We all know the typical reasons employees leave their jobs: limited opportunities for advancement, poor leadership from senior management, and unsatisfactory compensation/benefits. We decided to dig a little deeper to learn why medical professionals, specifically, decide to leave their jobs. Here’s what we found out:
5 Reasons Medical Professionals Leave Their Jobs
1. Burnout
Burnout is one of the primary reasons healthcare employees leave their jobs. Some of the main contributing factors to their burnout could be seeing too many patients at once, or working too many weekends or hours in general. Healthcare professionals need a healthy work-life balance to provide safe, compassionate patient care and maintain a healthy life outside of work.
What an employer can do:
Be realistic about an employee’s expectations. In Diane Shannon’s article “Why I Left Medicine: A Burnt Out Doctor’s Decision to Quit”, she stated, “I don’t think we can fix the U.S. health care system by expecting superhuman performance from humans under super-sized stress.” If your employee is burning out because you have placed an impractical workload on them, maybe you should reevaluate your expectations.
Don’t believe the lie that you are saving money by hiring less nurses. Replacing burnt-out nurses and risking poor patient care can actually cost more than hiring fewer nurses.
Other actions employers can take include conducting employee surveys, providing child care facilities, and organizing workshops on work-life balance.
2. Workplace Drama
Disagreements can be inevitable when working in a demanding environment with coworkers of diverse personalities. However, if these disagreements escalate, they could result in poor patient care or employment turnover. It is important for management to counteract this progression of conflict.
What an employer can do:
Develop a system of healthy team communication. If your team has an agreed-upon way to resolve conflict, you can stop the harmful consequences of workplace drama in its tracks. Some practical ways to develop a conflict-resolution system are to assume the best of another employee or to intentionally show extra patience towards new co-workers who may have less experience or training than you do.
Praise workers for their heroic role in patients’ lives. Regardless of their feelings towards the specific position they work in, every healthcare professional can bring an invaluable gift to each of their patients and families: extending and improving the quality of life. Encourage workers to adopt a willing, compassionate attitude that reflects their mission, rather than one that shows begrudging unwillingness to go the extra mile. This kind of humility will undoubtedly reduce unnecessary conflicts among employees.
3 – Feeling Undervalued by a Superior
If an employee feels unappreciated by their superior, they will often develop work-related apathy and even look for a different employer who will make them feel valued. It is imperative that supervisors intentionally encourage and esteem their employees if they want to keep them long-term. It costs nothing to praise workers, but it can be costly to withhold praise.
What an employer can do:
Give timely, affirmative responses to excellent work. When you notice an employee taking initiative to give superior care to a patient, or helpful instruction to a new co-worker, tell them you notice and appreciate their effort. This can be done through an audible affirmation or through a personalized note or email.
Give rewards based on performance, not because it’s an employee’s turn. Routine rewards like “Employee of the Month” are usually not very encouraging or motivating, because workers may feel their recognition is simply a matter of waiting for their turn. Rewards should be given for genuine responses to outstanding work.
Encourage patients and their families to write positive reviews or thank-you notes to their medical practitioner. Health centers have little control over how challenging a patient acts towards their healthcare practitioners. However, groups can promote kind reviews and thank-you notes for outstanding workers. Some health centers host employee “Gold Star Awards” in which patients are encouraged to nominate employees who have demonstrated outstanding patient care. It is encouraging for workers to see the reasons they were nominated, even if they do not win.
4 – Original employment agreement terms not honored by the employer
Many employers can be misleading in their descriptions of positions and even in employee agreements regarding pay, PTO, benefits, or hours, to entice candidates. However, if groups do not honor their agreement with the worker, many employees will switch to an employer who they believe will keep their promises.
What an employer can do:
Keep promises. This is often easier said than done, but it is crucial in order to keep happy, long-term employees.
5 – Boredom
Health professionals need to feel challenged at work because constant monotony can lead to lower motivation, enjoyment, and productivity. A few causes of boredom for health workers include not being able to use the skills they were trained in or not seeing the types of patients they want to see.
What an employer can do:
Meet with workers periodically to ensure they remain engaged and excited about their work. If they tell you that their tasks have become very repetitious and monotonous, try to assign a variety of new tasks to help them feel more challenged.
Understand their expectations and desires. A person feels a sense of accomplishment and pride when they get to do something in which they are uniquely gifted. Talk with them about any skills and abilities that they would like to use more at work.
Better Understanding for Stronger Employee Retention
Understanding why employees leave their healthcare jobs is the first step in increasing retention rates. Employee turnover rarely comes down to a single issue. In healthcare, especially, professionals are more likely to leave when burnout builds, communication breaks down, recognition is missing, expectations are unclear, or the role no longer feels meaningful.
Organizations that want to improve retention should focus on the daily employee experience, not just compensation. Clear communication, realistic workloads, supportive leadership, work-life balance, and growth opportunities all help create the kind of workplace people want to stay in.
When employers listen early and act consistently, they are far more likely to keep strong clinicians engaged for the long term.
Need help attracting and retaining top healthcare providers?
Visit our Hiring Managers page to learn more, or connect with NOW Healthcare Recruiting to find clinicians who are the right fit for your team and culture.