The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the emotional, mental and physical health of hospital employees across the U.S. Here are five numbers outlining the mental health strain on workers:
1. The University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing in Omaha received a three-year, $2.2 million grant to address nursing burnout. The grant will focus on registered nurses and advanced practice registered nurses in rural and medically underserved areas, as well as their employers.
2. Forty-seven percent of physicians reported feeling burned out last year, up from 42 percent in 2020, according to Medscape's 2021 "Physician Burnout & Depression Report" published Jan. 21. Medscape surveyed 13,069 physicians in 29 specialties from June 29-Sept. 26, 2021.
3. Primary care physician turnover leads to nearly $1 billion in annual excess healthcare spending, and work-related burnout is a significant contributing factor, according to a new American Medical Association-led study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
4. A group of healthcare experts, in collaboration with the National Academy of Medicine, in February released five actions healthcare leaders can take to support the emotional, psychological and on-the-job demands for nurses, physicians and other employees.
5. Forty-six percent of surveyed nurses younger than 35 said they are not or not at all emotionally healthy, compared to 30 percent of all nurses and 19 percent of nurses older than 55, according to a survey released March 1. The American Nurses Foundation and Joslin Insight surveyed 12,694 nurses between Jan. 8 and 29.