State taking temperature of health-care workforce

Licensed healthcare providers from various specialties will be receiving questionnaires from health officials as the state tries to better understand workforce challenges and career advancement aspirations.

“We are in the process of rolling out surveys to all of the licensed health professionals that we license at the Department of Public Health, which there are now 22 boards,” Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein said Wednesday. “And as people go in for re-licensure, asking them questions about their intentions for the future. Are they going to stay in the field? Are they interested in growth opportunities? What are the reasons why they might be thinking about leaving the field?”

Goldstein said the DPH is working with the Center for Health Information and Analysis on the surveys, which come as some workers and providers struggle with burnout, patient caseloads, administrative burdens and wage disputes. DPH’s boards of registration include nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, chiropractors, dietitians and nutritionists, genetic counselors, physician assistants, psychologists, social workers and more.

“Our hope is that we can use the data to then inform policy action that would make it more hospitable for people to stay in their jobs, stay in Massachusetts, or if they choose, to advance in their career and go on to the next level,” Goldstein told the Public Health Council. “The first rollout happened largely in the nursing professions, trying to help us understand the LPN to RN to NP pathway.”

A survey the Massachusetts Nurses Association released last month found about 16% of nurses plan to leave the field within two years, and 18% intend to exit within three to five years. Nurses cited challenges like understaffing and not having enough time to provide adequate care to patients, as well as workplace violence concerns.

Goldstein said the Board of Registration in Nursing is working to implement the Nurse Licensure Compact embedded in the 2024 economic development law.

“A nurse who is licensed in say Rhode Island or Connecticut could have reciprocity and be licensed here in Massachusetts,” said Goldstein, who added the “hope” is the compact will improve and grow the workforce here.