Why Nurses Aren’t Using Your Benefits (And How to Change That)

If you're seeing low participation in your hospital’s benefit programs—especially from nurses—you’re not alone. Many healthcare organizations face challenges with benefits utilization, even when offering valuable resources like student loan repayment, tuition reimbursement, and financial wellness programs.

For nonprofit hospitals, underused employee benefits aren't just a missed opportunity—they’re a threat to retention, engagement, and ROI.

In this post, you’ll learn:

• Why nurses often skip or overlook benefits
  
• How to boost nurse engagement in benefits programs
  
• Proven strategies to increase utilization and retention

Nurses Aren’t Using Their Benefits

Despite offering generous support programs, many hospitals struggle with low usage rates. Internal data often reveals:

• Fewer than 50% of eligible nurses engage with financial wellness or education benefits
  
• PSLF and student loan support are often misunderstood or ignored
  
• Tuition reimbursement programs go unused, especially among frontline staff

This gap between offering and utilization is costing you more than just money—it’s affecting your ability to retain top talent.

What Underused Benefits Are Costing You

Failing to improve benefits utilization in healthcare settings leads to real consequences:

🔸 Increased Nurse Turnover

Nurses unaware of available support are more likely to leave, especially when competing employers offer clearer, more accessible benefits.

🔸 Rising Burnout and Financial Stress

Many nurses carry student debt or family-related financial burdens. Without guidance, they feel overwhelmed—accelerating burnout.

🔸 Poor ROI on Benefits Spending

Unengaged programs appear wasteful to the CFO or CHRO. When benefits go unused, HR leaders struggle to justify budget renewals or expansions.

Proven Nurse Engagement Strategies

Improving nurse participation starts with communication, personalization, and support. Here’s what works:

✅ Targeted Onboarding and Re-Enrollment Campaigns

Introduce key benefits during onboarding and revisit them at open enrollment. Use personalized content, such as short explainer videos or nurse-specific guides.

✅ Live Webinars and Expert Q&A Sessions

Bring your benefits to life through quarterly webinars and interactive sessions. Let nurses ask questions and hear real-life success stories.

✅ Nurse Champions and Peer Ambassadors

Train engaged staff to act as benefit ambassadors. Their stories help build trust and demystify complex programs like PSLF.

✅ Mobile-Optimized, Jargon-Free Materials

Nurses are mobile. Ensure all resources are mobile-friendly, visually clean, and written in plain English.

✅ Personalized Benefit Nudges

Use employee data to trigger automated reminders based on life stage, role, or benefit eligibility—just-in-time, relevant communication drives action.

Tools like PeopleJoy’s PSLF and tuition reimbursement support increase engagement by 2x when paired with strategic rollout and ongoing education.

Let’s Talk Strategy for Nurse Engagement

You’ve invested in great benefits—now let’s make sure your nurses actually use them.

🎯 Book a 20-minute discovery call to explore:

• Why your current programs may be underutilized
  
• Proven tactics to boost engagement among clinical staff
  
• How nonprofit hospitals like yours are improving retention through student loan and tuition support

We’ll help you build a benefit strategy that’s not just budget-smart—but life-changing for your workforce.

👉 [Schedule your strategy call now]