Sounding the Alarm on Healthcare Staffing: New Study reveals 60 percent of all healthcare support workers expect to leave their job in the next five years

Study on Allied Health Workforce Retention unveils what it will take to retain and fill support positions that make the healthcare industry run

TAMPA, Fla., June 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In addition to a predicted deficit of up to 3.2 million healthcare workers by 2026, 60 percent of all healthcare support workers expect to leave their job in the next five years, sounding an alarm on healthcare staffing according to a new nationwide study commissioned by Ultimate Medical Academy. The Study on Allied Health Workforce Retention surveyed 1,000 employees in support positions who currently work in healthcare, lapsed employees who used to work in healthcare and prospective employees who might consider working in healthcare and 320 employers responsible for hiring and/or retaining more than 545,000 individual healthcare support workers. The goal was to dissect the underlying causes of the healthcare staffing crisis among support employees and identify possible ways for employers to increase retention and employment in the healthcare industry based on employee feedback.  The Study reveals:

• 60 percent of all healthcare support workers expect to leave their job in the next five years
• Among those who have considered leaving, approximately 45 percent have looked for a new job in the past 6 to 12 months and another 1 in 5 (21 percent) are looking for a new job now
• Approximately 1 in 5 can't see themselves working at their current employer in a year, nor would they apply for the job again
• One in seven (15 percent) do not expect to work in their current position for more than a year
• 49 percent say they are considering leaving their current employer for a different role in healthcare and 39 percent are considering leaving their current position for a different industry

"The healthcare industry is facing an exodus of employees in support roles, which could jeopardize access to routine preventive and emergency care in communities across the U.S.," says Tom Rametta, president of Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA).  "Americans already are feeling the impact of the projected national shortage across the health system.  These employees are the backbone of the industry and make significant contributions to productivity, quality and effectiveness in patient service by working in support of and collaboration with their medical and nursing colleagues."

Over the past six months, employers report that 1 in 5 employees in support roles have left, resulting in a loss of trained employees and more.  Based on the number of employees they have and how many they say have left, employers responding have experienced an average of 22 percent turnover in their organization as a whole, and 15 percent within their specific departments.

Overall, employers in this study are actively looking to hire an average of 17 percent of their total current support role positions in their organizations. Those in larger organizations are looking to fill even more: 26 percent of their support positions on average.  While 40 percent of employers admit retention of employees in support roles is difficult, 74 percent seem more focused on the challenges of the initial hiring.  

"Our Study shows that putting a higher priority on hiring tactics instead of retention could be exacerbating the healthcare talent situation, given that so many current employees do not expect to be staying," noted Rametta.  "Employers appear to be underestimating the magnitude of future potential losses of healthcare workers. Retention efforts have never been more important given the velocity of turnover in the industry."   

UMA, an accredited, nonprofit educational institution with a long history of working with healthcare employers to solve their training and talent needs, engaged ACUPOLL® Precision Research to survey healthcare support employees, February 3 - 22, 2023 to determine what could enable employers to reduce turnover, retain their newer employees, stem the knowledge drain and ensure quality care for patients.  To understand the feasibility and potential of implementing changes based on employee feedback that would increase retention and employment in the healthcare industry, UMA conducted a follow-up study, March 23 - April 7, 2023, with healthcare employers.

As UMA expected when the survey was designed and conducted, looking for "better pay" (66%) and "the job is too stressful/demanding/we are understaffed" (36%) were the top two reasons current employees are considering leaving their jobs.

"Given the financial situations of many healthcare institutions, budgets to substantially increase pay may not be possible, so we explored other tangible and intangible factors that healthcare employees would find meaningful to get them to stay in their jobs and that healthcare employers could utilize to increase retention," said Rametta.  "There are many obvious factors that contribute to low retention, including pay, benefits, hours, etc., but the actionable conclusion is that understanding and enabling the path to career advancement – and the training that supports it – are powerful and overlooked avenues to improve retention."

