If you pay attention to the daily news, you’ve probably heard a lot of recent talk about employees across the country – including healthcare workers – resigning en masse due to not wanting to return to the ‘old normal’ style of work. This includes personal support workers (PSW), registered practical nurses (RPN), licensed practical nurses (LPN), and even some registered nurses (RN). There’s a multitude of reasons for this, but the main ones are due to feeling overworked, and ongoing mental health issues that prevent these workers from performing their job to the best of their ability.
At RPI Consulting Group, we’ve been keeping a close eye on the state of the healthcare industry throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and we certainly are seeing more workers than normal leaving the profession, particularly RPNs/LPNs, and RNs to a lesser extent. Read on to find out why, and be sure to check our blog every week for the hottest jobs available and up-to-the-minute healthcare news.
The great resignation
On the whole, nurse practitioners (NP) are not resigning from their work. This is because their rate-of-pay is considerably greater than RPNs/LPNs and RNs, but also because a large percentage of their work is now able to be completed virtually. RNs, on the other hand, are mostly continuing to work on the frontlines, and this is because their options are much more limited. While you need a university degree to become an RN, you need a Master’s degree to be an NP, meaning that an RN can’t just decide to become an NP overnight. The work of an RN is mostly face-to-face, and short of leaving the profession altogether, there isn’t much they can do to change their duties or conduct more work virtually. For these reasons, we’re certainly seeing more RNs resign than in past years.
RPNs/LPNs are in the same boat, and we’re definitely been seeing a large percentage of these workers resign in recent months. The same questions arise though – these workers have a very specific skillset that is suited for healthcare work, and if they choose to leave the profession completely, they may struggle with not only finding another job, but also with adapting to whatever new job they happen to find.
The grass isn’t always greener
At RPI, we’ve spoken to many of our candidates who are trying to decide whether they want to stick with the healthcare profession, and our message is always the same: be cautious. While it may seem like the grass could be greener in another line of work, this isn’t always the case, and you don’t want to throw away a steady career in healthcare for a job that may not be more fulfilling, or for one that doesn’t pay as well.
If you’re currently looking to change jobs for a slightly better environment and/or more money, and you truly believe that it’s the right choice for you, it’s completely understandable. But we do caution anyone to not make the decision lightly, as there’s no guarantee that you won’t continue to feel overworked, or that you’ll earn more money, if you decide to leave the healthcare profession for something different.
In closing
If you’re currently unsure about your future as an RPN/LPN, RN, or PSW, and you want to speak to someone about your options, one of RPI’s friendly Account Managers will be very happy to chat with you. Get in touch with our team today, and we’ll gladly take some time to listen to your concerns and offer our advice.
Phone: 416-850-9809; Toll-Free: 1-866-505-3383
Email: info@rpigroup.ca
