public health workforce

Five ways future health care leaders can tackle burnout in the workforce

Taylor Thomas — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 16:17:15 +0000

Five ways future health care leaders can tackle burnout in the workforce Taylor Thomas Mon, 03/23/2026 - 12:17

Photo by Vladimir Fedotov via Unsplash.

The fight against widespread burnout in the health care workforce should begin with the training of future health care administrators, according to a new paper from the 911�� College of Public Health.

Published in the Journal of Health Administration Education, the paper examines how health administration programs can better prepare future leaders to address burnout by focusing on workplace factors, such as working conditions, leadership support, job design and workload, social connections, and opportunities for advancement. More than three-quarters of health care workers report feeling stressed or stretched thin, with burnout contributing to problems like higher turnover and staffing shortages that can affect patient care.

Drawing from existing research and national frameworks on workforce well-being, the principal investigator Debora Goetz Goldberg outlines several leadership strategies that can help counteract burnout, including:

Build workplaces where staff can speak up

Health care leaders must create environments where employees can report mistakes, raise concerns, and discuss safety issues without fear of punishment. Clear reporting policies, open communication, and a culture of trust are key for psychological safety.

Redesign jobs to reduce overload

Many health care roles involve long hours, heavy documentation, and clunky technology that add to daily stress. Leaders make decisions about staffing, scheduling, and tools that can either ease those pressures or make them worse.

Prevent violence and protect staff safety

Health care workers face some of the highest rates of workplace violence of any profession. Leaders can help reduce risks by establishing zero-tolerance policies, training staff to de-escalate tense situations, and putting safety measures in place before incidents occur.

Involve frontline staff in decisions

The people delivering care often know exactly where problems arise. When leaders directly involve nurses, physicians, and other staff in decisions about schedules, policies, and daily operations, the changes are more likely to succeed.

Measure and improve workforce well-being

Health care organizations routinely track patient outcomes and financial performance. Workforce well-being deserves the same attention. Leaders can measure burnout, engagement, and working conditions and use that data to steer improvements.

John Cantiello, also from 911��'s College of Public Health, and Riva Kamat from Lotus Clinician WellBeing, Inc., co-authored the paper.

In This Story

Debora Goetz Goldberg, PhD, MHA, MBA

This initiative supports the Improving human health, well-being, and preparedness solution of 911��'s Grand Challenge Initiative

Key Takeaways:

Burnout affects a majority of health care workers and contributes to turnover, staffing shortages, and risks to patient care.
A new paper from 911�� argues that health care administration programs should train future leaders to address burnout through organizational decisions and workplace design.
Leaders can help counter burnout with strategies like creating psychologically safe environments, preventing workplace violence, and involving frontline staff in decisions.

Topics

burnout

public health workforce

HAP Research

CPH research

Health Administration

Well-Being

Research

GCI-Health

GCI-Grand Challenge Initiative

Nursing professor serves as special advisor on US President’s Cancer Panel

Taylor Thomas — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 19:16:37 +0000

Nursing professor serves as special advisor on US President’s Cancer Panel Taylor Thomas Fri, 10/11/2024 - 15:16

In This Story

Caroline Sutter, DNP

The President’s Cancer Panel hosted a public meeting on Thursday, September 12, 2024, entitled “Developing and Retaining a Robust and Diverse Cancer Workforce: Challenges and Opportunities Across the National Cancer Program”. The meeting is part of the Panel’s development of recommendations and reports to President Joe Biden.

Caroline Sutter, health workforce expert, was asked to be a special advisor to the Panel at their public meeting. Sutter is nationally recognized for her work implementing and evaluating models of community health care access and system navigation. She is a credentialed Family Nurse Practitioner and one of the co-founders of the Mason and Partners (MAP) Clinic. Sutter currently serves as the codirector of the Center for Health Workforce at Mason, which was established to address the shortage of health workers in Virginia on top of her position as a professor in the College of Public Health School of Nursing.

You can listen to the recordings of the meetings from September 12 and 13 here. Learn more about the President’s Cancer Panel and the National Cancer Plan.

Topics

Nursing Faculty

Cancer Prevention and Control

Center for Health Workforce

public health workforce

Faculty and Staff News

911�� tapped by HRSA to lead health workforce initiatives in Virginia

Mary Cunningham — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 15:23:53 +0000

911�� tapped by HRSA to lead health workforce initiatives in Virginia Mary Cunningham Fri, 04/19/2024 - 11:23

In This Story

Caroline Sutter, DNP

Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner allocate $921,000 to expand training capacity and accelerate workforce development. Federal funding supports Mason’s Center for Health Workforce to serve as centralized technical assistance hub for Virginia health workforce development.

As part of a federal priority to address health care workforce shortages, 911��’s Center for Health Workforce has received $921,000 in federal funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to serve as a catalyst and facilitator for regional health workforce planning and development. The center uses data and a collaborative model involving health and educational organizations, policy makers, community planners, and other regional stakeholders to understand local challenges related to the supply, demand, distribution, and deployment of health workers in Virginia.

