The healthcare realm is continuously evolving , with the after-shocks of the pandemic still being felt in the form of persistently high intent of nurses to leave the workforce. The risk of a nursing shortage risks exacerbating staff burnout and mental health challenges along with increasing labor costs and ultimately scaling back of health services. On the other hand, Healthcare providers have to deal with hectic and fast-paced work schedules as they desperately strive to meet patient needs 24/7. This leaves them in a double bind when it comes to attending to administrative duties primarily staffing. This has impelled healthcare facilities to turn to healthcare staffing agencies to bolster their capabilities for attracting, hiring and retaining nursing talent and promote workforce stability. In this post, we are going to shed light on the nursing health care staffing solutions shortage and how hospitals are leveraging healthcare staffing solutions to close this gap to deliver quality and continuous patient care.
U.S. Nurse Shortage
The need for patient care has reached an all-time high with a consequential increase in the demand for registered nurses. The cumulative effect of various factors such as retirements, rising cases of burnout and dwindling nurse-to-patient ratios have perpetuated a nursing staff crisis. The number of available nurses has failed to keep up with the patient populations which threatens delivery of patient care to deserving populations. The rapid increase in patients can be explained as a result of an aging population of baby boomers , out of which 80 % are afflicted with at least one chronic condition. The prevalent opioid epidemic has also contributed to over 1 million hospital admissions , the result of which is a crippling nursing shortage. It has been further predicted that nearly one million baby boomer nurses will retire by 2030, creating a void that has to be filled by the next generation of nurses. To make matters worse, turnout is estimated to take approximately 70, 000 nurses out of the workforce and the impact is likely to be severe in rural areas where primary care access is limited. The less than optimum work conditions and lack of incentives makes it inordinately difficult for healthcare providers to find suitable candidates to fill for open nursing positions. The dire state of nurse staffing doesn’t bode well for delivery of quality care for communities across the country.
How Nurse Staffing Agencies Work
In face of a ro Re Nata (Prn)
The term per diem refers to per day or getting nurses on demand. This staffing solution revolves around contracts of varying lengths from days to weeks with no fixed hours. Alternatively, Pro re nata is a model that supplies nurses on as-needs basis meaning that nurses are deployed to serve for specific occasions or periods like weekends or holidays when nursing staff is likely to fall short.
Travel NPerm Or Permanent Placement Contracts
This hiring model works perfect for both employers and registered nurses in figuring out whether the two can work together for the long-term. This involves a temporary contract whereby the nurses get an intermittent time period to settle down in their position and subsequently decide whether they want to transition into long-term employment. Same goes for the healthcare facilities who can assess whether a certain candidate can be made a permanent part of the workforce.
Why Partner with a nurse staffing Agency
Compliance
Healthcare staffing agencies are subject to complex healthcare laws and regulations such as HIPAA, accreditation by the Joint Commission and obtaining licenses to operate in a given state. Working with agencies can strengthen compliance for both clients and candidates by adhering to relevant industry requirements to ensure they function as licensed and certified entities.
Technology Solutions
Agencies can play a major role in streamlining the traditional hiring process through technology-oriented hiring models to make it more efficient and effective. Agencies have the resources to provide you access to innovative technology solutions like applicant tracking systems to automate and simplify hiring, online portals for managing the candidate’s hiring journey and mobile scheduling apps to set up work schedules and regulate workflows.
Streamlined Hiring Process
The quality of healthcare services depends on the quality of the workforce which implies a rigorous adherence to high standards of professionalism and clinical competence. Agencies evaluate each candidate against the job description through extensive background checks and scrutinize their credentials to ascertain whether they are truly qualified for the job at hand.
Conclusion
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Partnering with a staffing agency is indeed a viable solution for healthcare facilities to meet their workforce needs and overcome the prevalent nursing shortage. This is conducive not only for attracting and hiring the right candidates but also retaining them to lower implications of turnover and keep costs of recruitment within limits. As the nursing shortage is likely to prevail for the foreseeable future, working with a nursing staff agency near me will help adapt your staffing practices to create a resilient and skilled force to effectively meet the needs of 21st century healthcare.