Addressing the Health Care Workforce Shortage: Strategies for Improving Patient Care and Reducing Burnout

Health care burnout

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“Understaffing [of health care workers] leads to higher patient loads, longer wait times, more stress for health care workers, and the potential to make mistakes, leading to poor patient outcomes,” Amber Kool, DNP, RN, told Infection Control Today^® (ICT^®). She is the associate vice president of assessment and development at Arizona College of Nursing.

The nationwide shortage of health care professionals, particularly nurses, profoundly impacts patient care and outcomes in hospitals across the United States. With 42 out of 50 states projected to experience a nursing shortage by 2030, maintaining optimal patient-to-nurse ratios has become increasingly challenging. This understaffing leads to higher patient loads, increased stress among health care workers, and ultimately, diminished patient care quality.

Factors such as the aging workforce, increased burnout, and the added pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated these issues. Nursing and public health education institutions strive to adapt to this demand, integrating advanced simulation labs, flexible scheduling, and support for nontraditional students to prepare a resilient and adaptable workforce. Additionally, implementing strategies like setting manageable hours, fostering partnerships between education and clinical practice, and leveraging technology are essential to mitigate burnout and improve job satisfaction among health care professionals in this challenging landscape.

ICT: How is the current shortage of health care professionals impacting patient care and outcomes in hospitals nationwide?

Amber Kool, DNP, RN: In the nursing field, 42 out of the 50 states in the US are expected to experience a shortage of nursing staff by 2030. Because of this shortage, maintaining the clinical standard of 1 nurse per 4 patients will be difficult to sustain statewide.

Understaffing leads to higher patient loads, longer wait times, more stress for health care workers, and the potential to make mistakes, leading to poor patient outcomes.

ICT: What factors are contributing most significantly to burnout among nurses?

AK: Burnout in health care is a vicious cycle. Even before the pandemic, there was a shortage of health care workers; we did not have enough to deal with the number of patients. We knew more than 10 years ago that we would have a shortage of health care workers, partly because we had a significant number of baby boomer-aged nursing staff who were going to retire.

When staffing levels are low, the burden on existing staff is increased. People who burn out from the workload leave, making life more challenging for everyone else. The pandemic, which coincided with that, only made it worse.

Now that we’ve been through that and seen how it impacted our health care workers and the system, we have an opportunity to improve things. We made it through, but we must learn those lessons.

ICT: Can you provide insights into how nursing and public health schools adapt to address the increased demand for new workers and the current landscape of nursing education?

AK: Technology is one way we adapt. We elevate the practical training students receive and create room for students to grapple with real-life ethical decisions as they learn.

Some nursing schools, including ours, now offer advanced simulation labs in which students step into realistic work environments—from hospital rooms to home care—and hone their practical skills in ways that mimic actual physiological responses. Before students ever rotate into a clinical setting, they can have the opportunity to identify heart and lung symptoms, assist with childbirth, identify a stroke, and other critical skills while leading their peers in active clinical decision-making.

We also need to expand opportunities for career-changers and nontraditional students by creating scheduling flexibility, when possible, for students who balance school with competing responsibilities. The health care profession needs to be accessible to students from all backgrounds and life situations if we are going to meet the state’s health care needs. Today’s students often juggle school, work, and family. We need to meet them where they are and provide resources that help them navigate potential roadblocks.

ICT: What are some of the main challenges new health care workers face when entering the workforce, and how can educational institutions better prepare them for these challenges?

AK:I have seen burnout in nursing, and I have seen burnout among students. Nursing can be stressful, and a nursing degree is not a straightforward course of study! As educators, we have a role in stopping that from happening by providing support, mentorship, and individualized learning opportunities.

Those of us training the next generation of health care workers must change how we think about preparing our students. They must be prepared to deal with loss, stress, and tough decisions and avoid burning out. That is what being truly prepared for nursing means.

ICT: What strategies or initiatives can help mitigate burnout and improve job satisfaction among health care professionals in the current environment?

AK: Consideration of support roles: Hospitals and practices must remember nurses, operations, and administrative roles are critical to supporting a functioning health care environment.Support roles impact every area of health care, from patient care to equipment maintenance. Ultimately, the support roles help everyone cope with shortages.

Health care partnering with education: There must be relationships of mutual support between clinical partners and education programs. Engaging with us helps us properly prepare new nurses and health care workers to be ready for clinical practice. Working together, we can also help students manage the transition into the workplace in a way that does not contribute to stress and leads to “first-year burnout.”

Set manageable hours as much as possible: Working 3 12-hour shifts (that often turn into 14-plus-hour shifts) days in a row is not sustainable for anyone. It’s a fast track to burnout. Staff scheduling should avoid putting individuals in situations that are beyond anyone’s capability to manage.

Leverage technology: Whether it is administrative burdens, scheduling, or communication, technology can help relieve some of the stress of health care work. The more we can do to ease that burden on individuals, the better.