Navigating the healthcare staffing landscape these days feels like solving a complex puzzle, especially with RN turnover grabbing the spotlight recently. This issue of nurse retention is more than just an operational headache; it hits organizations right in the budget and, frankly, in the heart of teams’ morale. According to the 2024 NSI National HealthCare Retention & RN Staffing Report, 34% of RNs left the organization within the first year of hire, and the average cost of nurse turnover negatively impacts organizations $3.9 million to $5.8 million per year. Why are so many nurses leavin ..read more

The longstanding issue of silos in healthcare has been a problem for decades. Physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and other professionals operate within their own spaces, despite professing to be part of a unified team. The persistent practice of separating team members based on their roles prevents genuine collaboration, thereby leading to miscommunication, fractured care, and overall dysfunction.  It’s high time we actually start using some strategies to breaking silos in healthcare for good. A Chief Medical Director and the Nursing Director reached out to me for help to improv ..read more

You may be familiar with Gary Chapman’s book, “The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People.“ Gary introduces the idea that individuals have distinct ways of expressing and receiving love, with each person having a primary love language. When considering these principles in the context of fostering a positive work culture and acknowledging contributions, it becomes evident that we each have a preferred manner of recognition for our efforts. This insight could be applied to the work culture, especially in February, often associated with expres ..read more

In the complex world of healthcare leadership today, there’s no shortage of challenges. From spearheading cultural shifts and securing committed leadership to grappling with ongoing workforce shortages and managing disruptive behaviors, it’s a demanding landscape. The stress associated with their roles further complicates matters. It’s clear that addressing these challenges goes beyond a mere workshop or a strategic plan checkbox that’s forgotten once created. Effectively navigating these issues to ensure a healthy workforce culture demands a comprehensive approach, involving well-crafted orga ..read more

It’s almost time to scratch another year off our list. Hopefully, most of you are ending this year better than you did last year and no doubt, better than the two years before.  As we wrap up this year, we’d like to share our top articles and podcasts; resources, and a few other goodies with you. Healthy Workforce’s Top Articles in 2023 I’ve been blogging and writing articles since I started this company in 2011. While writing is NOT my favorite thing to do (I’m a better speaker than a writer), I still love writing my blog articles because as I write them, I pretend that I’m sitting in my ..read more

CULTURE. If you are anyone working in healthcare, you’ve been hearing that word a lot. It seems to be the current buzz word. Every other day there’s a new study, report, article – you name it – revealing the “shocking effects” of toxic cultures on human beings and how leaders, executives, organizations, etc., need to focus on creating healthy work cultures. But what does that even mean? What is a great culture? I’ll tell you what culture is NOT. Culture is not about the fluff. It’s not about the soft and gooey. Culture IS about how employees behave and interact with each other based on the org ..read more

Bullying, incivility, disrespectful communication, rudeness, and cruelty are on the rise in healthcare.  It’s sad but true. To make matters worse, because we’re currently in a major staffing crisis, leaders are even more reluctant to confront bad behavior because the mindset is, well, a bad nurse is better than no nurse. That’s faulty thinking on so many levels. And, often, leaders aren’t sure who they should confront, how to confront them, and when is the best time. So, they do what’s more comfortable – they do nothing. It’s time we get crystal clear on confronting bullying, incivility ..read more

For the past three years we have been working exclusively with healthcare leaders to avoid burnout, advance in the face of adversity, and live thriving personal and professional lives. While burnout has been an issue in healthcare for decades, the pandemic has escalated burnout both in practice and academic settings. Overcoming leadership burnout is a priority in today’s complex healthcare world. After all, leaders have important work to do and need to be their best selves at work AND at home. Hello, we are guest blogging for our friend and colleague, Dr Renee Thompson. We are Dr Tracy Christo ..read more

How does a star basketball player become a star? How does a world-renowned neurosurgeon navigate the complexities of the human brain with a scalpel? How do some leaders become legends, leading their teams successfully through crisis and insurmountable challenges?  They all have two common traits. First, they didn’t start that way. I haven’t met a well-respected leader yet who embodied the principles of authentic leadership on day one. Second, they recognize that to become great, they need knowledge, skills, and practice. One way to become an effective leader is to embrace continuous learn ..read more

Microaggressions in healthcare cultivate toxicity and hate. This not only negatively impacts the health and well-being of the human spirit but, just as importantly, erodes the patient experience—including patient safety. To many, it is ironic how, in a professional environment like healthcare, microaggressions can remain unchallenged. We view this as “the ostrich syndrome” in which we sometimes bury our heads in the sand as though the problem does not exist. Leaders are responsible for promoting a healthy work environment and ensuring that every team member feels physically and emotionally saf ..read more