New Report Raises Alarms on State’s Healthcare Workforce

April 14, 2022

A new Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) report confirms that workforce shortages are taking a toll on the state’s healthcare professionals.  

The survey data indicates projected workforce losses in Minnesota’s small towns and rural areas. Nearly one in five rural healthcare providers say they plan to leave their profession within the next five years. The largest projected losses are among physicians. One out of every three rural physicians report planning to leave their profession within the next five years. 

The report, Minnesota’s Health Care Workforce: Pandemic-Provoked Workforce Exits, Burnout, and Shortages (PDF), is the first of its kind covering the effects of the pandemic on most of the licensed healthcare workforce in Minnesota. It is based on the MDH healthcare workforce survey, which is administered at the time of license renewal for “front-line” providers including physician assistants, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, nurses, physicians, mental health providers and others. 

“We are going to need several approaches and solutions aimed at both recruiting the future workforce and retaining the current one,” said Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm. “We in government and healthcare must do more to prioritize retention, work with educational institutions to expand clinical training opportunities, and focus more broadly on the care team, including nurses, physicians, physician assistants, respiratory therapists and others.” 

Providers are seeing workforce shortages across Minnesota. The report found that vacancies have increased in nearly all health professions since their pre-pandemic levels. The largest increases are in mental health and substance abuse counseling occupations, where one in four jobs is currently vacant and open for hire. 

In nearly every profession, more providers than in prior years reported that they planned to leave their profession within the next five years, and a much higher share of these exits is due to burnout. While burnout among nurses has been widely recognized, other providers are also struggling. Burnout or job dissatisfaction accounted for 26% of all physician assistant workforce exits, and 22% of respiratory therapy exits. 

The report identifies potential solutions including retaining the incumbent workforce through programs such as loan forgiveness for healthcare providers, career exploration initiatives for new and dislocated workers, and programs aimed at increasing the diversity of the workforce. Employers can also focus on overcoming the hiring challenge by making healthcare jobs safe, flexible, well-paid and family-friendly. 

Current legislative proposals aim at revitalizing the state's healthcare workforce. They include launching rural clinical training tracks to create a pipeline of primary care physicians and psychiatrists trained in greater Minnesota; funding to expand rural rotations and clinical training opportunities for pre-licensure nurse practitioners, physician assistants, behavioral health students and dental graduates; and financial supports to mental health providers to pay for the supervised training they are required to complete before becoming licensed to practice. These efforts are designed to develop a continuous pipeline of healthcare professionals in high-need fields to ensure the health and economic vitality of rural areas. 

Gov. Tim Walz has proposed more than $250 million to address the workforce shortage, including an incentive program that would provide retention and bonus payments for workers who join and stay in the caring professions, including those who provide care for people with disabilities, older adults, people with behavioral health needs and people experiencing homelessness. Critical workforce shortages in these sectors have deepened during the pandemic and pose a threat to the health, independence and stability of Minnesotans who rely on it.