Career Advancement and Training Must Accelerate to Improve Retention

The third reason current employees cite for leaving their current job in healthcare is "not seeing career path and growth opportunities."  More than three-quarters of all support employees surveyed desire "a clear path for career advancement." When asked, 77 percent of current employees, 80 percent of lapsed employees and 76 percent of prospective employees say they "want a job where I can see a clear path for advancement."  Newer employees were more likely to cite that they "don't see a career path/were not growing in this role" as a reason they considered leaving their current job (32 percent of those who have worked in healthcare two years or less versus 28 percent of employees on the job 3-5 years or 22 percent of those employed six or more years). The top reason current employees say they'd be more likely to stay at their job amidst today's economic uncertainty is the belief that "people always need healthcare so I think my job will always feel safe" (68 percent).  More than half (52 percent) add "I am fortunate to work in a place where our work/services are very important to customers/patients," and 50 percent say "helping people gives me a sense of purpose."

When asked "If you had the opportunity for training that would provide a clear career path to help you advance your career, would you expect to stay longer at your job?," 75 percent of current employees said yes.  Millennials and minorities rated this highest in importance (80 percent and 78 percent, respectively).  Across all categories of healthcare support employees (84 percent of current employees, 88 percent of lapsed employees and 79 percent of prospective employees), indicate that "having a job that helps me learn and grow as a person" is "very important."  Lapsed employees also say that "advancement opportunities" is the biggest gap between what they expected and what they received from healthcare employment, ranking it next after pay.

Employers apparently do not recognize this. When employers were asked about the reasons employees in healthcare support roles leave, out of 15 different reasons, employers ranked training #12 (35 percent) and #14 (25 percent).

"Employers may not be communicating the connection between training and career progression well," explains Rametta. "By developing initiatives that address the specific needs of employees in support roles and by connecting 'training' to 'advancement', we have a solid opportunity to prevent talent from exiting the industry. A stronger focus on retaining employees can only result in higher morale, lower employee turnover, and a much stronger bottom line."  

About the Study on Allied Health Workforce Retention

The Study on Allied Health Workforce Retention commissioned by Ultimate Medical Academy was conducted by ACUPOLL® Precision Research , February 3-22, 2023, among healthcare employees in support roles to dissect the underlying causes of the healthcare staffing crisis and possible ways to address it.  A follow-up survey was conducted by ACUPOLL, March 23 - April 7, 2023, with healthcare employers to understand the feasibility and potential of implementing changes based on employee feedback that would increase retention and employment in the healthcare industry,

A survey was conducted via the internet among a total of 1,000 people ages 18-55 who currently work in healthcare, lapsed employees who used to work in healthcare (within the past five years), and prospective employees who might consider working in healthcare in clinical and non-clinical support roles, including medical billers and coders, accounting clerks, medical scribes, healthcare IT specialists, patient relations coordinators, patient care technicians, patient transporters, and lab assistants (referred to as Current, Lapsed and Prospective employees in healthcare, respectively). 

The margin of error in the employee survey results for the total population at a 95 percent confidence interval is +/- 3 percent.

A total of 320 Employers in the healthcare industry were surveyed via the internet. These employers are in positions that are responsible for hiring, training, salary/benefits, career pathing, workplace conditions, and employee retention for health care support roles.  The study intends to understand the feasibility and potential of implementing changes that would increase retention and employment in the healthcare industry.

Combined, these employer respondents are responsible for hiring and/or retaining more than 545,000 individual healthcare support workers.  The margin of error in survey results for the total population of employers at a 95 percent confidence interval is +/- 5 percent.

About Ultimate Medical Academy

Based in Tampa, Florida, Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA) is an accredited, nonprofit educational institution that equips and empowers more than 10,000 students nationwide to do vital work at the heart of healthcare. In addition to offering diploma and degree programs, UMA works closely with healthcare companies to connect students directly to job opportunities. UMA also provides certified continuing medical education (CME) through ongoing training and professional development opportunities to physicians, nurses and other medical professionals throughout the U.S. annually.

Operating for more than 28 years, UMA has educated more than 75,000 alumni.  UMA offers hands-on learning at its main campus in Clearwater, Florida as well as content-rich, interactive programs through its online campus. The institution supports students through every step of their journey with access to academic support, interview and resume coaching, job search assistance, technical support and more. Learn more by visiting www.ultimatemedical.edu.

Media Contact
Ivy Cohen
Ivy Cohen Corporate Communications
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SOURCE Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA)