Editor's Note A new KLAS Research report finds that COVID-19 has surpassed electronic health records (EHRs) as a primary source of clinician burnout, the December 7 EHR Intelligence reports. The report also finds that nurses have different sources of burnout than physicians since the start of the pandemic: After-hours workloads…
Editor's Note Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, on December 9, declared the state’s nursing shortage amid the COVID-19 pandemic a State of Emergency. The executive order noted that Kentucky is operating 12% to 20% short of the needed nursing volume, and the state is projected to need more than 16,000 additional…
Editor's Note A new nationwide survey of nurses by Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, Boca Raton, conducted in partnership with Cross Country Healthcare, Inc, finds that the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced long-lasting negative perceptions of their future careers. Of 570 respondents: 37% said they were burned…
Editor's Note This study led by researchers from Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, finds that healthcare workers (HCWs) had significant changes in their personal and professional lives during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, before the availability of vaccines. Findings from this analysis of 1,344 HCWs (ie, nurses,…
Editor's Note A federal judge, on November 29, blocked a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) mandate requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for healthcare workers (HCWs) in facilities participating in CMS programs in 10 states, the November 29 Bloomberg Law reports. In his ruling, the judge says the CMS mandate requires…
Editor's Note A study by Premier healthcare consultants finds that the average annual salary for RNs grew about 4% to $81,376 this year, the November 17 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The study, which examined salaries of about 60,000 nurses for The Wall Street Journal, notes that RN salaries are rising…
Editor's Note This study from the UK of surgical patients in 18 countries finds that the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted surgical patients—directly through comorbid infections and indirectly by increasing mortality—irrespective of their COVID-19 status. In a subgroup analysis of 3,176 adult emergency surgical patients, all-cause, in-hospital…
Editor's Note A coalition of 12 states, on November 15, sued the federal government to block a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) mandate requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for healthcare workers (HCWs) in facilities participating in CMS programs, the November 16 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. This complaint follows a lawsuit…
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 up in October to a seasonally adjusted 16,032,600 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on November 5. That’s up 37, 200 since September. Hospital employment also rose by 1,100 jobs. The overall unemployment rate fell to 4.6 %.