From employee departures to hospital policies and requirement suspensions, stories about COVID-19 vaccination mandates dominated the top workforce stories that captured the interest of readers this year.

West Virginia will use $48 million in federal CARES Act funding to support a new program targeting nursing education, retention and recruitment, Gov. Jim Justice said Dec. 21. 

As the omicron variant of COVID-19 spreads, about a quarter of executive leaders are delaying their workplace reopening plans.

Amid a COVID-19 surge in the state, nurses in Minnesota are pleading with hospital CEOs and public officials to address what they describe as a staffing and retention crisis inside facilities.

California will require that healthcare workers receive a COVID-19 booster, Gov. Gavin Newsom said.

WVU Medicine Potomac Valley Hospital in Keyser, W.Va., will receive a $2.6 million federal grant for a new workforce training center on the hospital campus.

Legal battles over the Labor Department's vaccine ruling and the omicron variant wave have caused confusion for employers across the country, The New York Times reported Dec. 20.

A group of 38 Minnesota House Republican state representatives are urging Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic to drop its COVID-19 vaccination mandate as legal challenges persist around federal requirements for healthcare workers.

From shortages to job growth, here are six predictions made in 2021 regarding the future healthcare workforce, reported by Becker's Hospital Review.

As the omicron variant spreads and areas around the U.S. grapple with COVID-19 surges, some states have enlisted the National Guard to support hospitals experiencing staffing strain and capacity challenges.

UPMC is creating an in-house travel staffing agency to address the nationwide nursing shortage and to attract and retain highly skilled nurses and surgical technologists, the Pittsburgh-based health system said Dec. 17.

The healthcare workforce is on the brink of experiencing high staff turnover rates, indicative of what is being deemed the "Great Resignation," a new American Medical Association-led study suggests.

The pandemic highlighted the burden of labor and caregiving that women disproportionately bear, but it may have also shifted some standards of work that could ease the burden for women in the workforce, The Wall Street Journal reported Dec. 11.

As COVID-19 surges continue to affect hospitals in the U.S., the Association of American Medical Colleges is calling on healthcare organizations to continue vaccination requirements for their employees.

Healthcare workers have launched a campaign urging Washington state lawmakers to pass legislation to address what they describe as a statewide staffing crisis.

As life expectancy is expected to increase, the number of working years may too. This has alarmed some experts who argue it is time to reassess the way we work in society to make the extra time less daunting, The Atlantic reported Dec. 14. 

Hospitals that invest in nurse burnout reduction programs may see less burnout-attributed nurse turnover and associated costs, according to a new study published in the latest issue of the Journal of Patient Safety.

The youngest members of the workforce may have a major role to play in increasing union support and activism, Fortune reported Dec. 14. 

New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health has sent nurses to two Upstate hospitals amid a COVID-19 surge in western New York.

Healthcare employment declined at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 and remains below expected levels through November 2021, a new Kaiser Family Foundation chart collection shows.