Hospital Emergency Department Faces Staffing Shortages
醫院急診室面臨人力短缺
更新於: 2026年6月21日 上午12:15
Hospital emergency departments (EDs) worldwide are currently facing a critical staffing crisis.
全球的醫院急診室 (EDs) 目前正面臨嚴峻的人力荒。
This persistent challenge is primarily driven by a cycle of burnout: high-stress environments and long hours cause experienced professionals to leave, which increases the burden on remaining staff, leading to further resignations.
這個持續性的挑戰主要是由過勞循環所引發：高壓的工作環境和超長工時導致經驗豐富的專業人員離職，這加重了留任員工的負擔，進而導致更多人辭職。
The consequences for patients are severe, ranging from increased wait times to the dangerous phenomenon of 'boarding,' where patients remain in the ED due to a lack of available beds elsewhere.
這對患者造成的後果極為嚴重，從等待時間增加，到危險的「滯留」(boarding)現象——即患者因其他地方缺乏病床而滯留在急診室——不一而足。
Furthermore, lower nurse-to-patient ratios increase the risk of medical errors.
此外，護病比過低會增加醫療錯誤的風險。
Hospitals are attempting to mitigate these issues through temporary measures like 'locum tenens' providers, telehealth, and AI-driven staffing schedules.
醫院正試圖透過「臨時雇員」(locum tenens)、遠距醫療和人工智慧驅動的人力排班等臨時措施來減緩這些問題。
However, while technology provides immediate relief, experts argue that long-term stability requires structural changes.
然而，儘管技術能提供即時的緩解，專家認為長期穩定需要進行結構性變革。
To ensure patient safety, hospitals must focus on sustainable workforce development and improving the overall work environment to prevent the talent exodus from continuing, thereby breaking the cycle of burnout that currently threatens the entire healthcare system.
為確保病患安全，醫院必須專注於永續的人力資源發展，並改善整體工作環境，以防止人才外流持續，進而打破目前威脅整個醫療系統的過勞循環。
