Healthcare providers feel more engaged, yet many still plan to leave

The Qualtrics 2025 Healthcare Trends Report reveals a striking paradox: while both doctors and nurses report higher engagement than in 2023, their intent to stay with their organizations has actually declined. Despite 72% of both groups feeling engaged, only 70% of doctors and 58% of nurses plan to stay for five years.

 

This disconnect highlights the complex reality facing healthcare workers today. They find personal fulfillment and accomplishment in their work—what drew them to healthcare in the first place—but struggle with organizational challenges that make them question their long-term commitment. The gap is particularly pronounced for nurses, whose retention intentions lag behind other industries.

 

Read the full ebook at https://www.qualtrics.com/ebooks-guides/healthcare-trends-report

 

How do you think healthcare organizations can better bridge the gap between employee engagement and retention intentions?

This is a really interesting study, ​@JamesScutt -- some things that stood out to me are:

From the patient side, the challenges that transgender, biracial, and emergency room patients encounter in simply being visible, accepted, and listened to are staggering and really need to be addressed in terms of overall social determinants of health.

From the clinician side, reluctance to adopt AI is something that healthcare organizations really need to be mindful of. Here’s a cautionary tale from The Daily: Trapped in a ChatGPT Spiral - The New York Times. 

I also think it would be interesting to see what physician offices are experiencing (at least larger practices) because I wonder if burnout rates would be different. Medical practices have also, relatively recently, finished a huge round of investment in electronic health records so may be a bit burned out by the idea of another huge investment in technology. 

The Qualtrics 2025 Healthcare Trends Report reveals a striking paradox: while both doctors and nurses report higher engagement than in 2023, their intent to stay with their organizations has actually declined. Despite 72% of both groups feeling engaged, only 70% of doctors and 58% of nurses plan to stay for five years.

 

This disconnect highlights the complex reality facing healthcare workers today. They find personal fulfillment and accomplishment in their work—what drew them to healthcare in the first place—but struggle with organizational challenges that make them question their long-term commitment. The gap is particularly pronounced for nurses, whose retention intentions lag behind other industries.

 

Read the full ebook at https://www.qualtrics.com/ebooks-guides/healthcare-trends-report

 

How do you think healthcare organizations can better bridge the gap between employee engagement and retention intentions?

This is a really interesting study, ​@JamesScutt -- some things that stood out to me are:

From the patient side, the challenges that transgender, biracial, and emergency room patients encounter in simply being visible, accepted, and listened to are staggering and really need to be addressed in terms of overall social determinants of health.

From the clinician side, reluctance to adopt AI is something that healthcare organizations really need to be mindful of. Here’s a cautionary tale from The Daily: Trapped in a ChatGPT Spiral - The New York Times. 

I also think it would be interesting to see what physician offices are experiencing (at least larger practices) because I wonder if burnout rates would be different. Medical practices have also, relatively recently, finished a huge round of investment in electronic health records so may be a bit burned out by the idea of another huge investment in technology. 

Thanks for sharing ​@AdamK12. From my perspective here in the UK, it’s interesting to hear about the challenges you’re facing. 

The issues around visibility and acceptance resonate strongly. I feel like those are universal social determinants of health that need to be addressed everywhere. It would be fascinating to see if those of us in different healthcare systems are experiencing similar levels of burnout and tech fatigue. Is it a global issue?

The Qualtrics 2025 Healthcare Trends Report reveals a striking paradox: while both doctors and nurses report higher engagement than in 2023, their intent to stay with their organizations has actually declined. Despite 72% of both groups feeling engaged, only 70% of doctors and 58% of nurses plan to stay for five years.

 

This disconnect highlights the complex reality facing healthcare workers today. They find personal fulfillment and accomplishment in their work—what drew them to healthcare in the first place—but struggle with organizational challenges that make them question their long-term commitment. The gap is particularly pronounced for nurses, whose retention intentions lag behind other industries.

 

Read the full ebook at https://www.qualtrics.com/ebooks-guides/healthcare-trends-report

 

How do you think healthcare organizations can better bridge the gap between employee engagement and retention intentions?

