September 5, 2024
A Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) analysis of healthcare workforce data released on September 3 shows hospitals and health systems are replenishing their staff in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, physician numbers remain concerning.
The data comes from a months-long survey of human resources at most Minnesota hospitals, health systems, clinics, and other facility settings. It shows job vacancies among nurses declined notably in 2023 for the first time since the pandemic. Separations and vacancies among nursing staff had grown rapidly as the state grappled with COVID-19 starting in 2020.
Overall, the number of working nurses also grew for the fifth straight year – although barely two in five registered nurses are choosing to work full time, and the proportion of nurses working full time (defined as over 32 hours a week) has hit an all-time low.
Data shows more than one in seven primary care physicians in Minnesota will reach retirement age in the next five years. For specialty physicians, the number is nearly one in five. A new national survey just found that more than 60% of physicians are considering retirement, finding a new job or changing careers, citing growing workloads.
MMA President Laurel Ries, MD, discussed the physician workforce with MPR’s Cathy Wurzer on September 3.
Greater Minnesota also continues to experience heightened workforce challenges. Physician employment grew in the Twin Cities, but fell in greater Minnesota. Also, providers outside the Twin Cities saw a 22% increase in nurse departures last year, compared to 2023.
Other findings in the data, which includes both MHA and government statistics include:
Average pay for registered nurses (RNs) in Minnesota hit nearly $95,000 in 2023, up by 6.7% from 2022, according to federal data. That was the biggest increase in more than a decade.
From 2022 to 2023, RN licensees grew 9.3% and have increased by 17.6% over the past five years.
Workforce diversity continues to improve, up by a full percentage point, to 13.4%, among nurses. The proportion is approaching 15% overall for hospital workforces.
Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) and Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) continue to upgrade within the health care field with an average of 3.8% of LPNs and 4.6% of CNAs getting their RN license annually over the last three years.
Workforce issues are of critical importance to healthcare in Minnesota. Declining birth rates, an aging population, rising retirements, and falling net migration have had historic impacts on the state’s healthcare workforce.
According to the Minnesota Business Partnership, labor participation fell by 7% between 2001 and 2022, a reduction of 325,000 workers in the state – almost the equivalent of the entire direct care healthcare workforce in 2023.
This year’s MHA Workforce Report has some bright spots and shows that strategies like flexible schedules and pay increases can help declines in the workforce. Healthjob.org reported in August that Minnesota nurses had the highest pay of any state in the U.S., adjusted for the cost of living. Both Minneapolis and St. Paul made it separately into the Healthjob.org top 10 ranking of U.S. cities.
May 29, 2025
As the Legislature works to complete its work on the state’s two-year budget, another deadline is looming. Legislators are required to pass a balanced budget before the end of the fiscal year—June 30, 2025. If they don’t meet that deadline, the state will begin a partial shutdown.
May 29, 2025
Registration has opened for the Empowering Physicians: A Night of Reflection and Engagement event, featuring best-selling author Elisabeth Rosenthal, MD.
May 29, 2025
The AMA is encouraging physicians to contact their U.S. senators and urge them to revise the reconciliation bill passed recently by the U.S. House of Representatives. While the bill includes language that would stabilize Medicare physician payments, it also threatens to cripple Medicaid and CHIP.