Healthcare Workforce Retention

 I lost my best Clinical Research Coordinator to a competitor within 6 months. Not because of money. She told me exactly why: "I don't feel like I matter here anymore." That hit different. After 10+ years building clinical research teams, I've learned something most managers miss: Retention isn't about one thing. It's about everything. Here's what actually keeps your best people (spoiler: it's not just the paycheck): 1️⃣ PAID WELL Yes, money matters. But it's table stakes. → Pay below market = lose talent to those who won't 2️⃣ MENTORED People don't leave jobs. They leave managers who don't invest in them. → 15 minutes weekly can save you months of recruiting 3️⃣ CHALLENGED Boredom kills careers faster than burnout. → Give them problems that make them grow 4️⃣ PROMOTED Stagnation = resignation. → No growth path? They'll find one elsewhere 5️⃣ INVOLVED Nobody wants to be a cog in the machine. → Include them in decisions that affect their work 6️⃣ APPRECIATED A simple "great job on that protocol deviation report" goes further than you think. → Recognition costs nothing. Replacement costs everything 7️⃣ TRUSTED Micromanagement screams "I don't believe in you." → Trust them until they prove otherwise 8️⃣ EMPOWERED Let them own their work. → Autonomy breeds excellence 9️⃣ VALUED This is the secret sauce. When people feel their work matters, they'll move mountains. → Show them how their role impacts patient lives Here's what I did after losing that CRC: ✅ Implemented monthly 1-on-1s focused on growth, not just tasks ✅ Created clear promotion pathways with specific milestones ✅ Started a peer mentorship program ✅ Gave team members ownership of their therapeutic areas ✅ Made appreciation public and specific Result? Zero turnover in the last 8 months. Team engagement scores up 40%. And that CRC? She asked if she could come back. The truth nobody wants to admit: Most managers focus on 2-3 of these. The best hit all 9. Because here's what retention really costs: Losing a trained CRC = 6-12 months productivity loss Losing a senior CRA = $150K+ in recruitment and training Losing team morale = immeasurable But keeping them? That just takes intentionality. Which of these 9 does your workplace miss? Drop it below. Let's have an honest conversation about what really makes people stay. P.S. Building a retention strategy for your clinical research team? DM me "RETAIN" - I'll share the framework that transformed our culture. #ClinicalResearch #EmployeeRetention #Leadership #TeamManagement #WorkplaceCulture #TalentRetention

I work with Human Resources and caregiver employee resource groups, to support parents, often to update policies and practices. Leaders, if you can prioritize one thing to improve retention and morale, take a close look at how your org handles parental (and even unplanned) leaves. Paternity leaves are on the rise and what happens before, during and after parental leave for moms, often determines whether or not she stays in her role. The first year of a baby's life, is also a critical window to improve mental and physical health outcomes for moms, parents, and babies, so flexibility and support at work is crucial. I had the pleasure of speaking with Tara Weiss Bronstein about this for the The Wall Street Journal. She covers a lot of great options in the article (subscription required) and here are a couple of key takeaways. 1. Get creative about coverage while people are out. Yes, consider temporary hires or contractors, but internships for current employees provide invaluable experience and "returnship" programs are amazing to re-skill displaced workers. 2. Pre-game the return to work, not just the parental leave. Most new parents need to revisit their schedules and priorities during what is often a foggy-sleep-deprived haze post baby. The parent who gave birth, is also going through a physical and emotional recovery that may require ongoing medical care. 3. Take the lead as an organization. Absolutely get input from moms, dads and parents about their parental leave plans. But please don't leave it to them to choreograph the whole thing. Most people don't know what they'll need in advance or how the organization can best support them. #parentalleave #FMLA #employeeexperience #workingmothers #workingparents #familyfriendlypolicies #managertraining

