SullivanCotter and Lotis Blue Consulting Release The Science of Staying: The Next Chapter in Clinician Retention

New Research Reveals Why Stabilized Turnover Still Puts Health Systems at Risk and What Leaders Must Do Next

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SullivanCotter and Lotis Blue Consulting have released The Science of Staying: The Next Chapter in Clinician Retention, a national study examining the psychological forces shaping health care professionals’ decisions to stay, consider leaving, or quit their jobs. Drawing on responses from more than 1,000 licensed, patient-facing clinicians – including physicians for the first time, alongside nurses, advanced practice providers (APPs), and other clinical roles – across more than 300 health care organizations, the research offers a timely assessment of workforce commitment heading into 2026.

While turnover has slowed from pandemic-era highs, the study finds that stabilization has not translated into recovery. Capacity constraints, sustained burnout, and misalignment between clinicians and their organizations continue to erode engagement, productivity, and access to care. The findings underscore that retention decisions now sit at the center of health system performance, with direct implications for financial resilience, patient experience, and long-term viability.

“This research makes clear that fewer exits do not mean a healthier workforce,” said Erica Grant, partner at Lotis Blue Consulting and co-author of the study. “Stabilized turnover doesn’t equal recovery. Workforce shortages, financial constraints, operational pressures, and access challenges are intensifying internal tension, and that tension is increasingly visible in engagement, productivity, and the ability to deliver reliable care.”

The 2026 study builds on an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) framework, now expanded to measure 38 factors across eight dimensions, including new physician-specific drivers. Using independent national polling paired with predictive analytics, the research identifies which aspects of the EVP most strongly influence clinicians’ likelihood of staying, considering leaving, or quitting, with predictive accuracy of up to 85%.

Key findings from the study include:

• Among surveyed clinicians, 80% intend to stay, 11% are considering leaving, and 9% reported quitting a health care job in the past year, a marked decline from the prior study. Notably, nearly 60% of departures were driven by job-related factors, reinforcing that much of today’s turnover risk remains within organizational control.
• Staying decisions are anchored in a work environment that delivers security, belonging, purpose, and sustainability.
• Early disengagement – or considering leaving - begins when clinicians become overstretched, undervalued, or stagnant.
• Quitting decisions occur when work becomes incompatible with clinicians’ values and the motivations that drew them to medicine in the first place.
• Physicians report lower quit rates than other clinical roles, but their commitment is most strongly anchored in trust in clinical discretion, perceived fairness in compensation, and frictionless practice conditions.
• Clinicians with less than one year of service continue to leave at meaningfully higher rates than the overall workforce, underscoring the outsized impact of onboarding, workload design, and early support on long-term commitment.

“This is no longer about chasing engagement scores or reacting to exits after they happen,” said Aaron Sorensen, PhD, partner at Lotis Blue Consulting and co-author of the study. “Retention has become a leading indicator of operational stability. When organizations get the EVP right, they protect capacity, reduce avoidable cost, and create the conditions for clinicians to do their best work.”

A defining feature of this year’s research is a dedicated deep dive into physician retention, which highlights the central role of trust in clinical discretion, a newly measured element in this year’s study. Physician retention is highly sensitive to how organizations enable autonomy, trust, and day-to-day practice conditions. The study finds their decisions are more heavily impacted by the conditions under which care is delivered, and professional judgment is exercised, rather than on schedule or workload alone.

“Physicians experience retention pressure differently, and the loss of a physician creates ripple effects across care teams, access, and system performance,” Grant added. “This study gives leaders the precision they need to invest in the few levers that truly matter, especially for the clinicians who are most costly to lose.”

The research also underscores the critical role of early tenure in shaping long-term workforce stability. Clinicians’ first year on the job emerges as a decisive window, as early experiences set the psychological contract that influences whether individuals remain committed or begin to disengage. While first-year quit rates have declined from prior peaks, they remain meaningfully higher than the overall average, highlighting the outsized impact of onboarding, workload design, and early support on long-term retention.

“Health systems that continue to manage retention as a downstream workforce issue are missing the moment,” Grant said. “The data point to a clear mandate: design work that is sustainable, align rewards and growth with reality, and rebuild trust where it has been strained. The organizations that act with that level of intention will be far better positioned for what comes next.”

The 2026 Science of Staying: The Next Chapter in Clinician Retention is designed to help health system leaders move beyond anecdote toward evidence-based action, offering a roadmap for stabilizing capacity, strengthening clinician commitment, and restoring momentum at a time when the margin for error has narrowed.

Find the full report at The Science of Staying: The Next Chapter in Clinician Retention.

About Lotis Blue

Lotis Blue is committed to helping organizations forge strong connections between workforce, leadership, and organizational performance. With deep expertise in data and behavioral science, we deliver insight-driven solutions tailored to each client’s unique challenges.

About SullivanCotter

SullivanCotter partners with health care and not-for-profit organizations to improve performance through integrated workforce strategies. Using industry-leading data, expertise, and analytics, SullivanCotter helps organizations align compensation and workforce practices with their mission and goals.