How Unique Care in the Home Reduces Nursing Burnout
Nursing shortages have been a national topic of discussion for many years and continue to dominate healthcare circles. A high-burnout profession driven to new extremes during the COVID-19 pandemic, the field of nursing lost an estimated 100,000 nurses post-pandemic, according to a survey by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing—with 41% of those nurses ages 36 and under.
Nurses who have remained in the profession are often on the lookout for a change that will combat the effects of burnout and give them the opportunity to do what they love— make a difference in the lives of their patients. One emerging option is advanced medical care in the home: going beyond traditional home health, this approach to care brings comprehensive, complex treatment directly to patients outside of the hospital or post-acute setting.
“Being able to sit down and have a conversation with a patient and get to know them and really make a difference is nice. Also, the thing that stood out the most to me when I was considering the job, is the flexibility for work-life balance that’s built in.”
Sonia Rivas, RN, RECOVERY CARE COORDINATOR
Reasons for nursing burnout
According to an analysis in JAMA Network Open, burnout is responsible for at least 31.5% of nurses leaving their roles, especially if they work in a hospital setting. Key factors in nursing burnout included working 40 hours per week or more and stressful work environments. 1
Thankfully, the option to join a new and innovative model of care exists with Contessa, one that is bringing hospital-level care to patients’ homes. Nurses who join this innovative program can be part of making history in medicine. As this model of care grows nationwide, nurses have a unique opportunity to be a part of the future of medicine, while leveraging advanced nursing skills.
While delivering nursing care at home is not a new thing, Contessa’s Recovery Care at Home program is not “just home health.” So why would a nurse choose this role over any other job opportunity?
Key perks of a hospital at home nursing role
As an Acute Care Registered Nurse (ACRN) or Recovery Care Coordinator (RCC), you have a chance to make an impact on patients in a profound way. Nurses like Sonia Rivas, who joined Contessa in 2022, are excited to find a role that is unlike anything they’ve experienced before.
“Being able to sit down and have a conversation with a patient and get to know them and really make a difference is nice,” she says. “Also, the thing that stood out the most to me when I was considering the job, is the flexibility for work-life balance that’s built in.” She also explains that it’s rewarding to use well-honed acute care assessment skills by being the eyes and ears on the ground for physicians. “There’s critical thinking involved,” she notes.
Some key features of these nursing roles:
- Collaborative, close-knit care teams
- A great opportunity to use higher-level acute nursing skills
- A chance to improve patient outcomes
- Smaller patient ratios (1:1) with ample time for patient education and connection
- Flexible schedules and autonomy
Not only do nurses enjoy this kind of patient care, but patient satisfaction is also high in these programs. As one Recovery Care at Home participant shared, “I can’t tell you how much we appreciated the program. Everybody who had anything to do with it was awesome.”
Preventing nursing burnout with an established model of care
Together with our parent company, Amedisys, we have the resources and scale to support premium programs in the regions we serve. We’ve been a leader in the field of high-acuity care at home since 2015, and our established approach to care delivery and systematic approach to building care teams in all 11 of our markets (and counting!) means you can lean into nursing care at home with expert guidance and support.
“We keep open lines of communication, collaborate, teach and learn from one another,” says Dr. Kamia Thakur, Medical Director with the Penn State Health Home Recovery Care program. “It was challenging to maintain a similar team dynamic in the hospital setting. When a team works together cohesively, why wouldn’t patients have good outcomes?”
If you’re interested in available nursing roles within our models of care, see our job listings here.