A few years ago, I worked with a hospital that was struggling with high turnover rates and low morale. People simply didn't feel valued or heard. Our strategy was aimed at reshaping organizational culture, and we believed the key to this transformation was leadership development. We coached leaders on conducting regular one-on-one check-ins with team members, which provide opportunities to discuss progress, address concerns, and invite feedback. We stressed the need for leaders to recognize people for their efforts and the pivotal role they play in the organization. We guided leaders on fostering psychological safety, ensuring an inclusive environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing ideas and asking questions. Over time, things started to change. People not only felt recognized, but they also began to communicate more openly, bring forward ideas, express concerns, and collaborate. Morale rose, turnover decreased, and quality improved. This transformation aligns with what neuroscience teaches us. Our brains naturally thrive in environments that foster trust, respect, and positivity. Leaders who tap into this understanding not only create better work environments but also elevate overall team performance. I encourage healthcare leaders to focus on the culture they are building. See the difference it makes in your teams and the care your patients receive. Strong teams and strong cultures lead to outstanding results, which means a healthier healthcare system for all. Have you experienced a similar transformation in your organization? What have you found effective in boosting culture? Share below! #Healthcare #Leadership #teamwork #Leadershipdevelopment

This image is a sobering reminder that something is deeply broken in how we value healthcare workers in America. Plumbers, crane operators, HVAC techs, and welders (all trade roles that require no college degree) are earning equal to or more than many registered nurses. And yet, nurses: - Are required to complete a rigorous degree program - Carry immense physical, emotional, and legal responsibility - Work long shifts in high-stress, life-or-death environments - Are the irreplaceable backbone of our healthcare system How did we get here? Why are we tolerating a system where a nurse can make $27/hour saving lives while someone operating a crane can make $41/hour moving steel? This isn't about downplaying trades—they're essential. But it is about demanding proper compensation, staffing, and respect for nurses. Here are a few hard truths: - 31% of nurses plan to leave the profession by 2027 (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2023) - 90% of nurses say their workplace is understaffed (American Nurses Foundation, 2023) - 56% report experiencing burnout frequently or constantly (American Nurses Association, 2022) - Hospitals are losing $9 billion annually due to nurse turnover (NSI Nursing Solutions, 2023) If you're a nurse, healthcare leader, or policymaker, it's time to ask: what are we actually doing to retain and reward our most critical frontline workers? Let's talk about pay equity, burnout, and building a healthcare system that nurses want to stay in. #Nursing #HealthcareCrisis #PayEquity #NurseAdvocacy #BurnoutPrevention #TradeSchool #WorkforceReform

Clinicians aren't leaving because they don’t like being a clinician... They're leaving because they're drained from managing their clinical responsibilities along with additional work to make ends meet due to the high amounts of student loans they have, while juggling other life expenses such as daycare, buying a home, and the cost of groceries. They're departing due to compassion fatigue. They spend their days providing care, but the emotional toll becomes overwhelming. They're departing because they're burdened with paperwork even after they leave the clinic, leading to exhaustion and poor work life balance. Before criticizing a clinician for leaving, consider the underlying reasons. You might be surprised. 🙌🏼

The American Nurses Enterprise recently published findings that highlight a troubling reality: nearly 18% of new graduate nurses leave the profession within the first year due to stressful working conditions, and 69% of nurses under 25 report experiencing burnout. 📌Article: https://lnkd.in/geCS2rtX These numbers aren't just statistics. They’re a reflection of a healthcare system that demands everything from its nurses yet often gives little in return—whether it’s adequate staffing, functional workflows, or meaningful support. Burnout isn’t just a personal issue; it’s a structural one. And while mindfulness programs and wellness initiatives have their place, they are not a substitute for systemic change. The Joint Commission and the IHI both recognize burnout as a threat to healthcare. Their recommendations—enhancing meaningfulness in work, supporting nurse goals, and providing autonomy—are steps in the right direction. But how often do we see these ideas truly implemented at the bedside? Nurses don’t need another wellness workshop that tells them to “take care of themselves” while they’re running on empty. They need an environment where their well-being isn’t an afterthought. Some programs, like the mindfulness-based interventions at Shannon Medical Center, have shown promise in mitigating burnout. But let’s be honest: if nurses are forced to find ways to cope with an unmanageable system, we’re missing the bigger picture. Retention strategies shouldn’t center around helping nurses “tolerate” poor conditions—they should focus on fixing the conditions themselves. We need leadership training that empowers nurses. Staffing models that are sustainable, yet willing to innovate. Workflows that reduce cognitive overload instead of adding to it. If we want to address burnout, we have to stop treating it as an individual resilience problem and start recognizing it as a problem of the system nurses work within. So, what’s next? How do we move beyond acknowledging burnout and actually create environments where nurses can thrive instead of just survive? #nurseburnout #healthcare #nursewellbeing #burnoutprevention #mindfulness #nurseleadership #healthcareworkers #nurseadvocacy #staffingcrisis #healthcarepolicy #nursevoices #mentalhealth #nursesupport #workplacedynamics #healthcareinnovation #nursestaffing #patientcare #healthcareethics #resilientnursing #wellbeingatwork #nursesonlinkedin #hospitalstaffing #nurseeducation #nurseexperience #nursecommunity

