The two years since COVID-19 was first detected in America have introduced a profound change in all public-facing industries. Education, commerce, and even restaurants have changed business models and delivery systems to support social distancing and hands-free processes. Healthcare, too, has embraced changes, like increasing the use of telehealth when possible.
At the same time, nursing during COVID-19 was pushed to the limits with overcrowded hospitals, unprecedented death rates, lack of PPE, mandated overtime, staff shortages, and a perceived lack of support from administration.
The crisis pushed nursing into the spotlight, bringing plenty of praise but not enough change to a profession already in crisis. Nursing today may very well make 2022 the year of change needed to address systemic issues that have affected nursing since before the pandemic and the new problems that resulted from it.
What’s Ahead?
Here are a few of the issues to watch in nursing 2022 and some tips for nurses.
Continued Job Growth
Already deep in a nursing shortage that was predicted to worsen before COVID-19 even became a factor, the current staffing crisis shows no sign of slowing down. Before the pandemic, a shortage of nursing faculty, an aging population, and large numbers of nurses reaching retirement age were factors worsening the nursing shortage. 2022 is adding to the number of nurses burned out from the pandemic. A recent report by McKinsey & Company found that nearly one-third of registered nurses are considering leaving their patient-care roles. There will be no shortage of jobs looking ahead.
Increase in Home Health
The aging baby boomer population could increase the number of older Americans needing nursing home care by 75%. Still, many are opting to age in place, increasing the need for home health nurses. And again, COVID further increased the need. The demand will increase even more if the Choose Home Care Act of 2021 passes, greatly expanding Medicare patients’ access to home health services.
Increase in Online Education
One of the nursing trends accelerated by the pandemic is the move to online education. Distance learning programs were already popular options for RN-to-BSN bridge programs; the pandemic expanded online learning to other programs to reduce the transmission of COVID. In addition, some research shows that online learning has benefits like better retention that support online or hybrid learning as a valid model post-pandemic.
Demand for Training and Higher Education
Better training makes better nurses and patient outcomes. An American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) report found multiple studies tying decreased mortality to an increase in BSN-educated nurses. The same AACN report found most employers prefer BSN-educated nurses. As of 2021, more nurses were seeking bachelor’s degrees (or higher) than associate degrees to meet the growing demand. Furthermore, bachelor’s-educated nurses have more opportunities and higher salaries and are qualified for advanced roles like nurse manager.
Staff Support and Well-Being
One of the biggest failures throughout the pandemic was the unimaginable burden on medical staff. The stress, exhaustion, trauma, and lack of support are driving nurses to leave patient care in unprecedented numbers. According to an ebn report, 500k nurses will leave patient care this year, a number the pandemic accelerated by almost 20 years. The failures in staffing models, crisis readiness, and support for overwhelmed staff created a mental health crisis that went largely ignored during the pandemic. The number of nurses leaving patient care needs to be a wake-up call for health systems to prioritize the well-being of their staff.
Travel Nursing
COVID-19 surges prompted a wave of travel nursing that only grew as poor working conditions and frustration drove more nurses to leave their staff positions for lucrative travel assignments. Travel nursing grew by 35% in 2020 and is predicted to grow 40% more. The freedom to choose when and where to work, to take time off between assignments, and much higher wages are attractive to many nurses exhausted by the pandemic. With the number of nurses leaving bedside care in the next few years, travel nurses will continue to be in demand as healthcare systems struggle with the growing nursing shortage.
Looking Ahead
As is often the case, we need to look to the past to understand our future needs. The pandemic profoundly changed a healthcare system already in crisis—one that can’t survive without nurses. New nurses entering the workforce, and those who are not so new but are looking for a change, will have plenty of opportunities ahead. Education and self-advocacy are key in this job seekers market. There will also be opportunities to advocate for change in the profession as the healthcare industry struggles to move forward from the pandemic. Now is the time to raise our voices.
What is a progressive care nurse? As even a brand new nursing student knows, the array of nursing specialties and the different types of facilities, acuity levels, and acronyms can be overwhelming, and even a veteran critical care nurse has described progressive care as “one of the fastest-growing nursing specialties” that is nonetheless “one of the least understood.”
