Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition that healthcare professionals help patients deal with by providing trauma-informed care, support, and education. However, it’s also a mental health condition that many healthcare workers may develop due to the challenging nature of their profession — specifically, the repeated exposure to traumatic and stressful experiences at work. The global pandemic has exacerbated PTSD in healthcare workers, with PTSD rates in healthcare professionals reportedly reaching 26%, exceeding rates for other frontline workers such as firefighters (7%) and police officers (5%).

Healthcare organizations play an integral role in reducing PTSD risk to help healthcare professionals stay healthy, happy, and satisfied at work and ensure that patient care remains at optimal levels.

In this article, we tackle why PTSD causes nurses to quit the profession and how PTSD awareness programs affect nurse retention rates.

Why PTSD Is a Retention Problem, Not Just a Mental Health Problem

At work, nurses are exposed to different traumatic events. Due to heavy workloads, nurses can unwittingly commit healthcare errors, which can cause adverse effects on patients’ health and safety. Making medical errors can traumatize nurses, making them feel shame and guilt, and be afraid of losing their jobs and licenses.

Nurses can also develop trauma from being exposed to bullying and disrespect from colleagues, experiencing workplace violence, or providing care for people in life-or-death situations. A 2021 study involving 600 nurses conducted during the height of Covid-19 pandemic found that 65.7% of the nurse participants had PTSD symptoms, which was attributed to the heavy workload, uncertainty, and lack of social support during that time.

Because people with PTSD tend to avoid environments that trigger their anxiety and trauma, nurses suffering from work-related PTSD are more prone to absenteeism. Aside from finding it difficult to return to where they experience trauma, which is the workplace, nurses with PTSD are also more prone to experiencing sleep disruptions, mood swings, as well as problems with focus and concentration, which can negatively impact productivity and efficiency at work. PTSD can also lead to job loss. In fact, one study found that people living with severe PTSD are more likely not to be employed.

What the Evidence Says: PTSD Awareness Programs and Nurse Retention

PTSD awareness programs, which typically include PTSD symptoms education, peer support, counseling, and employee assistance programs (EAP), is a vital response to address work-related trauma among nurses.

When healthcare organizations prioritize combating PTSD among healthcare professionals, they can empower nurses to learn about and recognize trauma symptoms early. Creating and fostering a culture of safety, support, and empowerment can remove the stigma and enable nurses to communicate how trauma is affecting their lives openly.

There is a positive correlation between PTSD programs and nurse retention, as nurses are more likely to keep working for healthcare organizations where they are emotionally supported. When nurses feel physically and emotionally safe at work, stress, burnout rates, and absenteeism are significantly reduced, which improves nurse retention rates. Nurses also become more engaged and focused at work, benefiting patients and the level of care they receive.

Healthcare organizations can benefit from implementing programs to help build resilience and foster support among nurses dealing with PTSD:

• Resilience in Stressful Events (RISE): Created by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, this peer support program aims to bolster employee health related to traumatic and stressful events. Healthcare professionals are given proper training and are on standby to help support their peers dealing with emotional and physical stress due to work-related trauma.
• MINDBODYSTRONG: This program teaches nurses helpful active coping and stress-reducing strategies, as well as health coaching, to help relieve anxiety, reduce depressive symptoms, and reduce stress. The MINDBODYSTRONG program encourages activities that improve one’s mental and physical health, such as promoting mindfulness, exercising, positive self-talk, and eating healthier.

Healthcare organizations can also protect the health and safety of their employees by improving communication around policy changes and decisions, offering regular check-ins after difficult shifts, limiting overtime, and ensuring that units are not understaffed. It is the responsibility of healthcare organizations and leaders to keep nurses healthy, safe, and supported in the workplace.