RE-THINKING THE FEDERAL WORKFORCE- AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE VA The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs workforce is massive. With over 470,000 employees it’s the second largest government agency. Managing and retaining a highly skilled workforce is no easy endeavor, especially when it competes against the private sector for some of the most skilled professionals. Last month, the VA reorganized its HR efforts by launching the Human Resources Service Center (HRSC) to innovate and optimize how it manages labor. Innovation in workforce optimization is the right approach. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has generated a lot of debate about how best to optimize the federal workforce. In fact, the VA was highlighted in their meeting this week with Congress. In one example from a few years ago, they highlighted a Department of Veterans Affairs manager in Atlanta posted a photo of himself working while taking a bubble bath. DOGE has suggested that federal workers should come back into the office and in those situations where work will be accommodated virtually, the agencies should monitor the “average number of logins made” and the amount of time spent on the federal network. While virtual vs. in-office workforce is one issue, it may not be the most important issue. That issue may be staff retention.  In FY2024, the VA hired 47,073 employees, but at the same time, it lost 34,154 staff. Hiring, onboarding and training is expensive. It takes 108 days (114 in the Veterans Health Administration) to hire new employees. In the VA, the RN retention rate is 73%, 64.3% for licensed practical nurses and 59.1% for nursing assistants. Low retention rates come at a high price. The 2024 NSI National Health Care Retention and RN Staffing Report documents a 1% change in RN turnover costs hospitals $262,500 annually, and the average turnover cost for a bedside RN is $56,300. With innovative professional development programs and educational pathway support, retention rates can be much higher. For example, in the private sector, companies such as OpusVi have demonstrated 90+% retention rates for new nurse graduates that saves organizations millions of dollars annually in turnover-related costs. With a combined nursing workforce of 110,387, increasing VA retention rates to industry best practice levels would save approximately 34,000 nursing jobs from having to be hired each year. This would not only reduce costs for the VA but it would provide veterans with the most experienced and competent staff.  

Clinicians going non-clinical: A symptom of a diseased system 🤒 It’s no secret that more and more clinicians—doctors, nurses, therapists, and other healthcare professionals—are stepping away from the bedside and office to pursue non-clinical careers. And while some may cheer this shift, it's time to ask: What does this say about the state of healthcare today? The Numbers Don’t Lie 🔢 The trend is stark: A 2023 MedPage Today survey found that 45% of physicians were considering leaving clinical practice within the next 2-3 years. Among nurses, a report from the American Nurses Association showed that one in five nurses were planning to leave the profession entirely by 2025. These numbers aren’t just statistical anomalies—they reflect a rapidly growing dissatisfaction with the clinical environment. 👩⚕️ So, where are these professionals going? More clinicians are leaving the day-to-day grind of patient care for roles in consulting, tech, pharma, business and even healthcare startups. A 2022 study published in JAMA revealed that over 40% of physicians had made a career shift to a non-clinical position at some point in their careers. We as clinical professionals are finding new ways to leverage our expertise outside of direct patient care. And this can have a positive impact on patient care but is it worth the loss of actual boots on the ground clinicians. The System Is Broken. Is It Any Surprise? 💔 We’ve all heard the stories of burnout, overwhelming patient loads, and the constant battle with bureaucracy. Clinicians aren’t just "leaving the practice"; they’re fleeing a system that doesn’t value their time, expertise, or well-being. A 2023 American Medical Association study found that nearly 63% of doctors report feeling burnt out, with 38% saying they would not recommend medicine as a career to others. 📉 The excessive paperwork, constant regulatory hurdles, pay disparities, and the emotional toll of dealing with a system that doesn’t seem to care—these are all factors pushing clinicians away. In fact, burnout in healthcare costs the U.S. economy $4.6 billion annually, according to a 2021 study by the National Academy of Medicine. And it’s not just a financial drain—it’s an existential crisis for the individuals caught in the system. You would think that with such a drastic financial loss companies would focus more resources on combating these issues. 🤑 Is it any wonder that professionals who once dedicated their lives to patient care are now saying, “Enough is enough”? The drastic fleeing of clinical care by trained professionals should be viewed as a cry for help. Companies leaders TAKE NOTE. 📒 #healthcarecrisis #clinicianburnout #nonclinical #careerchange #physicaltherapy #homehealth #healthcare #healthcareinnovation #goingnonclinical #nursingshortage #healthcareleadership #OT #SLP #nursing

