93 nurses at Nordlandssykehuset will quit in 2022 – shop stewards are seriously concerned – news Nordland

The matter in summary Nordlandssykehuset has initiated measures to retain employees and recruit new ones, after 93 nurses and healthcare workers resigned from their positions in 2022. Two out of three nurses and healthcare workers quit at Nordlandssykehuset’s seven bedside positions before five years have passed in the job, according to a new mapping. Work pressure and lack of or poor training are among the main reasons why healthcare personnel leave. The number of applicants to nursing courses has fallen by 34 per cent from 2020 to 2023, and there were vacancies at 27 out of 38 nursing courses in Norway in 2023. The company representative at Nordlandssykehuset, Bente Ingeborg Melø Arntsen, is concerned about the large “turnover” among nurses. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s ​​journalists before publication. Helse-Norge is crying out for more hands. The situation is worst in Northern Norway. The lack of professionals is the reason why Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) has given Helse Nord an assignment to see if the hospitals in northern Norway can be run more efficiently. This has led to a harrowing process, where proposals for cuts in emergency and maternity services have upset the minds of many. But where will all the professionals go? And why do people quit their jobs? Nordlandssykehuset wanted to find out. Here, 93 nurses and healthcare workers resigned from their positions at seven bedside posts in 2022. Therefore, they sent out a questionnaire to all those who had quit. About half (45) responded. At Nordlandssykehuset in Bodø, 93 nurses left bedside positions in 2022. The hospital then launched an investigation to find out why they left. Photo: Bente H. Johansen New employees leave most often The results of the survey are discussed in a report published on Nordlandssykehuset’s website. Avisa Nordland discussed the findings of the survey first. It shows that the dropout is greatest among those who have worked the shortest time in the profession. Two-thirds (30 out of 45) of those who responded said they had resigned before five years had passed. Of these 30, only 10 still work at Nordlandssykehuset. 7 of these had quit their jobs before a year had passed. But why do healthcare workers leave in the first place? Great work pressure is often the reason Of the 45 responses in the survey, 13 people pointed to work pressure as the main reason why they resigned from their position. Among those who had resigned before a year had passed, lack of or poor training was given as one of the reasons. The report’s conclusion states: “The answers also show that factors such as management, pay conditions, personnel policy, opportunities for professional development and training are important when the employee chooses to resign from his position.” news has tried to get in touch with some of the nurses who have resigned, but has so far been unsuccessful. This surprised the hospital the most Senior adviser Anita Kvarsnes has led the work that led to the report. – There are important findings and important information to work on, she says. – How many are 93 nurses in Nordlandssykehuset? – There are quite a few, because these 93 come from seven beds – not from the entire Nordlandshospital, says Kvarsnes. Anita Kvarsnes is a senior adviser to the management at Nordlandssykehuset, and has led the work to map out why the nurses left. Photo: Nordlandssykehuset On some beds there are not that many people who quit, while on other beds the number is very high, she says. – What surprised us the most was that most people quit within three years. And the main part of these again, ended within a year. – Has Nordlandssykehuset been good enough towards the new employees? – In any case, we see that we have to introduce measures there, and now we are well underway. Because we have used that mapping here to find and work with measures that can contribute to employees not quitting, and hopefully also who can recruit others. So what can one do? Trade union representative: Incredibly concerned – I am incredibly concerned about the large “turnover” we have at Nordlandssykehuset among the nurses. This testifies to a heavy workload on the part of the employees. That’s what company representative at Nordlandssykehuset Bente Ingeborg Melø Arntsen says. – They cannot stand it. There are few people at work, great work pressure and many describe that they feel like crying when they get home from work. There is a heavy workload on new nurses. And when the problem starts somewhere, it spreads. – There are few left with long experience. This means that competence is slowly but surely disappearing. This means that young people face even greater challenges in keeping up-to-date professionally, and they are crying out for training. Arntsen believes this has given the profession a bad reputation. – I hear that no one recommends their friends or girlfriends to become nurses based on the training they feel is insufficient when they start in the specialist health service. Must dare to talk about salary At the same time, the number of applicants for nursing courses is plummeting. This year there were vacancies at 27 out of 38 nursing programs in Norway. Figures from Dagens Medisin show that applicants with nursing as their first choice have fallen by 34 per cent from 2020 to 2023. – If you look at the number of applicants for nursing education in the north, it is decreasing and we have empty study places. It hasn’t happened before. She fears that the situation could affect the patients if the development does not change. But for now, it mostly affects the employees, says Arntsen. The nurses’ association’s member survey Photo: Vilde Kvammen / news The figures from Nordlandssykehuset fit into a national trend. Recently, the Norwegian Nurses’ Association conducted a survey among its members. Here, 17.7 per cent state that they want to work elsewhere than in the health service. The main groups stated are: The workload is high – 29.2 per cent The salary is low – 26.1 per cent Stress due to shift work – 11.8 per cent Good working environment, competitive pay and good management are the three most important points for nurses to have good at work. Source: Norwegian Nurses’ Association – All the employees do the best they can in their everyday lives, so it is mostly themselves. We also see this in a high level of sickness absence, which can be related to the heavy workload. – What is the solution? – Firstly, the solution is to get enough people to work, look after the new employees with good training programmes, and it is clear that pay is also important. We are exposed to competition and we may have to dare to say that we will be a leader in terms of pay, also in Nordlandssykehuset. But what does Nordlandssykehuset do? Focus on three areas – We have identified several areas that we will work on, and the aim is to get a plan for “This is how we do it in Nordlandssykehuset”, says Kvarsnes. Training of new managers – they must be given time to lead Development program for new employees – starts as early as January Development program for nurses and health professionals – We must ensure that newcomers receive a good reception and training. We must then make arrangements so that nurses who wish to undertake relevant further education have the opportunity to do so, she says. But what about wages? – In the findings we have made, only one has mentioned salary as a reason for dismissal. Some say that pay is important, but that the most important thing is good working conditions and a working environment, says Kvarsnes. Seeing the same trend in Denmark Photo: Reuters It is not just in Norway that the public healthcare system is struggling to keep nurses. From 2021 to 2022, 2,400 nurses left the regional hospitals in Denmark. That’s what Danmarks Radio writes. Here, too, a survey was made of why they quit. The reasons given were: Too busy guards Too much guard workload The feeling of not being able to vouch for the work you do



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