Turnover and burnout continue to catastrophically impact the healthcare industry as a whole. 1.7 million workers have left their healthcare jobs in the last year, according to Forbes. Every profession comes with challenges, but when there are decreased numbers filling the shoes of our nurses each day, we ALL run the risk of losing.

So, how can we create a better working environment to attract more nurses to the field and keep the quality nurses we already have? By identifying some of the reasons nurses are leaving the profession, we can begin to pave the way for a potential solution. Here are some of the common reasons for turnover:

The justifications nurses have for leaving their positions may vary depending on the work setting. Those working in an emergency room may have different reasons for leaving than someone working in a clinic setting with daytime hours. Edgewood Healthcare and Aspire Clinical Intelligence have partnered to focus on improving working conditions for nurses in senior living.

Technology and triage

Aspire Clinical Intelligence has created a computer dashboard to track health trends, and they have tapped into providing an on-call triage service. Currently, both services are being utilized by Edgewood Healthcare in their senior living communities.

For the nurses in senior living, using an on-call triage service has helped reduce the after-hour interruptions in their free time. When a nurse leaves their shift for the day or the week, instead of receiving continuous text messages and phone calls, communities utilize an on-call service managed by a registered nurse.

The responding nurses are equipped with access to each resident’s health and medical information, via Aspire’s dashboard which contains up-to-date health information. Based on the information, the responding RN can make recommendations to staff on how to proceed. Following each call, the responding RN enters charting to document the event for the full-time RN to review once their shift begins.

This entire process not only respects the full-time nurses’ unscheduled personal work time, but also reduces the charting they are required to do when they return.

Future of nursing with advances in technology

The U.S. Department of Labor Statistics reports a projected need for about 203,000 registered nurses by 2031. They report that around 6% of registered nurses are employed in skilled nursing and residential care settings. To ensure the likelihood that nurses will continue to be attracted to the field, a work-life balance must be achieved.

Aspire Clinical Intelligence continues to think forwardly and innovatively on behalf of nurses and the healthcare system in general. Through their software and on-call support, they are working to manage, triage, and potentially prevent common health problems for seniors.

Common health and safety issues in senior living are falls, weight loss, polypharmacy, suspected infections, and complications from diabetes. Currently, Aspire’s dashboard tracks these issues, as well as hospitalizations and new admission reports. The software improves efficiency by flagging those at risk. This allows nurses and other medical professionals to identify senior needs before they potentially develop into larger, more complicated health problems.

The efficiency created by the software and Aspire’s on-call service will assist nurses working full-time in senior living to spend more time on patient care when they are in the building and to achieve a better balance outside of working hours. The happier and healthier the senior, the more independent they will be. Helping seniors first can, in turn, help the scope of services medical staff must provide. With a potential reduction in illnesses and injuries, we could see an overall decrease in the need for nurse contacts at all hours of the day.

If you’re interested in learning more about Aspire Clinical Intelligence or Edgewood Healthcare, please visit aspireclinicalintelligence.com or edgewoodhealthcare.com.