Nurses looking to shift careers amid Biden’s staffing mandate
WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES — Over one-third of nurses are contemplating a career change in 2024, following staffing challenges exacerbated by the recent federal staffing mandate.
More nurses plan to leave medical profession
A study by AMN Healthcare revealed that 35% of the 1,155 nurses are considering career changes in 2024, highlighting the potential for a significant workforce exodus. This trend could exacerbate existing staffing shortages and compromise patient care.
Additionally, 35% of nurses noted the possibility of changing their working hours or schedules, with 58% indicating openness to such adjustments.
Last month, the Biden administration finalized a groundbreaking rule establishing minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes receiving federal funding.
Under the new rule, nursing homes must provide a minimum of 3.48 hours of direct care per resident per day, including:
- 0.55 hours from registered nurses (RNs)
- 2.45 hours from certified nurse aides
Crucially, facilities must have an RN on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to provide oversight and care.
The American Health Care Association (AHCA) called the new rule an “unreasonable standard” that could lead to nursing home closures and limit senior citizens’ access to care.
“Issuing a final rule that demands hundreds of thousands of additional caregivers when there’s a nationwide shortfall of nurses just creates an impossible task for providers,” said AHCA President and CEO Mark Parkinson.
COVID-19 exodus
Nearly 334,000 physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other clinicians left the workforce in 2021 due to retirement, burnout, and pandemic-related stress, according to Definitive Healthcare.
“Like clinicians and registered nurses, providers in these three specialties frequently worked on the frontlines during the pandemic, risking exposure and facing many of the same pressures and stressors as described earlier,” the authors of the study wrote.
Experts believe that burnout in healthcare was already a major problem before the pandemic. Professionals endured gaps in career advancement, unfair compensation, and a disproportionate role in childcare and household tasks for women.
