Healthcare Staffing Shortages: What’s The Solution?

• November 3, 2022
• kupplinadmin
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The American College of Healthcare Executives’ annual survey found that, for the first time in over two decades, staffing shortages were the top issue among CEOs. In a research published in December, Moody’s Investors Service predicted that nonprofit hospitals and public health care will see a reduction in operating cash flow as a result of staffing shortages and rising labor costs.

It is widely held that the current staffing shortages, especially in the nursing profession, are more severe than in the past and will continue into 2022. However, measures can be made now to alleviate labor shortages in the future.

Personalize Retention Strategies

According to the AHA’s 2022 Talent Scan assessment, retention can be improved by listening to clinicians to learn about their needs and wants and then developing solutions accordingly. Some nurses may place a higher value on mental health and well-being resources to cope with job-related stress, or on assistance with child or eldercare, while others may place a higher value on recognition and reward for competence and effort.

Relying on APRNs more often.

In response to the critical demand for primary care providers, many states’ governors have issued executive orders expanding the duties of licensed nurse practitioners (NPs). Along with the rise of value-based care models, their importance will only increase, according to research from McKinsey & Company. There has been a 12% increase in their numbers over the past year, bringing the total number of members to almost 325,000. Primary care physicians are in short supply across the country, but a greater emphasis on the usage of NPs and PAs could help.

Making an Effort to Become a Millennial and Gen Z Hotspot

New clinicians have more options in terms of where and for what kind of organization they want to work as workforce shortages persist. Provide employees with flexible working hours to promote creativity. Meanwhile, by establishing a career lattice, you can retain and develop entry-level individuals interested in health care who would not otherwise understand they have room to advance in their current positions. Gen Z employees frequently choose cultural fit over traditional perks, so it’s important to communicate your company’s mission, values, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Merge Strategic and Human Resource Planning

Learn more about the impact on the workforce and the nature of physicians’ roles as the healthcare landscape is revolutionized by fundamental variables such as socioeconomic factors that influence health, rising technologies, and consumerism. Build a setting that helps the group adapt to change. Strategies should be developed to reskill the current workforce and boost the talent pipeline by establishing new professional development routes and forming strategic alliances in response to changes in skill sets and capabilities.

Develop Your Own Strategies

Some medical facilities and networks are preparing ahead of time by amassing clinicians they can redeploy seasonally or temporarily. Before the pandemic, CommonSpirit Health had already realized the importance of establishing its own internal nurse-staffing agency, but the emergence of COVID-19 hastened that process. According to Kathleen Sanford, executive vice president and chief nursing executive at CommonSpirit, having an internal staffing agency allows nurses more freedom to travel when it is convenient for their life while still remaining in the business and maintaining their seniority.