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗜𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘵. Wrong conversation. “Between 140 and 200 U.S. physicians are leaving clinical practice every single day.” – Derived from AAMC/MGMA 6 %–7 % turnover applied to the latest FSMB workforce census. We blame the 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀. We blame the 𝗽𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸. We blame the 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀. But that's not why they're leaving. Here's what we miss: Doctors don't quit because the job is hard. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲. You don't spend a decade learning to heal people so you can spend your day fighting with insurance companies. You don't memorize every bone in the human body so you can check boxes on a computer screen. You don't train to save\restore lives so you can optimize for patient throughput. But that's what we've built. A system that 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Instead of "How can we help this person get better?" we ask "How can we process this person faster?" Instead of "What does healing look like?" we ask "What does billing look like?" 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽. The problem isn't that doctors lack resilience. The problem is that we've made resilience the job requirement instead of medicine. Here's the uncomfortable truth: We don't have a doctor shortage. We have a medicine shortage. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲. 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀. What if instead of teaching doctors to survive the system, we built a system that 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲?

Why healthcare workers are still leaving the field - and the counterintuitive leadership approach that's helping us retain talent Despite wage increases and sign-on bonuses, healthcare worker turnover reached 25.9% in 2022. Money isn't fixing the problem. After leading teams across multiple healthcare organizations, I've found a counterintuitive approach that actually works. 1/ The burnout narrative is incomplete ↳ We've focused too narrowly on workload and compensation ↳ Exit interviews reveal something deeper: loss of purpose and autonomy ↳ Clinicians aren't just physically exhausted—they're morally injured ↳ They know what patients need but feel powerless to deliver it 2/ Conventional solutions are failing ↳ Meditation apps and pizza parties don't address the root cause ↳ Higher pay doesn't compensate for ethical distress ↳ Productivity bonuses often worsen the quality-quantity conflict ↳ Leadership training rarely reaches frontline managers who need it most 3/ The counterintuitive approach: trust your experts ↳ At Frontier Psychiatry, we slashed turnover by 90% in one year ↳ Our method: balancing staff autonomy with mission alignment ↳ We focused on outcomes, not processes—the "what" matters more than the "how" ↳ Regular surveys tackled uncomfortable truths, with transparent follow-through ↳ Staff became our customers too, not just the patients they serve 4/ Create meaningful connection and authority ↳ Virtual and occasional in-person gatherings built authentic relationships ↳ Major changes required frontline approval before implementation ↳ Staff ideas weren't just collected—they were actually implemented ↳ Leadership's primary function shifted to barrier removal, not compliance enforcement 5/ Successful retention requires uncomfortable truth-telling ↳ Leaders must acknowledge what's broken before fixing it ↳ Team members need psychological safety to identify problems ↳ Executive presence on the frontlines shifted from inspection to support ↳ We celebrated when staff pushed back on unreasonable requests The irony: by giving up control as leaders, we gained more reliable outcomes. By focusing less on retention metrics and more on meaningful work, our retention improved. Most healthcare organizations won't take this path because it requires leadership vulnerability and decentralizing power. But those that do will not only retain staff—they'll attract the most engaged clinicians away from their competitors. I've seen it work across multiple organizations: meaningful authority trumps monetary incentives every time. ⁉️ What's the most meaningful change leadership could make to improve your professional life? Would you trade some compensation for more autonomy? ♻️ Repost to help healthcare leaders rethink retention beyond bonuses and wellness programs. 👉 Follow me (Reza Hosseini Ghomi, MD, MSE) for more insights on healthcare leadership, technology, and building sustainable care models.