above the OECD average for the number of nurses per 1000 population: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334515420/figure/fi... So staffing isn't the problem either. The U.S. is below the OECD average for the number of doctors…

?

Most nurses work three 12 hour shifts and are paid for 40. It's so prevalent that a lot of them will pick up an extra shift or two at an entirely different hospital.

Re: Report: 90% of nurses considering leaving the profession in the next year

#27

U.S. nursing salaries relative to average U.S. wages are above the OECD average: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/health_glance-2017-58-en... So pay isn't the problem. The U.S. is also above the OECD average for the number of nurses per 1000 population: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334515420/figure/fi... So staffing isn't the problem either. The U.S. is below the OECD average for the number of doctors…

These numbers don't necessarily tell the full story, since "nurse" isn't necessarily a fungible title across the OECD: nursing requirements and qualifications vary by country, as do the job's obligations. This is probably particularly true during the last two years, as nurses (everywhere, but particularly in areas that have refused vaccination) have assumed greater daily responsibilities.

Re: Report: 90% of nurses considering leaving the profession in the next year

#28
post #17

While it's anecdote, every single peer in bedside medical care I know without exception has either left the field, or has immediate plans to as soon as student loan debt is repaid. The few older medical professionals in my family are simply sticking out the last few years until they can retire early. This was generally the case prior to pandemic due to how poor the work environment has become, but the pandemic seems…

> How doctors of all professions lost their professional agency to do-nothing administrators within a generation is quite puzzling

The profit model of the U.S. healthcare industry might have something to do with it. The fact that hospitals are run like businesses and have shareholders is insane to me. I know other countries' healthcare systems got hit hard by the pandemic too, but it seems like the uniquely capitalist nature of healthcare in the U.S. sets it up to mistreat workers and cut corners for the benefit of administrators and executives.

Re: Report: 90% of nurses considering leaving the profession in the next year

#29

A family friend was talking to a doctor who was considering quitting. The reason why, at least for that doctor, wasn't really the stress from patients. It was all the damned paperwork and the stress that created.

this is more correct, the medical fields have to do a lot of paperwork to follow rules and avoid issues (legal?) almost half of their time are on charting instead of taking care of patients, paperwork is needed, but in most facilities, it takes too much time, and the workflows are not optimized enough as well...
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