Business
5 Ways to Manage The Healthcare Staffing Shortage
America is currently facing a detrimental shortage of healthcare workers, and this trend is expected to grow much worse moving forward. In fact, reports estimate that within the next two years, the nation could be experiencing a shortage of hundreds of thousands of professionals throughout the medical field. Taking measures to manage this issue and bridge the gap for the future has become an urgent need..
1) Turning to Locum Tenens Providers
One way to manage the ongoing shortage both now and in the future is by turning to agencies that offer locum tenens providers. These medical professionals fill temporary staffing needs for healthcare facilities, which can help address the shortage in a few key ways. For one, they can step in when hospitals, clinics, and other facilities lose staff members. That fosters continuity in care while facilities search for permanent staff members. Secondly, locum tenens providers can allow permanent staff to take vacations or personal leaves when needed to help prevent burnout.
2) Embracing a Remote or Hybrid Business Model
Another way to mitigate the healthcare worker shortage is to embrace the ever-growing concept of a remote workforce. Granted, medical facilities can’t operate on a solely remote work model. Sometimes, there’s simply no substitute for in-person care. Still, many facilities are turning to remote staff members and hybrid work models.
In many cases, medical facilities’ remote positions are reserved for support staff. With the telehealth sector continuing to gain steam, quite a few physicians, nurse practitioners, and other professionals can more effectively work on a remote basis as well. Remote and hybrid work models give staff members a bit more freedom and flexibility. That further prevents burnout and may give people more incentive to enter the medical field.
3) Encouraging New People to Enter the Medical Field
That brings us to the need to encourage more newcomers to enter the medical field. Though numerous rising students are interested in becoming healthcare professionals, many of them are discouraged by the demanding nature of healthcare, lengthy educational requirements, high costs of education and training, and other hurdles. Health systems can offset that problem by offering fast-tracking programs, tuition assistance, and additional incentives. Even implementing head-start programs for high school students can further encourage more people to enter the field. In turn, those measures may help mitigate the shortage in the future.
4) Offering Current Staff Support
Offering greater support and incentives for existing medical professionals may also slow the growth rate of the shortage. Reports indicate that many medical professionals are leaving the field due to burnout, emotional strain, not enough pay, and other issues. Although offering higher salaries is one option here, not all healthcare systems or facilities have the budget for that.
Instead, they may be able to provide more in-depth onboarding and training programs and improve their current workflows. Offering counseling and additional mental health solutions for their employees could be effective as well. As mentioned, locum tenens providers can also enable medical facilities to reduce their workloads on staff members and allow them to take much-needed time off.
5) Expanding Talent Searches
Healthcare facilities can also expand their talent searches to include a broader range of prospects. Though the shortage is nationwide and even global at this point, many areas are being harder hit than others. Extending their searches for medical professionals outside their immediate areas will allow medical facilities to tap into a broader talent pool and potentially bring in new staff members to fill their job openings.
Mitigating the Healthcare Staffing Shortage
Analysts expect the healthcare worker shortage to continue growing in the years to come. That means many medical facilities may be affected even more so than they are now. Turning to locum tenens providers and remote workers can help ease the burden. Encouraging more people to enter the medical field, providing more support for existing staff, and looking for professionals on a broader level may help turn the tide as well.
Kenneth is a proud native of sydney, born and raised there. However, he pursued his education abroad and studied in Australia. Kenneth has worked as a journalist for almost a decade, making valuable contributions to prominent publications such as Yahoo News and The Verge. Currently, he serves as a journalist for The Hear Up, where he focuses on covering climate and science news. You can reach Kenneth at [email protected].