However, if you’re a new nurse or thinking about becoming a nurse, progressive care — which involves patients who are not in ICU but have complex needs — might be ideal for you. Progressive Care Certified Nurses (PCCNs) in particular are valued assets at almost any hospital and the job is highly rewarding on many levels.
Progressive care registered nurses work in a Progressive Care Unit (PCU) treating patients who are acutely ill. A PCU is one in which the patients need more monitoring than a medical-surgical unit but are not critical enough for the ICU. To be a progressive care nurse requires an RN, but many employers require certification in progressive care nursing (PCRN).
Patients on a PCU typically need assessments, medications, and education, and like most patients, progressive care patients typically also need continuous observation and monitoring. Many are cardiac patients on telemetry, but many other high-acuity conditions are treated in a progressive care unit.
Progressive care nursing is a challenging job, but the variety, pace, patient interaction, and in-demand skillset are attracting a growing number of nurses to the PCU.
Variety and fast-paced work environment
One of the biggest draws to progressive care nursing is the variety of patients and conditions you’ll treat. While nurses can specialize in some healthcare systems, a nurse who truly enjoys learning and working with various skills and conditions will never be bored working in a PCU. A typical day may require evaluating cardiac changes, providing life-saving interventions, dose titration, collaborating with other specialties, educating family members, and working with specialized equipment. It’s a fast-paced environment requiring highly skilled, proactive, and dedicated nurses.
Help patients and their loved ones in high-acuity situations
Another reason nurses specialize in progressive care nursing is the unique environment that combines the skillset of intensive care with the patient relationships of a medical-surgical unit. While patients may require continuous monitoring and complex, round-the-clock care, they are more likely to interact and form relationships with staff than ICU patients, who are often ventilated. Nurses who thrive on the intensity of high-acuity situations also enjoy the personal connections with their patients and families and find progressive care nursing caters to both.
Develop a varied and extensive skillset
The acuity of progressive care patients means nurses gain various technical skills working with them. Because of that varied and intensive skillset, progressive care nurses are in demand all over the country. In addition, their comprehensive skillset can benefit any unit in the hospital, making them highly popular both as unit and float nurses. And, for those who would like to take their skills on the road, progressive care travel nursing jobs are available in nearly every state.
Plenty of room to build a rewarding, challenging, and fulfilling career
If you’re considering a specialty that combines the best in nursing—variety, clinical skills, relationships, and flexibility—progressive care nursing may be perfect. This fairly new and growing specialty provides plenty of opportunities and room for growth, plus the skills to take you anywhere nurses can go. It’s no wonder nurses in this specialty find it one of the most rewarding jobs in nursing.
Evidence-based practice is at the heart of nursing—and most of that evidence is based on quantitative research. For nurses who are merely competent in math, though, interpreting the numbers can be a challenge. And if your own facility with statistics is middling, trying to mentor semi-numerate DNP students may leave you feeling helpless at times.
Help is on the way. On May 19, data analysis expert James Lani, Ph.D., MS is hosting a free webinar specifically aimed at faculty members who mentor graduate students for dissertation, thesis, or scholarly projects and are seeking to take their command of statistics to the next level to better guide those students.
Dr. Lani, the CEO of Intellectus Statistics, has been helping faculty and graduate students with their quantitative research for over two decades.
In his upcoming webinar session, Dr. Lani will use mock data to work through faculty and students’ research questions, prepare and graph data, select and conduct the correct statistical analyses, and demonstrate how to appropriately present results. He will also cover sample size and power analysis, data management, and visualization techniques, and at the end of the presentation, he can even provide faculty with project-specific help.
James Lani holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, an MS in Psychology with an emphasis in Experimental Methods from California State University Long Beach, a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, and minors in Mathematics and Human Services from California State University, Fullerton.
Who can attend: Faculty members in nursing, social work, counseling, public health, psychology, and health administration at any stage of their research or faculty who mentor students’ research as they pursue their degree (i.e., Dissertations, DNP Project for Nurses, Fieldwork and Supervision for Behavior Analysts, etc.)
