A growing crisis in the nursing profession demands urgent attention as increasing numbers of nurses face severe mental health challenges. With turnover rates at 18% and alarming projections indicating that 40% of nurses might leave their current positions within the next six months, the situation has reached a critical point. Seven in ten nurse practitioners report feelings of burnout and depression, with job stress being the leading cause for 60% of these cases. As approximately 13% of nurses consider leaving medicine due to severe burnout and depression, the healthcare system faces a potential workforce crisis.
Fear of losing licensure prevents many nurses from seeking mental health support, despite over 67% reporting feelings of depression or anxiety. Two-thirds of these individuals are not receiving any mental health support. Licensing boards in 30 states currently ask about mental illness on their applications, with 22 boards specifically inquiring about past mental health diagnoses and requiring predictions of future impairment. This practice has deterred countless nurses from seeking the help they need.
The Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation has taken initiative by creating a free toolkit designed to assist state boards in eliminating invasive mental health questions from licensure applications. States like Georgia and Montana are considering legislation to address these issues, while boards in Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma have already updated their applications to remove such intrusive questions.
Corey Feist, JD, MBA, co-founder, and CEO of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, advocates for legislative changes to assure nurses that seeking mental health care will not jeopardize their licenses.
“The workforce in healthcare has got the worst mental health, but they’re also uniquely penalized…by this same system,” said Corey Feist.
In Virginia, legislative progress has been made with the passage of Safe Haven legislation, which initially facilitated mental health support for physicians and physician associates without license repercussions and has since been extended to include nurses.
Despite these strides, a combination of inertia and competing priorities has hindered further progress. Many state boards have yet to audit and amend their applications to remove stigmatizing language and questions.
“Nurses aren’t seeking help…because they are so fearful about losing their licensure,” remarked Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, PhD, APRN–certified nurse practitioner and professor emeritus at The Ohio State University.
This issue highlights the pressing need for systemic change, as emphasized by Papa, an advocate for mental health support within the nursing community.
“I would like to see support for treatment of mental health issues being talked about at the state level, within state licensing boards, and [among] regulators in every state,” stated Papa.
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing is currently working on national recommendations aimed at removing invasive mental health questions from nursing licensure applications. This initiative seeks to foster a more supportive environment for nurses needing mental health care.
“We need to be putting real emphasis on getting help for the nurses who need help,” emphasized Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk.
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