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Verbal Harassment of Healthcare Workers Has Doubled in the Last Five Years
13% of workers reported harassment in 2022, compared to just 6% in 2018.
Josiah Simons
October 26, 2023
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The Story: Healthcare workers today are experiencing harassment at a record rate.
A recent CDC report reveals that since the pandemic, healthcare workers have seen a significant rise in verbal abuse and threats. 13% of workers reported harassment in 2022, compared to just 6% in 2018.
In an industry already burdened with worker shortages, the treatment of health employees is likely to prompt even more of them to walk away from the medical field. And it’s already happening.
Earlier this month, over 75,000 Kaiser Permanente employees walked out in the largest healthcare workers strike in history. The multi-day walk out eventually resulted in employees receiving a 21% raise over the next four years.
And here in Austin, TX in late June, nearly 1,000 nurses went on strike against Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin demanding safer staffing conditions.
The CDC has a few recommendations for improving staffing conditions. Its report emphasizes more support from healthcare employers. This includes the improvement of security in clinics and hospitals and the empowerment of employees to participate in larger operational decision-making.
The Expert Take: Dr. Tom Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Heidi Health, an AI platform for overworked doctors, is not necessarily discouraged by worker shortages in healthcare:
“Let’s just take that we’re going to have a shortage of clinicians. Really what it means is that you’re going to have to spread the work of delivering great healthcare across lots of different people… I actually think it will increase the opportunity for innovation that increases the productivity and impact that individual clinicians can have.”
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