As part of our nurses-first mission, Trusted is releasing its second annual report on the mental health and well-being of frontline nurses. This year, we’ve expanded on the initial report to look at the specific impact of the pandemic on nurses’ physical and mental health and how their experiences over the last year have impacted their career plans.
Our goal in releasing this data is to highlight the ongoing challenges that nurses are facing, even as much of the public discourse moves to vaccines, variants and the end of the pandemic, and to serve as a rallying cry for nursing leaders and the healthcare industry as a whole.
The Nursing Profession Is in Crisis
As part of our nurses-first mission, Trusted is releasing its second annual report on the mental health and well-being of frontline nurses. This year, we’ve expanded on the initial report to look at the specific impact of the pandemic on nurses’ physical and mental health and how their experiences over the last year have impacted their career plans.
Our goal in releasing this data is to highlight the ongoing challenges that nurses are facing, even as much of the public discourse moves to vaccines, variants and the end of the pandemic, and to serve as a rallying cry for nursing leaders and the healthcare industry as a whole.
Nurses Don’t Feel That Their Mental Health Is a Priority
Despite widespread attention given to the mental health of healthcare workers over the last year, our results highlighted that the vast majority of nurses still feel unsupported at both a facility and industry level. On a scale of 1-10, nurses rated their current facility an average of 4.6 in terms of the support it has provided related to their mental health and well-being, a slight decline from 2020’s rating of 4.8.
Moreover, when asked how they think that the healthcare industry prioritizes and supports nurses’ mental health and well-being, 95 percent said they felt that it was either not a priority or that it was a priority, but that there were inadequate measures in place to support it.
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The “Hero” Label Is Problematic
Healthcare workers of all kinds have been referred to as heroes throughout the pandemic, but less than 1 in 4 respondents in our study felt that this label was fitting. Forty-nine percent felt that the label was an oversimplification and asked them to sacrifice their health and well-being for others.
Tayler, a public health nurse, put it this way: “I know this whole sentiment of ‘health care heroes’ is well-intentioned, but it's damaging. We're human beings. I think it's wrong to project this hero expectation on us. It sets us up for feelings of guilt when we feel human emotion, and it sets the tone that we can or should sacrifice ourselves for others.”
Our Thoughts
The COVID-19 pandemic has been in a once-in-a-century event, and even as the pandemic continues to devastate areas of the world, we at Trusted are committed to helping you get through this. We have created a number of helpful resources to deal with burnout, PTSD, and compassion fatigue. We need to normalize talking about the pressures this pandemic is having on our workforce, so get help if you are feeling depressed or struggling with mental health.
Communicate what your needs are as a healthcare professional and speak with your manager about what your facility can do to help you feel better supported.
If you are currently traveling, or did so during the pandemic, be sure to take time off between contracts to give yourself a chance to rest and reset, or consider taking a job in a less acute setting. Trusted offers a non-intrusive way to explore your options at your own pace without the pressure to jump back in, giving you the space when you need or want it.
Access the Full Report
If you’d like to see more of the insights uncovered in our 2021 Frontline Nurse Mental Health Report, click here to get access to the full report.
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