Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1462389
28 PATIENT & CAREGIVER EXPERIENCE What will make workers want to stay in healthcare? Answers from 22 execs By Katie Adams, Cailey Gleeson and Kelly Gooch H ealthcare workers have le their roles or profession altogether in droves amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In many cases, workers cite burnout as a contributing factor. A Medscape poll of 10,788 nurses conducted over the summer of 2021 found that at least 1 in 5 respondents in each nursing position cate- gory reported being very burned out or burned out. Employers are turning to innovative solutions as a result. For ex- ample, "stay interviews" that focus on what motivates employees to continue working and what could improve about their experiences on the job have become more popular. Becker's reached out to executives from health systems across the country to gain more insight about which changes are needed within the healthcare work environment to improve retention. Below are responses from 22 executives. Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length. Meredith Foxx, MSN. Executive Chief Nursing Officer at Cleveland Clinic: It's really important that we continue making fundamental changes in our care delivery models. e COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyst for challenging many hospitals across the country to change the way they delivered care. We must provide care that is cen- tered on the patient, with the team collaborating and sharing responsi- bility. We need to be flexible and ensure we have resources in place to support our caregivers' success both at work and outside of work. eresa Brodrick, PhD, RN. Network Chief Nurse Executive at Hackensack Meridian Health (Edison, N.J.): A healthy practice en- vironment must support shared decision-making and allow the voice of the nurse and other patient care providers to influence policy and practice. Organizations must create a structure that empowers nurses at all levels to have a voice in decision-making, encouraging diverse and creative input to advance their professional practice. Such collab- oration contributes to the achievement of outstanding organizational outcomes, which includes the attraction and retention of outstanding nurses and other healthcare professionals. Lewis Marshall, MD. CMO at NYC Health + Hospitals (New York City): Work in the healthcare industry has become a job. It used to be a calling; people got personal satisfaction from helping others. is includes all healthcare workers — pre-hospital care, building services, support staff, nursing and providers. We need to bring back joy and satisfaction in healthcare to recruit and retain people. It's about people. It's about respecting and acknowledging them for the dedication and commitment to the patients in some of the most dire circumstances. Instead of recognizing them for the sacrifice, we ask them to do more without more resources. Healthcare is spread way too thin. We use the term "ancillary" to describe staff that are not direct caregivers. is term is not respectful. We should be calling all staff "essential" staff. Just try to get a blood test result without the lab technician. Respect and recognition will go a long way to helping us feel like we are valued. Recognize individuals for that good catch, or clinical units for reaching zero catheter associated urinary tract infections. Our facility began issuing "zero certificates" to units for achieving zero harm. e certificate is presented to the unit by the CMO and the CNO. Make work more enticing to the staff, be flexible with scheduling and share positions between people to allow for work-life balance. Maybe the term should be work-life synergy, finding that sweet spot. While increasing salaries is always a welcome thing, it doesn't address the overstretching of our staff, the burnout or the stress. We found that during the pandemic, paying enhanced sessional rates to entice staff to do additional shis only added to the feeling of burnout. Aer doing the additional shi for the enhanced rate, staff would then have to call out the next shi due to exhaustion. Joy and satisfaction are what will bring and keep people in healthcare. is change must be brought about by our healthcare leaders. Leaders must set the example. Joe Gage. Chief Human Resources Officer at Bon Secours Mercy Health (Cincinnati): Healthcare isn't just a job, it's a calling, a pur- pose. It is imperative that we also provide resources to help associates thrive — flexible schedules, psychological well-being, career growth and meaningful work. At Bon Secours Mercy Health, our vision is to be a ministry where people want to work and clinicians want to practice. We cultivate a strong alignment between the ministry's mission and our personal calling. As we grow, we want to empower each associate to do mean- ingful work at the top of their license at an organization that provides forward-thinking, digitally enabled, agile, mission-driven work. And we are expanding resources to help associates thrive — flexible schedules, resources for psychological well-being and free education paths for career growth to enable a sustainable career in our ministry. Jeffrey Katz, MD. CMO at Memorial Hermann Health System (Houston): To meet the needs of the new world in healthcare, old, rigid, out-of-date criteria used by human resource experts needs to be abandoned in favor of new, more relevant and actionable ap- proaches. e educational qualifications are less important than the actual experience of the candidates. And the actual experiences of the candidates are, in turn, less important than the will or enthusiasm of the candidate. I see many candidates put aside because their CV does not meet standards established for good reason once, but now way out-of-date and not conducive to current worker availability. Let's hire people who want to do the work and are willing, available and able to learn some skill outside of their education but with evidence of decency, honesty, a good work ethic and the judgment and intelli- gence to pick it up. Cheryl Nester Wolfe, RN. President and CEO at Salem (Ore.) Health Hospitals & Clinics: e first thing that came to my mind was an inclusive culture. And inclusive on a lot of different levels — not "While increasing salaries is always a welcome thing, it doesn't address the overstretching of our staff, the burnout or the stress." Lewis Marshall, MD, CMO, NYC Health + Hospitals