Literature Review

2025 ushers new era in physician unions Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 1/17/25 While unionization among healthcare workers and professionals is a familiar phenomenon, resident physicians and fellows joining unions has only grown in recent years. Indeed, since the start of 2025 alone, at least five groups of resident physicians and fellows have opted to form unions at their health systems. "Physician unionization has massively increased since 2020, especially among interns and residents," Rebecca Givan, PhD, associate professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers in New Brunswick, N.J., told Becker's. ... Dr. Givan pointed to an increasing number of staff physicians unionizing as well. In 1998, the American Medical Association estimated that between 14,000 and 20,000 physicians belonged to unions. That number grew to 46,689 in 2014, and reached 67,673 in 2019. 

Climb aboard that jungle gym: Career path need not be linear to be successful The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, IN; by Theresa Laxton; 1/10/25 In today’s ever-evolving professional landscape, more women are realizing that their careers don’t have to follow a linear path. Instead, they’re embracing the concept of a career jungle gym, a metaphor introduced by Sheryl Sandberg in her book “Lean In.” Unlike a ladder with one direct route, a jungle gym allows for lateral moves, creative pivots and even deliberate pauses, all of which can lead to success. For women, and nurses in particular, this mindset is transformative. ...

Sierra Hills strike ends, negotiations ongoing with parent company Wyoming Tribune Eagle; by Noah Zahn; 1/9/25 Employees of Sierra Hills Assisted Living concluded their strike on Jan. 2, and on Tuesday, the union met with Edgewood Healthcare, which owns Sierra Hills, for another contract bargaining session. ... Throughout the strike, employees said they were fighting for a better contract primarily for the health and safety of the residents and the employees, claiming the existing working conditions are unsafe. ... Wilkinson said the primary concern of the employees is safety issues that result from employees performing out-of-scope duties. ... For Sierra Hills staff, [being required to provide out of scope care] began when Edgewood introduced hospice care at Sierra Hills a few years ago, shortly after the pandemic. There are hospice nurses who are at the facility a couple of hours per week to care for the residents, but the rest of the time, the burden of care often falls to the CNAs and RNs on the clock. In situations where timely care is needed, employees have said it can be difficult to get the help of a hospice nurse in time.

Middle manager burnout, layoffs, and the search for solutions HR Query; 1/6/25Middle managers are facing unprecedented pressure. As organizations streamline communication, this critical layer is often caught in the crossfire, with layoffs impacting one-third of this group in 2023.A recent study revealed that 75% of middle managers report experiencing burnout, and 40% are actively seeking new opportunities. This alarming trend poses a significant risk to organizations, as middle managers play a vital role in driving revenue, fostering employee growth, and ensuring operational success. ... Dana Rogers, VP of People at O.C. Tanner, shares valuable insights on the critical role of middle managers in organizational success, strategies for HR teams to rebuild trust and support with middle managers, and leveraging employee appreciation tactics to reduce burnout and boost confidence. Her first tip? HR leaders should be loud with appreciation.

Nearly 5,000 Providence Oregon workers issue strike notice Becker's Hospital Review; by Kristin Kuchno; 12/30/24 Nearly 5,000 front-line healthcare workers from Providence Oregon hospitals plan to begin an open-ended strike Jan. 10. The Oregon Nurses Association issued a 10-day notice following intensive bargaining, according to a Dec. 30 news release from the union. The striking workers include physicians, nurses and other healthcare staff from all eight Providence Oregon hospitals and six clinics. The union is urging Providence to invest in patient safety and provide competitive wages and benefits to support recruitment and retention efforts. ... Providence Oregon has secured replacement workers and identified other strategies to maintain patient care, Chief Executive Jennifer Burrows, RN, said in a message to caregivers shared with Becker's. She said the system has communicated to union leaders that bargaining stops during a work stoppage to prioritize patient care.

Sierra Hills employees strike for safer conditions to live and work Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne, WY; by Noah Zahn; 12/26/24 Employees at Sierra Hills Assisted Living protested Thursday outside the facility after Edgewood Healthcare, which owns Sierra Hills, has refused to budge in negotiations for safer working conditions for employees and residents after more than 10 months of negotiation. “We did include many things in our contract proposal that we feel will really benefit the residents,” said Taylor Ewig, who has been a CNA at Sierra Hills for around 10 years. ... There are currently between 70 and 80 residents at the facility and around eight under hospice care. Ewig and other CNAs participating in the strike said that many of the Sierra Hills residents are supportive of the strike. The issues began at the facility when Sierra Hills implemented a hospice care service a few years ago, shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. ... The company hires hospice nurses who are only on the facility about two hours per week, according to Sierra Hills staff. The rest of that time, the burden of care for the resident falls to the staffed CNAs and RNs.

