Actions that will Boost Frontline Engagement and Retention

90% of the hospital's executives believe that they will experience a deficiency of nurses in the next ten years, which will hamper their ability to deliver high-quality care.

Healthcare is one industry in which staffing deficiencies mean life or death. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of healthcare jobs in the US will grow 12?tween 2020 to 2028. Hiring talents is one of the top problems in the health care industry due to employee burnout and the constant need for retraining.

This article examines some realistic, plausible, and solid staffing challenges in the healthcare industry.

In our earlier chapter, we discussed IT staffing challenges, and this chapter will target staffing challenges in the healthcare industry. Ready to know more about the challenges the healthcare industry faces? Scroll down to read our blog.

Many companies have felt the shortage of nurses, and the situation is becoming worse, especially in the South and West. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing projection, 51% of the registered nurses are 50 years or older, retiring just as patient needs are increasing. The US BLS estimates that 203,700 more nurses must meet the current demands and replace the retirees. However, nursing schools only produce 158,000 graduates each year.

90% of the hospital's executives believe that they will experience a deficiency of nurses in the next ten years, which will hamper their ability to deliver high-quality care.

The reality is that many patients are dependent upon fast-thinking, fast-acting, and skilled nurses to ensure their health and welfare. Shortage of nurse staffing is a huge challenge and can become a liability for medical facilities.

Adequate nurses in medical facilities aren't just about shift coverage, but the reality is a shortage of staffing can be dire. Nurses short-staffing creates a risk to the patients, and not having enough nurses on the floor can lead to fatigue, burnout, poor patient outcomes, and even deadly medical errors.

What can we do to prevent nurses' short staffing in hospitals and medical facilities? What role can travel nurses play in this challenge?

The lack of new staff makes it competitive for employers to recruit new talents, as they have to look attractive without offering higher salaries.

Fortunately, staffing software simplifies the hiring process and increases candidate pools so that hospitals and healthcare providers can fill the talent pipeline with the best candidates for the job.

Challenges In The Healthcare Industry

The Impact Of Nurses Shortage

When hospitals and healthcare providers ask nurses to work with many patients, many different scenarios may occur. Shortage of nurses may lead to misinterpretation of instructions, mistakes with medicine, and patients being short-changed on care.

The shortage of nurses and too many patients will increase pitfalls, a higher rate of infection, and mistakes on the part of the nurse. Even injuries and death are legitimate fallouts due to short staffing.

Although medical providers' first concern is patient care, the shortage of nurses may also create a situation where it becomes difficult to retain these nurses. Due to the shortage of nurses, some critical aspects of training and orientation may be overlooked, creating a dangerous environment for patients. With fewer nurses, lack of appropriate training, and frequent mistakes may result in liabilities to the medical facility, serious allegations, and legal actions.

The Average Time to Fill A Nurse Position In Healthcare Is Higher Than Other Industry

On average, healthcare providers take 48 days to fill any given position, which is comparatively more than other industries. These shortcomings are due to provider shortage, new talent difficulties, and hard-to-fill positions in the healthcare industry.

Training versus experience is another aspect that increases the longevity of healthcare job vacancies. Thus the debate combined with the chaos of department-level hiring and lengthy job screenings also adds to nursing staff issues in healthcare.

Experience Vs. Quality May Slows Down The Hiring Process

The question of degree vs. experience is an issue across any industry; however, it is more challenging for the human resources department in healthcare. Healthcare providers can't afford to the onboard talent that doesn't match their specific needs.

Therefore, when recruiters ask experience vs. degree questions, they must avoid personal inclinations or bias to fill the current position. The key to deciding between degree and experience is to remember diversity. If you want your organization to be a melting pot of young, newly trained, and experienced employees, you must focus on quality and experiences.

Recruitment Is Done At The Department Level

While the education vs. experience debate contributes to prolonged job vacancies in healthcare, the recruitment process itself is also to blame. Though HR departments facilitate recruiting, individual departments usually hire candidates. The kind of multi-layered recruitment process makes hiring complicated and slow.

Some staff shortfalls are easier to predict; however, internal staffing is another possibility. Screening through PRN or floating nurses isn't always possible. You may have times when everything hits at once. The nurses are out on planned absences, and your business is ht with staff shortage. You need qualified staff and need them ASAP.

Cumbersome Screening Process

The cumbersome screen process is another staffing challenge in the healthcare industry. While screening involves social security tracing and criminal history information, and other background checks, the healthcare industry involves unique processes that don't match other industries.

Verification and credential screening, general services administration search, fraud and abuse control checks, and controlled substance screenings are a few additional screenings followed by the healthcare industry before filling hospital staffing requests.

Besides background-styled checks, a healthcare employer might have you take a tuberculosis test and verify if the candidate has received all necessary vaccinations. Thus, the screenings and health check a long time to fill the current nursing position.

Wrapping Up

With medical technology constantly advancing, there is no quick fix to nurses' challenges. With the shortage of available nurses and the increasing patient population in the US, keeping a safe nurse-to-patient ratio is a continuous challenge. Travel nurses are the best to avoid the many liabilities associated with not having sufficient nursing staff to handle the patient load.

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Written By:
Nivedita Nayak
Content Writer, Aviskaran Technologies