Episode 21: Nursing Exodus - What Options Do I Have?

The "Nursing Exodus - What Options Do I Have?" podcast examines the alarming rate at which nurses quit their jobs while shedding light on the root causes, including hostile working environments, stress related to the pandemic, poor hospital conditions, and staff shortages. To increase retention rates, the episode highlights the need for support systems within nursing teams and more lengthy onboarding procedures for new nurses. Additionally, it emphasizes how important it is to pay nurses fairly and decently while highlighting how low wages contribute to the exodus. The podcast prompts listeners to consider their own experiences and the potentially avoidable factors that may have caused others to leave the profession while posing challenging questions about why nurses are quitting.

"Nurses would not be leaving in the numbers that they are if the pay was decent and fair, reflecting the risk that our angels on Earth put themselves in every day just to treat their sick patients," the quote reads.

Have you seen your coworkers, friends, or mentors leave the nursing field? If so, were any of their reasons avoidable? In your own experiences, can you identify with any of these circumstances? It's important to comprehend why reputable people have left the industry and heed the advice to put your well-being first to avoid joining the exodus.

Transcript

Episode 22: Nursing Exodus - What Options Do I Have?

Intro
 To say it’s been a crazy few years would be an understatement. We live in an ever changing world, one constantly challenging people to their very core. It is because of this we aim to create assuredness in an uncertain world. 
 
 Welcome to the Project ReNew podcast, a show for nurses - and angels looking to help nurses - and anyone in search of motivation. Let’s bring you and your passion back to where you were when you first started out. Let’s reignite that fire together.
 
  This is the Project ReNew Podcast.

The Problem

Exodus, noun: A mass departure of people. Now, in the swarms of nurses leaving the profession due to the hostile working conditions, I would even go so far as to call an exodus an understatement. In 2021, more than 100,000 nurses left the profession in the USA. This poses concerning and real danger for the future workforce. 

Throughout history, nurses have normally remained as nurses for their entire career - it is typically very unusual for an older generation nurse to have a career change. Therefore, it points to the obvious that there is something wrong with this generation that is causing young nurses to leave the profession in droves. This could be most likely due to pandemic related stress, poor hospital working conditions, and staff shortages, leading young nurses to reevaluate their life choices and to seek new experiences. Nurses often go through a baptism of fire when entering the profession - with no reward for staying at the front line and fighting in the battle against COVID-19. 

The Explanation

Our nurses are exhausted, hopeless, and disenchanted with the broken system. Plans for retention simply are not working. Nurses are quitting the profession in increasing numbers. In fact, post-COVID this is being labeled “ the great resignation”. For whatever reason that is applicable to each individual nurse's life, more and more are handing back their uniform, putting years of training to waste and ultimately feeling unable to serve their community, due to their physical or mental health. If we don't want to enter further into a crisis by which we have more patients than nurses to serve them, we must understand why nurses are leaving the patient's bedside to seek pastures new.

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The Solution

Nursing teams need to band together to offer a circle of support for colleagues to vent about their workplace. There should be a hierarchical model of care, where experienced staff are buddied up with inexperienced staff in order to emotionally support one another. This can help teams to stay together and reduce the likelihood that one staff member will resign.

 In addition, more training needs to be given to new members of staff, in order to avoid them being one of the early dropout statistics. The onboarding process for new nurses needs to be a lot longer, rather than throwing them in at the deep end in the hospital in their first few weeks. It can also benefit the older generation. They can be buddied up with new members of staff who come in, each one benefiting the other and making the other feel valid and necessary, and showing them what they were like when they first started nursing.

Really, let's address the elephant in the room as well - If the pay was decent and fair, reflecting the danger that our angels on Earth put themselves in everyday just to treat their sick patients, the nurses would not be leaving in the numbers that they are. Many nurses are relying on food parcels to survive, which is the heartbreaking reality of our modern day society. This is because nurses' wages are simply not given enough funding to increase, and do not allow nurses to comfortably survive. After all, given the choice, why would anybody do such a back-breaking job and still not have enough money to pay their bills? It does not make any sense. Paying this is what they deserve, and this will affect the heart of the problem facing hospitals.

A Question to Consider

Think of your friends, colleagues, mentors, fellow trainees on your nursing course-what are the reasons they have left? Were any of them preventable? Can you see any of these situations reflected in your own experiences? It is important to be able to understand why people you have previously respected have left the industry. Even if that is not how you are feeling right now, take it as a heed of warning-if you do not protect your own energy and mental well-being, you could be handing in your resignation before you know it.

Outro
  We really hope you enjoyed this episode of the Project ReNew Podcast. Stay connected with us through www.ProjectReNew.Co. You can also join this discussion on Twitter @ProjectReNewPod, and on Instagram at @ProjectReNewPodcast. If you would like to speak with us, please send us an email through our website. As always, thank you for pushing your mindset and your heart towards a better reality. This concludes the most thought-provoking part of your day. Don’t forget to like and subscribe to stay fully up to date. Until next time, be kind to yourself, and to
 each other.
 
 

 As a fellow nurse, I want to take a moment to express my appreciation for each and every one of our listeners. 
 
 As nurses, we are all part of an essential and noble profession, and our dedication and hard work make a real difference in the lives of our patients. 

As Brené Brown says, ' Resilience is the ability to move through difficult experiences and to come out on the other side with wisdom and compassion.' 

Our podcast is dedicated to exploring resilience from trauma and the pandemic, providing practical advice and reviews of symptoms to help our listeners navigate these challenging times.

It's important to note that the information provided in our podcast is for educational and informational purposes only.

 The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

 Always seek the advice of your physician, other qualified healthcare provider or mental health professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health condition.

 As a colleague, I encourage you to continue to listen to our podcast, engage with the content, and use it to enhance your nursing practice and further your professional and personal growth."