Study on Allied Health Workforce Retention unveils what it will take to retain and fill support positions that make the healthcare industry run
Tampa, FL, June 20, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — 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