Nurses and medical officers were the most commonly reported positions that experienced shortages. Image: Mark Van Scyoc/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe IGs of VA, DoD, Justice and HHS found that those departments experienced similar problems with hiring and retaining health care employees during the pandemic, adding that that experience carries lessons for the future.
The report said that across the four departments, “nurses and medical officers were the most commonly reported positions that experienced shortages.” Of 24 DoD military treatment facilities sampled, 21 reported nursing shortages during the pandemic, as did 127 of 139 VA facilities and 66 of 96 Bureau of Prisons facilities. In addition, 13 of the BoP facilities did not have a medical officer on staff as of early last year, while 121 of the VA facilities and 12 of the DoD facilities reported shortages of medical officers.
The primary reasons were a “limited labor pool, noncompetitive pay, COVID-19 requirements, and a challenging hiring process.” It gave as an example a job announcement from a private health care company for a vocational nurse offering more than $81,000, more than $33,000 above what the military treatment facility seven miles away was offering.
Results included “increased duties and work hours for the remaining personnel, decreased morale, and decreased access to medical cases that are necessary for providers to gain or maintain their medical skills . . . Officials also stated that these conditions led to burnout and increased levels of stress, anxiety, and depression,” it said.
The report is part of work by the interagency Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, which said it “encourages policymakers to further explore the impacts of personnel shortages within the federal health care programs for possible strategies to mitigate staffing shortages and help ensure high quality, safe, and timely health care is provided to the individuals the programs serve.”
“Additional action is necessary to staff normal operations and to strategically plan for future surges in personnel needed to respond to pandemics and other health care emergencies,” it said.
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