DALLAS, March 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Close to half of hospital, medical group and other healthcare facility leaders intend to leave their organizations during the next 12 months, according to a new survey examining the plans, perspectives and challenges facing healthcare executives in 2025.

Conducted by B.E. Smith, a leading provider of healthcare executive search services and a company of AMN Healthcare, the 2025 Healthcare Leadership Trends survey reflects the overall state of volatility in the healthcare workforce.

“Turnover among both healthcare executives and clinical professionals such as physicians, nurses, and others remains a key strategic challenge facing healthcare facilities,” said Mary Newell, Vice President of Physician and Leadership Search for AMN Healthcare. “Post pandemic, many healthcare professionals are reassessing where, when and how they work.”

Of close to 600 healthcare executives surveyed, 46% said they plan to leave their organizations within the next year, while 26% said they would do so either immediately or within the next six months. The majority (74%) said they had received a credible job offer within the last six months, suggesting that many of those planning to leave their organizations will have options from which to choose.

Positions that are left vacant may be difficult to fill. Eighty percent of those surveyed said that filling healthcare executive positions in today’s market is extremely, very, or moderately challenging. The use of interim executives may be one method to fill open positions. Of those surveyed who have used interim leaders in the last year, 80% did so to fill temporarily open positions.

Emerging Leadership Roles
Executives were asked which healthcare leadership roles are likely to grow in importance in 2025. Three of the four roles identified involve technology management and include leadership roles in information technology, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.

“Healthcare providers are accelerating their application of technology to increase efficiency, enhance clinical diagnosis and outcomes, and protect patient data,” Newell said. “This requires both hard assets and the leadership talent to optimally apply them.”

Disruptors and Growth Strategies
Healthcare executives identified “financial pressures and constraints” and “workforce issues” as the two factors most likely to prove disruptive to healthcare facility operations in 2025. Both have been endemic to the healthcare industry for years, the result of patchwork reimbursement models and chronic labor shortages.

Healthcare leaders rated “expanding existing service lines” as their primary revenue growth strategy for the coming year, followed by “significant cost reductions,” and “adding new service lines.” According to Newell, hospitals in recent years have focused on building out their outpatient service lines as a means of capturing revenue and market share, while cost reductions are a response to inflationary pressures recently faced by many industries.

Cautious Optimism
Healthcare executives were asked to assess the financial and operational conditions they expect to encounter at their facilities in 2025, with the majority reflecting a mood of cautious optimism. More than one-third (34%) expect conditions in 2025 will be better than in 2024, 48% expect no change, while only 18% expect conditions to be worse. Survey respondents were somewhat less optimistic about financial and operational conditions facing the healthcare industry as a whole. Thirty-nine percent expect no change from last year, 30% expect conditions will be better, while 31% expect them to be worse.

B.E. Smith’s Healthcare Leadership Trends survey is conducted annually to assess the plans, perspectives and challenges facing healthcare leaders in the coming year. The 2025 survey is based on 588 responses from healthcare executives nationwide. A copy of the survey report can be accessed at BES Healthcare Leadership Trends for 2025 Whitepaper

About B.E. Smith and AMN Healthcare
B.E. Smith is a leading provider of interim healthcare executive, healthcare executive, and academic search services and is a division of AMN Healthcare. AMN Healthcare is the leader and innovator in total talent solutions for healthcare organizations across the United States. Through a steadfast partnership approach, we solve the most pressing workforce challenges to enable better clinical outcomes and access to care. We provide a comprehensive network of quality healthcare professionals and deliver a fully integrated and customizable suite of workforce technologies.