At Maine schools soon, the nurse might be ON even if they are not “in.” Communities in the state have been struggling with staffing and workload pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide school nursing shortage, so the Maine Departments of Education and Health and Human Services are partnering with Avel eCare to deliver telehealth nursing services to increase access to nursing services in the state’s public school system.
To fund the initiative, the state is using a portion of its COVID-19 federal relief funding to pilot a program with Avel eCare. The eCare School Health program (which has been an Avel service line since 2015) delivers school nurse services virtually via a secure, two-way video mobile unit and is being offered at no cost to schools.
“Our school nurses have been on the frontlines throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, caring for students and providing critical support to keep students, staff and schools safe. They are absolute heroes,” said Education Commissioner Pender Makin. We also know they are exhausted and stretched so thin and that many schools have not been able to find the experienced school nurse staff they need. This partnership with Avel eCare, made possible with federal funds, offers additional nursing support to help fill shortages in our schools and expand the care we provide to our students.”
“We’re pleased to partner on this important effort to provide telehealth school nursing services to Maine schools as part of strengthening Maine’s school-based health programs,” said Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew. “This model bridges gaps in school nursing coverage, helps schools maintain safe and healthy environments, and reduces barriers to learning by providing effective preventive care. School nurses have been invaluable during the COVID-19 pandemic and are a trusted resource for their students, school staffs, and communities.”
According to a recent U.S. CDC report, school nurses help students improve their academic outcomes and can also make a significant impact on the broader community. For example, every dollar invested into school nursing program results in society saving $2.20 because of a reduction in emergency room visits and parents taking time off of work to care for their sick children.
“Even before the pandemic, the lives of school nurses were busy. Now, their jobs have expanded to include public health, and that work is too simply too big to do alone. We’re thankful to have the support of Avel eCare to help our nurse provide the daily health services that our children need,” said Tara McKechnie, Principal at Deer Isle-Stonington Elementary School in Maine, which was among the first schools to implement the virtual school nurse program.
Health care providers look at the state of the profession in the wake of Covid in a new “Clinician of the Future” report, conducted by Elsevier in partnership with Ipsos.
The responses reveal just how undervalued doctors and nurses feel, the urgent need for support such as more skills training — especially in the effective use of health data and technology. Respondents also express concerns about preserving the patient-doctor relationship in a changing digital world and the importance of recruiting and retaining new healthcare professionals into the field.
Their voices have been elevated in this first global, multiphase research report to not only understand where the healthcare system is following the COVID-19 pandemic, but where it needs to be in 10 years to ensure a future that both providers and patients deserve.
“Doctors and nurses play a vital role in the health and well-being of our society. Ensuring they are being heard will enable them to get the support they need to deliver better patient care in these difficult times,” said Jan Herzhoff, President of Elsevier Health. “We must start to shift the conversation away from discussing today’s healthcare problems to delivering solutions that will help improve patient outcomes. In our research, they have been clear about the areas they need support; we must act now to protect, equip and inspire the clinician of the future.”
There has never been a greater need for lifting the voices of healthcare professionals. The global study found 71% of doctors and 68% of nurses believe their jobs have changed considerably in the past 10 years, with many saying their jobs have gotten worse. One in three clinicians are considering leaving their current role by 2024, with as many as half of this group in some countries leaving healthcare entirely. This comes on top of the existing global healthcare workforce shortage, where clinicians continue to experience severe levels of fatigue and burnout since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.
“As a practicing doctor, I am acutely aware of the struggles today’s clinicians face in their efforts to care for patients,” said Charles Alessi, MD, Chief Clinical Officer, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). He emphasized that the report “provides an opportunity for the industry to listen — and act — on the pivotal guidance given by those on the frontlines. I commend this important initiative and look forward to next steps in supporting our doctors and nurses.”
