How staffing has evolved in healthcare

How has staffing evolved in healthcare? First, we need to acknowledge that, yes, there is a nursing crisis; it’s been brewing for a while. 

A decade ago, if an in-house staff nurse called out, a nursing manager scrambled to find a replacement, either by moving a nurse from one department to another or contacting a staffing agency. Once the coverage was filled, the manager could let out a strong sigh of relief. 

Over time, the nursing shortages have gotten worse. Now, nurse leaders and managers need a staffing solution more than ever to keep their nurses on their feet—literally. 

Healthcare staffing has evolved in many ways. Here’s why it has evolved and how facilities are taking charge in order to avoid being short-staffed. 

Healthcare staffing challenges

Staffing models in healthcare are constantly evolving due to specific challenges in finding enough nurses to meet the needs of fluctuating patient numbers. Aside from this, here are the top evidence-based challenges in healthcare staffing: 

• High turnover rates: The national average range for turnover rates is between 8.8 and 37 percent. 
• Burned-out nurses: About 65 percent of nurses report high levels of stress and burnout.
• Aging workforce: Around one million registered nurses (RNs) are older than 50. This means that one-third of the workforce could be at retirement age in the next 10 to 15 years.
• Budget concerns: Hospitals in both the private and public sectors deal with budget constraints and worries. According to the American Hospital Association, hospitals’ labor costs account for 60 percent of a hospital’s budget.

Due to these factors, nurse scheduling is becoming more difficult—that is, if the healthcare workforce management team doesn’t know where to look. Some of the best healthcare staffing trends strive to offer something traditional staffing methods don’t: flexibility. 

But first, let’s review some traditional staffing methods. 

Traditional staffing methods

Although traditional staffing methods present numerous challenges, they are still widely used in healthcare. However, numerous drawbacks have led healthcare leaders to think about innovative recruitment and retention strategies and new models that could improve staffing ratios and employee satisfaction. 

Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of some of the most common staffing methods that facilities still use today to source staff. 

Staffing agencies 

A nurse staffing agency acts as a middleman that sources potential healthcare professionals on behalf of a medical facility. 

The pros of staffing agencies include the following: 

• Save a facility’s time by pre-screening a healthcare professional and handling the paperwork 
• Provide access to a large talent pool of nurses 
• Take care of pre-screening and license checks, which lower the risk of hiring the “wrong” clinician

The cons of staffing agencies include the following: 

• Higher fees for facilities 
• Reduced control over the hiring process 
• Potential for higher turnover rates

Human resource hiring

Hospital human resources professionals take on the enormous task of recruiting and finding the best nursing candidates for their facilities.

These are some pros of traditional human resource hiring: 

• An HR professional is familiar with a facility’s culture and environment, making choosing and integrating a new nurse into the workplace easier. 
• An HR manager will strictly adhere to hiring policies and labor laws, reducing hiring bias and discrimination. 
• An HR manager may have access to different systems that leverage AI in healthcare recruitment, such as data-driven analytics that will identify and recruit top talent. 

Here are some cons of traditional human resource hiring:

• It is time-consuming to pre-screen and go through an extensive number of applications. Hosting interviews also takes up a lot of time. 
• Scaling is difficult when large staffing gaps need to be covered and there is not enough time to do so. 

Traditional staffing methods have advantages. However, as the nursing crisis exacerbates, there are more flexible staffing solutions in healthcare that are addressing nurse burnout and other challenges through alternative staffing models, better technology, and—yep, you guessed it—flexible scheduling. 

Emerging staffing models

You know what doesn’t need to be a hassle? Workforce planning in healthcare—you know, those everyday tasks that can be streamlined and automated through emerging staffing models. These new trends are making staffing a whole lot easier. 

The following models are panning out to be some of the best ways to nip healthcare staffing shortages in the bud. 

Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of some of the most innovative and flexible on-demand staffing models available today. 

Flexible and on-demand staffing models

Flexible and on-demand staffing models streamline and accelerate staff sourcing and scheduling, using technology to speed up the process. 

One way technology is showing up in healthcare is through the emergence of marketplace apps that help facilities find qualified staff quickly. These apps are revolutionizing the way facilities source staff. 

The pros of on-demand staffing models include the following: 

• Efficiently source nurses with different skills, maintaining adequate staffing levels.
• Get to know the nurse applicant before contracting or hiring them. For example, Nursa is a platform that gives facilities direct contact with the nurses who apply for shifts, so the healthcare centers can decide which candidate fits the opening. Facilities can also hire clinicians for full-time positions without paying hire-away fees.
• Save money, as per diem nurses (nurses who work on a contract basis) don’t receive employee benefits.

The cons of on-demand staffing models include the following: 

• Contract nurses will have less time to familiarize themselves with a hospital’s protocols and procedures. 
• Contract nurses may have difficulty fostering and building relationships with the regular nurse team. 

Remote and telehealth staffing solutions

Remote and telehealth work opportunities provide other flexible staffing solutions that can help facilities achieve adequate levels of nursing staff. 

Telehealth staffing solutions are particularly beneficial for rural or underserved populations, where certain nursing skills are less accessible. 

The pros of remote and telehealth staffing models include the following: 

• Facilities have access to a larger pool of nurse talent from all over the country, which can be critical for certain patient care services, particularly in rural areas.
• These models allow nurses to work at the top of their scope of practice in rural areas or underserved facilities while receiving remote supervision from a physician.
• Clinicians who are not willing to relocate full time to a rural location could choose to care for patients through a hybrid of remote and in-person work. 

The cons of remote and telehealth staffing models include the following:

• There are potential technology issues, such as lapses in communication and connection. 
• Patients do not feel as connected to a telehealth nurse as they would to a nurse who works with them directly at their bedside. 

These types of on-demand staffing solutions offer facilities access to faster, smarter, and more scalable staffing strategies. At the same time, all facilities should be aware of new staffing compliance policies that demand that certain medical settings always have enough nurses on the premises. 

Staffing compliance in healthcare

Talking about compliance always feels a bit intimidating. Standards and regulations are not always black and white, but when it comes to staffing, it’s starting to be. New legislation is mandating that medical facilities meet minimum staffing ratios. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) confirmed in April 2024 that it will “hold nursing homes accountable for providing safe and high-quality care for nearly 1.2 million residents living in Medicare and Medicaid-certified long-term facilities.” 

The CMS ensured accountability by issuing the Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care (LTC) Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting final rule.

One stand-out element of this rule is that it requires at least one registered nurse to be on-site at all times. Before this, there were exceptions during nights and low-census hours.

This is a monumental step for improving the safety of patients and the quality of care through better staffing solutions. 

Staffing for healthcare facilities of today

The reality is that staffing in healthcare doesn’t have to be the headache it used to be. There are ingenious and flexible staffing models that use technology and years of research to create staffing solutions that actually work.

While traditional staffing methods still serve a purpose, the evolution of more progressive staffing models is already ahead of the curve. 

These flexible models, like on-demand staffing apps, allow facilities to fill shifts with qualified nurses in seconds—a dream come true for any healthcare manager.Copy textCopy HTMLRejectDone