The “Great Resignation” and Healthcare Workers

The “Great Resignation” is what experts and media are titling the mass exodus of people from the workforce. The number of workers quitting jobs has vaulted to 4.5 million from 4.2 million, above the prior record of 4.4 million reached in September. And this includes healthcare workers and physicians. So, why exactly are healthcare workers quitting at such high volumes right now? Is burnout a factor? 

Dr. Gail Gazelle MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard University and Master Certified Coach for physicians discusses why healthcare workers are quitting at such high volumes right now in 2022. 

“The Great Resignation is occurring for a variety of reasons and the pandemic plays a large role. After the flexibility of working at home, many people don’t want to return to the constraints a workplace involves. Others have reconsidered their goals and priorities, leading them to try something new or move to a new organization. Further, levels of burnout are high in healthcare and in many other fields so people are leaving in an effort to focus on their mental health. Whatever the reason, the level of disruption throughout the economy is high,” says Dr. Gazelle.

While speaking to a couple of my friends in the medical field currently, they’ve expressed that they are exhausted and past their breaking points. Especially those working in the COVID units where they’re on their feet for 12 and 13 hours with only two breaks to use the bathroom, eat and take off any other business. Add on the fact that the full PPE they use is not breathable, causing heavy sweating, and you have a recipe for disaster. 

Dr. Gazelle goes on to say that, “In healthcare, it’s almost like a rotating door with so many people leaving their jobs. We’re in the midst of a major national nursing shortage and nurses can make much more by leaving their job and signing up to be a traveling nurse. At the same time, levels of burnout in physicians are high, especially given the added demands of the pandemic, and many physicians are moving to a different practice or, for some, simply throwing in the towel on the career they worked so hard to attain.”

If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Gail Gazelle and hearing more of her commentary on the great resignation, I’d be happy to connect you with regular media contributor, Dr. Gail Gazelle. Dr. Gazelle has been featured on CNN, NPR, AMA, AP, Univision, ACP, The New England Journal of Medicine, The Oprah Magazine and more.