"Virginia urgently needs to expand its health workforce to meet community needs and ensure local businesses can supply essential health care services, and we appreciate the efforts of Senator Warner and Senator Kaine for moving our proposal through the Senate,” said Caroline Sutter, co-director of Mason’s Center for Health Workforce and a professor of nursing.

This strategic investment in Mason’s Center for Health Workforce will address this critical need to grow and retain the health workforce by prioritizing regional and population health recruitment and retention through evidence-based planning and targeted interventions. These targeted interventions will help regional educational and training programs identify future workers who want to stay in the area to give back and improve the region that trained them.

The new funds will help the center expand from supporting three GO Virginia regions to all nine GO Virginia regions. GO Virginia is a bipartisan, business-led economic development initiative focused on changing the way Virginia’s diverse regions collaborate on economic and workforce development activities.

"Virginia's health care system is grappling with both immediate workforce shortages and the imperative need for long-term strategic planning to build a sustainable workforce," said Sutter. "These shortages threaten to exacerbate existing health disparities and impede access to quality care in Viriginia.”

Nurses, physicians, allied health professionals, and support staff are in short supply due to increased demand from chronic staffing shortages, unfavorable or unsafe work environments, and unrelenting workloads, leading to overworked personnel and compromised patient care. Demand for health care is skyrocketing while the workforce is shrinking; in fact, 23% of physicians and at least 30% of nurses reported they would leave their jobs if they could and 50% of workers said they plan to leave their health care jobs in the next few years.

“Mason is stepping up as a leader to respond to the needs in health care workforce development in Virginia, setting a precedent for effective planning and collaboration across sub-state regions,” said Melissa J. Perry, dean of the College of Public Health.

Additionally, the center will support the development of employer-led public-private partnerships that can leverage private resources and address barriers in public needs.

“This funding will allow our teams to identify and increase bi-directional communication between employers and academic institutions or programs that train future health workers, so that future employees feel prepared and supported in their workplace, thereby retaining great talent,” said P.J. Maddox, center co-director and professor of health administration and policy at Mason.

The center has the only integrated data system in the commonwealth to help strategize with data-based decisions around health workforce recruitment and retention that employers and academic institutions can employ in each region. For example, the center has analyzed the supply and demand for today and in 10 years for behavioral health specialists for a specific region. With this information, regions can better target their recruitment and retention strategies to help keep the future workers they train in their area when they are ready to practice.

This funding was allocated in the Fiscal Year 2024 Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, by Virginia Senators Warner and Kaine.

“As the first College of Public Health in Virginia and home to the highly ranked School of Nursing, Mason is bringing together education, research, and community partners for the health and well-being of all, everything that we do. We are grateful to Senators Warner and Kaine recognizing the impact the center has already had in three of Virginia’s regions and for supporting our efforts to further support our roles as an integral hub for additional health workforce centers and organizations seeking to increase health workforce across the commonwealth,” said Perry.

Because population health needs, economic conditions, and resources vary widely by region (rural, suburban, and urban), there is no one-size-fits-all set of strategies to address regional health workforce needs and population health priorities. More importantly, regional problem solving is necessary to develop strategies for improving education and career development to meet employer’s needs, expand supply, and improve retention.

About 911��

911�� is Virginia’s largest public research university. Located near Washington, D.C., Mason enrolls more than 40,000 students from 130 countries and all 50 states. Mason has grown rapidly over the past half-century and is recognized for its innovation and entrepreneurship, remarkable diversity, and commitment to accessibility. In 2023, the university launched Mason Now: Power the Possible, a one-billion-dollar comprehensive campaign to support student success, research, innovation, community, and stewardship. Learn more at gmu.edu.

About the College of Public Health at 911��

Mason’s College of Public Health—the first College of Public Health in Virginia—enrolls more than 1,900 undergraduate and 1,300 graduate students in its nationally recognized programs, including six undergraduate degrees, eight master’s degrees, five doctoral degrees, and six professional certificate programs. Comprising the School of Nursing and the Departments of Global and Community Health, Health Administration and Policy, Nutrition and Food Studies, and Social Work, the college also conducts transdisciplinary research that seeks to understand the many factors that influence the public health and well-being throughout the lifespan. With more than 500 partners, the college serves the community and engages its students through research, practice, and clinical care.

Topics

Center for Health Workforce

workforce training

public health workforce

Press Release

Press Releases

HRSA

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Dean Melissa Perry writes op-ed about the game changing nature of training students with virtual reality

Mary Cunningham — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 15:47:54 +0000

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Dean Melissa Perry writes op-ed about the game changing nature of training students with virtual reality Mary Cunningham Tue, 08/29/2023 - 11:47

In This Story

Melissa J. Perry, Sc.D., MHS, MBA

Dean Melissa Perry advocates for using virtual reality to train the next generation of our health workforce in today's Richmond Times-Dispatch. In a strained health care system, virtual reality is a game changer. Find out how Dean Perry and the college are leading the way and innovating health education by providing all our students with the opportunity to learn through VR. Read the op-ed: Commentary: In a strained health care system, virtual reality is a game changer. Please click here for a PDF version of the article.