This is a really interesting study, ​@JamesScutt -- some things that stood out to me are:

From the patient side, the challenges that transgender, biracial, and emergency room patients encounter in simply being visible, accepted, and listened to are staggering and really need to be addressed in terms of overall social determinants of health.

From the clinician side, reluctance to adopt AI is something that healthcare organizations really need to be mindful of. Here’s a cautionary tale from The Daily: Trapped in a ChatGPT Spiral - The New York Times. 

I also think it would be interesting to see what physician offices are experiencing (at least larger practices) because I wonder if burnout rates would be different. Medical practices have also, relatively recently, finished a huge round of investment in electronic health records so may be a bit burned out by the idea of another huge investment in technology. 

Thanks for sharing ​@AdamK12. From my perspective here in the UK, it’s interesting to hear about the challenges you’re facing. 

The issues around visibility and acceptance resonate strongly. I feel like those are universal social determinants of health that need to be addressed everywhere. It would be fascinating to see if those of us in different healthcare systems are experiencing similar levels of burnout and tech fatigue. Is it a global issue?

Great point, ​@JamesScutt -- I think there’s a lot to be said if we’re seeing burnout across multiple healthcare economic models -- single payer with the NHS vs. market-based for the US. If that’s the case it would be worth examining the root causes of burnout and what changes -- beyond the economic model -- could take place to address it.

I am no expert, but I find this topic quite interesting. Coming from Central Europe, the situation is obviously not exactly comparable with the US, but I know enough healthcare practitioners here who share similar feelings, even if not backed by a study of this magnitude.

The article already hints at some of this in “The Path Forward”:
Feeling engaged is one thing, but it doesn’t mean feeling appreciated. In services like healthcare, it is really easy to get taken for granted (“If something happens, hospitals are there, and it is their duty to help me.).

With that, and a slow decline in common courtesy/politeness (my personal opinion only), you receive less visible appreciation from your patients. Especially if they already come prepared with their own AI diagnosis, then you can only confirm that you, as a medical worker, are replaceable, or have to argue with their outcomes. Not a good starting position.

And with all the duties (and pressure for innovation, bureaucratic loads,.) you also get less appreciation from your management. With all the things going on, getting personal and appreciating the work of individuals just gets way too complex.

I believe EX programs can certainly help with the employee-manager relationship, but only if they maintain a personal touch. As for the healthcare-patient interaction, I don’t see any solution other than bracing yourself and powering through, as is often the case in any customer-facing service.

Great analysis of the appreciation gap in healthcare!

The distinction between engagement and appreciation is crucial. Healthcare workers can love their core mission whilst feeling undervalued by both the organisation and patients they serve - hence i guess, the paradox in the data.

The observation about EX programmes needing a "personal touch" is spot-on. Generic recognition often falls flat in healthcare. The most successful organisations create structured ways to capture and share specific impact stories - both patient outcomes and peer recognition beyond standard metrics.
What's your take on measuring "felt appreciation" as a distinct metric from engagement to better target retention strategies?

I completely agree that measuring "felt appreciation" as a separate metric is especially important in healthcare, where so many workers see their roles as a calling or mission.

Thinking back to the early days of Covid, healthcare workers were under immense pressure, at least here. At that time, the public showed appreciation in many awesome ways - from gift baskets from many individuals, free meals from local restaurants, and even government bonus pay (even if it didn’t fully match the effort).
These gestures were huge morale boosters, as overworked doctors and nurses saw their efforts recognized and valued. Now, those visible signs of appreciation are almost non-existent again.

If I were responsible for this in a hospital, I’d consider a mix of approaches - such as offering monetary bonuses for the toughest (or special) tasks, running local PR campaigns to spotlight willing employees as role models and remind the community that we are always there for them; and providing small tokens of gratitude like recognition boards or fun competitions with prizes.
And I’d make sure these efforts are regularly reflected in employee feedback surveys or pulse checks, both to measure their impact and to remind staff that appreciation is an ongoing priority, not just a one-off gesture. I think this reminder is also very important, as in the end, the “felt appreciation” is exactly that - felt, and feelings can be very short-lived.