Welcome to the ShiftMed blog where we discuss everything nursing, from professional insights to healthcare holidays to helpful hints for working with us.
Nursing may be a profession taken for granted in the U.S. (just like teachers), but the numbers speak differently to their value. As a career, there’s a lot of flexibility, stability, and earning potential working as a nurse.
There is a shift taking place in nursing and healthcare in the United States. The pandemic exposed a workforce staffing crisis that has been brewing for decades. On its current trajectory, it’s expected to get worse in the coming years because pay isn’t keeping up with the cost of living, healthcare workers are being asked to do more with fewer resources, and there aren’t incentives for nurses to enter the workforce.
Hiring quality, reliable healthcare professionals is tougher than ever. You've got nurses retiring, overworked nurses leaving the profession, and bottlenecks in nursing education. It's become a costly dog-eat-dog situation for healthcare providers trying to attract and retain top talent.
We've all heard the proverb, "the early bird gets the worm." It emphasizes the importance of starting something early to maximize the outcome. When using the ShiftMed app, it's best to post open shifts four to six weeks in advance to ensure fulfillment. However, we realize your facility schedulers don't always have that luxury with last-minute staff call outs. So, how can you fill critical shifts fast?
As healthcare continues to experience a labor shortage, wage inflation has become a significant issue. According to Premier Inc., the nurse base pay is up 9% since June 2021 and is likely to continue rising. Travel nursing agencies, which offer temporary nursing staff to fill in gaps in staffing, are expensive and exacerbate wage inflation. In fact, a recent 2022 report examined input from 272 hospitals in 32 states on registered nurse turnover, retention, vacancy rates, recruitment metrics and staffing strategies. The report revealed that for every 20 travel RNs eliminated, a hospital can save $4,203,000 on average. As a result, health systems and post-acute facilities are searching for alternative solutions.
If nurse retention is not a top priority at a healthcare facility, it should be. From 2020 to 2021, the average cost of turnover for one staff RN increased by 15%, bringing the financial implication of healthcare’s labor challenges into view.
