Survey: 55% of clinicians seeking new work amid healthcare labor shortages

A new poll of employed frontline clinicians found that more than half are actively looking for a new job in hopes of leaving their current role next year. However, many said they’d be willing to stay put if presented with educational and growth opportunities. 

The results are from a Harris Poll, commissioned by for-profit educators at Strategic Education, that measured responses from 1,504 frontline healthcare workers from 304 different employers. The results show that burnout remains rampant at hospitals and health systems, trends that have remained relatively steady since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. 

In a statement on the results, Strategic Education—the publicly traded entity that owns Capella University and Strayer University—said it commissioned the poll to better understand the “sentiment among patient-facing healthcare employees” and to identify ways to improve employee retention. 

The group cited U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) projections that show the country may see a shortage of 700,000 frontline clinicians by 2039, including physicians and nurses. 

In responding to Harris, over half (55%) said they plan to look for new work, accept interviews and possibly make a change in the next year. That isn’t surprising considering 84% expressed job dissatisfaction, telling pollsters they feel taken for granted. 

“This research paints an alarming picture of a workforce at a crossroads experiencing high burnout, accelerating turnover, and intensifying demands,” Jennifer Musil, Global President of Research at The Harris Poll, said in the statement. “Given the unprecedented need for care driven by the aging Baby Boomer population, these findings offer critical insights into how to better retain, support, and prepare the people at the heart of our nation’s healthcare system.” 

Digging deeper in the results, only one in five respondents said they felt their employer is “very invested” in their long-term career success, something cited as important for retention. In total, 63% of all those polled said they’d be more likely to stay in their role if offered tuition support as a benefit. 

This was particularly important for Gen-Z employees, 61% of whom cited education benefits as a reason to stay with their current employer. That number is cited as “far above” the total average taken from all employees. However, eight in 10 of the entire lot said they think employers should be investing in education.