Sierra Hills assisted living employees in Cheyenne to strike over staffing issues' Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne, WY; by Noah Zahn; 12/18/24 In March, a resident at Sierra Hills Assisted Living in Cheyenne fell and hurt their hip and shoulder. A CNA at the facility reported that the resident could not be moved without causing shoulder pain, noting that they had likely broken their shoulder and hip, according to a report from the Wyoming Department of Health. The resident was bed-bound, in “excruciating pain” and screamed for hours, which frightened the other residents. The CNA stated this was “the worst thing she had ever experienced.” At the time, the resident was one of six hospice patients at the assisted-living facility. Sierra Hills made hospice care available at the facility shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic. When hospice nurses were unavailable, the burden of care fell to the CNAs and RNs on staff. The CNA caring for this resident in March stated it was difficult to get hospice to respond on the weekends, saying that there was an 80% chance hospice would answer a phone call and a 50% chance a hospice nurse would come to the facility. Six days later, the resident died. Editor's note: Click on the title's link to continue reading. This strike--reportedly related to staffing--appears to be related extra responsibilities on the staff, because of the hospice's limited responses on weekends. This is 2024; not 1974. How does this scenario relate to your hospice triage, hours, staffing, incident reports, community partnerships? 

Which skills will survive the AI onslaught? National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), Arlington, VA; by Vivek Sharma and David C. Edelman; 12/17/24 ... Boards and CEOs are inundated with reports projecting doomsday scenarios of job displacement due to AI. For example, according to the World Economic Forum's The Future of Jobs Report 2020, automation and AI are expected to displace 85 million jobs globally by 2025, especially in industries such as manufacturing, data entry, and customer service due to the repetitive nature and predictable processes of these fields. AI is already disrupting many roles hitherto considered firmly within the human domain. ... Irreplaceable Human Dimensions ... In analyzing a wide range of articles on the topic, when a job scores high along any of the following three dimensions, it creates significant hurdles for displacement by AI:

What they love and loathe: Medscape Nurse Career Satisfaction Report 2024 Medscape; by Jon McKenna; 12/13/24 Despite well-publicized issues buffeting their profession, nurses in a Medscape survey overwhelmingly said they are happy with their career choice, and most said they would make it again. They also told us about their most- and least-favored job features, recounted any experiences with abuse at work, revealed possible alternative careers, and reported union membership, among other insights. [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

Employees crave Right-to-Disconnect Law HR Daily Advisor; by Lin Grensing-Pophal; 12/12/24 The rise of telecommunications tools like email, online chat, and smart phones has meant that people can stay connected virtually wherever they are, at all times. While that interconnectedness can be a blessing in some situations, it has also led to a lot of stress and burnout among workers who feel like they can’t disconnect when it comes to work. Recent data from web tool review firm EmailTooltester helps flesh out this sentiment, based on survey responses from over 1,000 American adults. Here are some of the key data points:

Design work to prevent burnout: A new model for improving work design supports change that increases employee engagement and reduces stress MIT Sloan Management Review; by Sharon K. Parker and Carline Knight; 12/10/24... In the U.S., 67% of workers report feeling disengaged from their work, and 49% intend to leave their current job. ... In this article, we’ll introduce readers to our SMART Work Design model. This model captures and synthesizes the most important characteristics for worker well-being and performance from both the Jobs Characteristics and Job Demands-Resources models into five dimensions: stimulating work, mastery, autonomy, relational work, and tolerable demands (thus the SMART acronym). HR leaders, managers, and employees can use the model to identify aspects of work that lead to disengagement and burnout and then create a healthier work environment and improve performance. (See “A Model for Making Work Smarter.”)

The change leadership strategy that costs nothing Forbes; by Jane Sparrow; 12/5/24 ... [Often] the most successful strategies for change management are the easiest ones to implement. And one strategy, in particular, is in every leader’s gift. I’m talking, of course, about leading with kindness. I was speaking recently during my podcast to Andrew Moultrie, the CEO of BBC Studioworks, about the one thing he would advise leaders to focus on when going through change. There was no hesitation. Andrew said: “Underlined, kindness is the fundamental tenet of every emotional state that people can commit to. And if your actions are coming from a position of kindness, then your ability to manage change will be far more effective and fulfilling for those people you’re managing. ..."