Pandemic is causing healthcare workers to consider changing jobs

As many as one in five employees at an academic medical institution are considering leaving their professions due to the strains of coping with the pandemic in their own lives, according to a new University of Utah Health study. Individuals who had caregiving responsibilities were among those most likely to contemplate leaving or reducing hours.

The findings suggest that retaining highly trained doctors, nurses and scientists in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic could be the next great healthcare challenge.

“It’s sobering to learn that, during a time of economic recession, at least one-fifth of our workforce were considering leaving their jobs because of the severe levels of stress they were experiencing,” said Angela Fagerlin, the study’s senior author and professor and chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences at the UofU’s School of Medicine. “Many of these are people who have spent five to 10 years of their adult lives training to do this kind of work. Yet, it’s so overwhelming and burdensome that they were potentially thinking about giving it all up.”

Although conducted at a single healthcare system, the researchers say these findings could have broader implications.

“We suspect these disturbing trends likely exist within other healthcare systems nationwide,” said Rebecca Delaney, the study’s lead author and a postdoctoral research fellow at the UofU School of Medicine. “These findings are alarming and a warning sign about the morale and well-being of doctors and nurses, as well as non-clinical healthcare scientists and staff.”