What today’s clinicians want for the clinician of the future
The “Clinician of the Future” report includes a quantitative global survey, qualitative interviews and roundtable discussions with nearly 3,000 practicing doctors and nurses around the world. The data helps shed light on the challenges impacting the profession today and predictions on what healthcare will look like in the next decade, according to those providing critical patient care. To ensure a positive shift moving into the future—and to fill current gaps—clinicians highlight the following priority areas for greater support:
Enhancing health technology skills: Clinicians predict that over the next 10 years “technology literacy” will become their most valuable capability, ranking higher than “clinical knowledge.” In fact, 56% of clinicians predict they will base most of their clinical decisions using tools that utilize artificial intelligence. However, 69% report being overwhelmed with the current volume of data and 69% predict the widespread use of digital health technologies to become an even more challenging burden in the future. As a result, 83% believe training needs to be overhauled so they can keep pace with technological advancements.
A greater focus on the patient-provider relationship: Clinicians predict a blended approach to healthcare with 63% saying most consultations between clinicians and patients will be remote and 49% saying most healthcare will be provided in a patient’s home instead of in a healthcare setting. While clinicians may save time and see more patients thanks to telehealth, more than half of clinicians believe telehealth will negatively impact their ability to demonstrate empathy with patients they no longer see in person. As a result, clinicians are calling for guidance on when to use telehealth and how to transfer soft skills like empathy to the computer screen.
An expanded healthcare workforce: Clinicians are concerned about a global healthcare workforce shortage, with 74% predicting there will be a shortage of nurses and 68% predicting a shortage of doctors in 10 years’ time. This may be why a majority of global clinicians agree that a top priority will be to increase the number of healthcare workers in the coming decade. Clinicians require the support of larger, better equipped teams and expanded multidisciplinary healthcare teams, such as data analysts, data security experts and scientists, as well as clinicians themselves.
“While we know that many nurses are leaving the profession due to burnout, we also know that the pandemic has inspired others to enter the field because of a strong desire for purposeful work,” said Marion Broome, PhD RN, FAAN, Ruby F. Wilson Professor of Nursing at the School of Nursing, Duke University. “We must embrace this next wave of healthcare professionals and ensure we set them up for success. Our future as a society depends on it.”
Looking to the future
Findings from this research will be leveraged to provide strategic insights and solutions for physicians, nurses, educators, healthcare administrators and policymakers to address the gaps highlighted:
Provide an annual “Clinician of the Future” pulse survey to ensure these voices continue to be front-and-center.
Convene a Global Coalition of healthcare leaders and institutions to explore solutions at the medical school and clinical practice level.
Explore the issue of patient empathy in partnership with our trusted research journals and subject matter experts.
“Ultimately, we asked clinicians for what they need, and now it’s our responsibility as a healthcare industry to act,” said Thomas (Tate) Erlinger, MD, MPH, Vice President, Clinical Analytics, Elsevier Health. “Now is the time for bold thinking — to serve providers and patients today and tomorrow. We need to find ways to give clinicians the enhanced skills and resources they need to better support and care for patients in the future. And we need to fill in gaps today, to stop the drain on healthcare workers to ensure a strong system in the next decade and beyond.”
Research methodology
Elsevier and Ipsos collaborated to develop this study with Ipsos conducting the three phases of research cumulatively leading to the explorations in this report. The phases included (1) 60-minute online qualitative interviews with 23 key opinion leaders from around the world to uncover trends and expectations for the future state of clinician roles and to inform quantitative design (run from Aug. 11 until Sept. 10, 2021).
Participants were recruited from databases supplied by Elsevier and its flagship medical journal, The Lancet, in addition to clinicians recruited directly from Ipsos’ network (REACH – Thought Leadership); (2) a 15-minute online global survey completed by 2,8381 clinicians to measure attitudes and uncover the paradigm shifts expected to most impact how healthcare is delivered (run from Oct. 15 until Dec. 13, 2021). The 2,8381 respondents included a mixture of doctors and nurses from around the world. (For more on the methodology, see here or view the full report).
To read the “Clinician of the Future” report in its entirety, click here.
Help is on the way. On May 19, data analysis expert James Lani, Ph.D., MS is hosting a 
