Key Takeaways:
- According to a troubling new survey, one out of every four nurses plans to retire in the next three years, making the situation even worse.
- Health workers were compelled to work longer hours, take fewer vacation days, and change how they offered treatment during the pandemic.
With nursing shortages in most provinces across the country, a disturbing new study indicates that the situation could get even worse, with one in every four nurses planning to retire in the next three years.
According to a new poll issued by Statistics Canada, 95% of healthcare employees believe the pandemic has affected their mental health and caused stress to their work-life balance.
During the pandemic, health staff was forced to work longer hours, take fewer vacation days, and adjust how they delivered treatment. Many health workers were planning to leave or quit during the fourth pandemic wave, from September to November 2021, when the survey was taken, because of job stress or concerns about their mental health.
This was mainly true in the case of nurses.
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Nurses were the most likely to say they wished to change careers among health care employees who were not planning to retire at the time of the poll. Over one-quarter of nurses (24.4%) are expected to change jobs or leave their jobs in the next three years.
Job stress or burnout were the most popular reasons for individuals who were not retiring to explore a career change.
MENTAL HEALTH
Additional health risks from COVID-19 exposure levels in health care settings, an increase in the influx of patients resulting in heavy workloads, a staffing shortage, and the requirement to wear protective gear for vast periods are some of the obstacles that have impacted health care workers’ mental health during the pandemic.
According to the research, 46.4 % of doctors and 52.4 % of nurses said their mental health was “somewhat worse now” or “far worse now” than before the pandemic.
According to recent job vacancy data, the number of jobs in the health care and social support industry has more than doubled, rising from 64,000 in the fourth quarter of 2019 to 126,000 in 2021. The surge has been attributed to the healthcare system’s increased demand, worsened by the pandemic.
FATIGUE PANDEMIC
According to Statistics Canada, more physicians (96.4%), nurses (96.7%), and healthcare workers (95.4%), including dentists and psychologists, claimed that the pandemic had an influence on their professions for a mixture of reasons, including changes in working hours, pay, and workplace conflict.
However, more nurses said the pandemic had raised their workload. Nurses (83.7%), personal support workers (PSWs), and care aides were all more stressed at work than physicians (83.7%), personal support workers (PSWs), or care aides (both 83 percent).
Source: CTV News
