Over the past few years, much of the discourse on supporting the well-being of healthcare workers has focused on nurses and front-line teams — and rightfully so, as many nurses continue to report burnout stemming from their work environment. But to ensure efforts meant to support bedside nurses live up to their full potential, hospitals and health systems should be placing an equal focus on nurse managers, leaders say.
"Managers and nurse leaders have always been forgotten from the conversation," Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, RN, president of the American Nurses Association, told Becker's.
Early this year, the American Organization for Nursing Leadership Foundation released findings from more than 2,400 nurse leaders who were surveyed in November. Thirty-five percent of respondents indicated they were considering an exit from their roles: 12% said they intend to leave and 23% said they may leave within the next six months. When asked what the top reasons were for thinking about an exit, nurse leaders pointed to work having a negative affect on their health and well-being and not having the resources to do their job — a parallel to what bedside nurses consistently point to as drivers of burnout or reasons they've stepped away from the job. Read More |