Welcome to the ShiftMed blog where we discuss everything nursing, from professional insights to healthcare holidays to helpful hints for working with us.
When you claim shifts with ShiftMed, you're part of a team working as a W-2 employee—not a 1099 lone wolf. Unsure of the differences between W-2 employees and 1099 contractors? Don't worry; we'll break it down in the simplest, most entertaining way possible and discuss how these employment classifications influence your payroll taxes.
In recent years, the healthcare industry has faced an unprecedented increase in demand for skilled nursing professionals. As hospitals and health systems grapple with persistent staffing challenges, the utilization of travel nurses has emerged as a popular solution. These temporary healthcare providers are often deployed to fill critical gaps in staffing, ensuring continuity of care and alleviating the burden on permanent staff.
While there was already a shortage of skilled nursing staff and other healthcare workers prior to the pandemic, the past three years have pushed the shortage to critical levels. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there are 2.1 million job openings in healthcare, which is expected to grow to 3.2 million by 2026 as baby boomers age and require more care.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the critical role that healthcare workers play in our society, but it has also highlighted the risks of workforce instability in healthcare facilities. This instability can have significant budget implications, affect the quality of patient care, and lead to staff burnout and turnover. Furthermore, healthcare facilities face legal and regulatory risks if they fail to maintain a stable workforce.
The healthcare industry is facing a severe nursing shortage, and the impact of this crisis is being felt across the board. The shortage affects health systems in many ways, but one of the most significant impacts is operating budgets. As health systems struggle to maintain staffing levels, they rely on expensive agency contracts and travel nurses, contributing to budget instability. At the same time, labor costs continue to rise, making it challenging to maintain a balanced budget.
In today's digital age, health systems are inundated with an overwhelming amount of healthcare software and technology platforms that are critical for managing patient care and employee retention. However, this excess of healthcare software leads to major interoperability challenges, ultimately impacting patient outcomes and staff satisfaction.
Latent workforce opportunities in healthcare refer to untapped pools of internal and external labor that can help solve staffing challenges. With the ongoing healthcare staffing crisis, exploring these opportunities is critical to ensure high-quality patient care while reducing labor costs. One innovative solution to accessing internal and external labor is ShiftMed's technology platform, which empowers healthcare systems and facilities to seamlessly manage their internal labor pools and tap into a W-2 on-demand marketplace of over 350,000 credentialed nurses.
