Health systems across the country are enacting COVID-19 mandates to comply with a broad-sweeping federal requirement. Amid reports of high compliance rates, the mandate has triggered passionate and visceral responses on both sides of the debate. While some healthcare employees are eager to roll up their sleeves, others decry the…
Editor's Note Overall healthcare employment in the US was down in September to a seasonally adjusted 15,968,400 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on October 8. That’s down 17, 500 since August. Hospital employment also fell by 8,100 jobs. The overall unemployment rate fell to 4.8 %.
Editor's Note Mercer’s 2021 External Healthcare Labor Market Analysis finds a shortage of healthcare workers (HCWs) over the next 5 to 10 years as the US continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The main findings of the study are: There will be a labor shortage at the low end…
Editor's Note This study from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, finds that practice interruptions in the treatment of Medicare patients spiked in April 2020, and interruption-without-return rates were larger for older physicians. In this analysis of 547,849 physicians billing Medicare: Practice…
Over the past year, job satisfaction of OR leaders as well as staff and physician engagement have all eroded, according to the 2021 OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. Although more than two-thirds (67%) of respondents rate their current jobs or positions favorably, that is down from the 77% seen in 2020…
Bullying is a serious problem seen in all aspects of life—at home, in school, and in the workplace. Anyone can be a bully, but bullying is often carried out by those who are threatened by or view themselves as superior to others. However, the younger generations, who are slowly taking…
Since joining OR Manager, I have realized that perioperative nursing is facing a bit of a crisis. Issues such as retention, burnout, and job satisfaction are not new but have become more challenging recently, making recruitment more difficult than in the past. A higher percentage of respondents to this year’s…
Even as vaccination rates rise, COVID-19 continues its grip on the healthcare system and nurses are feeling the consequences, including staffing challenges that have prompted a renewed focus on retention. Scars left by the pandemic will complicate retention efforts. “The pandemic has made things much worse, not only for the…
Mary Anne Douglas, MS, RN, CNOR, the 2021 OR Manager of the Year, has a daily routine: she spends about 15 to 20 minutes every morning catching up on pandemic- and healthcare-related news that might help her stay dynamic and innovative in her field. Evidence of her inspired work is…
Consistency is the word that comes to mind when reviewing results from the 2021 OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) reported that salary, satisfaction, and the number of employees supervised were comparable to metrics reported in 2020. The good news is that…