The healthcare workforce is facing a mental health crisis. Long hours, operating at peak performance in all encounters, and the emotionally draining nature of caring for sick patients all play a major role in exacerbating burnout and exhaustion. When burnout persists, nurse mental health starts to suffer, which, if left unaddressed, can negatively impact patient care and lead to turnover.
It’s up to administrators to collaborate with nurses to ensure that their well-being is taken into consideration, letting them unplug from work and focus on their mental health outside of clinical hours.
Trends in nurse mental health
In the current healthcare climate, healthcare workers are struggling to get back to a baseline level of normalcy, citing burnout and exhaustion more frequently. This April, Medely surveyed our most active nurses and health professionals to gain insight into how they’re working and what’s important to them. Of those surveyed, 58.4% shared that they were experiencing burnout and exhaustion, and 76.5% shared that their burnout or exhaustion stayed the same or increased over the past year.
This indicates that healthcare facilities need to take more active measures to combat the growing problem. Not only does negative nurse mental health lead to an inefficient workforce, but it can also have much more serious consequences. According to a study on healthcare workers’ mental health, they were “at increased risk of suicide compared with non-healthcare workers.” Also citing “higher rates of mood disorders and long-term work absences due to mental disorders.” When burnout and exhaustion persist, mental health conditions are exacerbated, leading to depression, substance abuse, or, in severe cases, suicide.
Even though nurses are statistically experiencing higher rates of mental health problems, they aren’t accessing mental health services often. According to a survey from the American Nurses Foundation, “approximately two-thirds of surveyed nurses indicated they were not currently receiving mental health support.” The reasoning varied, but one of the biggest factors was that getting help for mental health problems is still stigmatized within the healthcare community. According to the same survey, “56% of surveyed nurses believe there is stigma attached to mental health challenges.”
To break the stigma, healthcare facilities need to champion better access to mental health care for their staff. Supporting nurse mental health from the top down shows healthcare workers that it’s okay to need help. When mental health is addressed instead of ignored, nurses are less likely to face challenges and symptoms that would cause them to burn out or leave the workforce entirely.
How to foster positive nurse mental health outcomes
Healthcare worker satisfaction is directly tied to mental health outcomes. When facilities prioritize healthcare workers’ satisfaction, this creates a stronger, healthier workforce that can more effectively tackle challenges with their mental health. Here are a few tips for how administrators can better support nurses’ mental health.
Offer flexible scheduling
Prioritizing positive mental health outcomes doesn’t just mean taking care of symptoms when they arise. It means creating a routine that prevents issues from arising in the first place. This is where flexible scheduling can be a major asset.
Flexible scheduling not only allows nurses and health professionals the ability to work when they’re most alert, but it also gives them space to prioritize their mental health. With flexible scheduling, nurses can find consistent time to be in therapy, work around periods when they’re feeling their most energized, and allow for a sleep schedule that keeps them at the top of their game.
Encourage time off
Flexible scheduling is the first step, but encouraging paid time off is equally important. Remind your staff that PTO extends to mental health days. When administrators allow nurses and health professionals to take time off, whether that’s for a mental health day or a vacation, they build a strong team that’s able to take on challenges and perform to the best of their abilities. Well-rested nurses are less likely to burn out and more likely to stay in their roles longer, leading to decreased turnover and higher rates of worker satisfaction.
Provide nurse mentorship
When nurses don’t prioritize their mental health, burnout reaches levels that are challenging to come back from. One group at an especially high risk of burnout and turnover is new nurses and health professionals. According to the 2025 NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report, “Over twenty-two percent (22.3%) of all newly hired RNs left within a year, with first year turnover accounting for a third (31.9%) of all RN separations.” This can happen for a multitude of reasons, but mental health can play a factor in the mass exodus of new nurses. Working in healthcare is challenging, and when new workers aren’t prioritized or guided through those challenges during the critical first years, they’re more likely to become frustrated and burn out.
One of the ways that administrators can combat this is by prioritizing nurse mentorship, especially for younger nurses. According to a study on nurse mentorship, when a novice nurse was paired up with a mentor, “58.9% of mentees reported that their mentoring relationship had positively influenced their decision to stay in nursing.” Having someone they can go to with struggles or challenges can make a significant impact on their choice to stay in the workforce and ultimately allow for better mental health outcomes.
Ensure strong collaboration with leadership
When nurses and health professionals are dealing with mental health problems, they must be able to talk to leadership about how they can help. Leaders should routinely ask nurses and health professionals how they can create a better work environment, implementing any reasonable changes that they mention. Strong collaboration between nurses and leadership is critical for ensuring a positive outcome for everyone’s mental health.
Use Medely to support your full-time staff
Using flexible staffing solutions like Medely can offer a variety of benefits for facilities looking to prioritize nurses’ mental health. Filling gaps with per diem staff can be a simple way to allow full-time staff to schedule more flexibly and take time off when necessary. Administrators can post open shifts to Medely’s on-demand Talent Marketplace to ensure that they’re fully staffed, either in advance for planned outages or for any last-minute openings.
By utilizing Medely, facilities are also supporting nurses and health professionals who are looking to support their own mental health through a more flexible per diem schedule. This can be the tipping point for a nurse or health professional debating whether to leave the field or stay. “When facilities offer flexibility, whether that’s fewer hours, more control over scheduling, or even the ability to work around personal commitments, it allows healthcare workers to stay in the workforce,” Angie Nasr, Medely CNO, shares. “Making space for different lifestyles and stages of life keeps experienced, passionate pros engaged in the system. That’s how we strengthen the entire healthcare ecosystem.”
Ready to champion flexibility and positive mental health outcomes at your healthcare facility? Start your free profile with Medely today!
