There’s No ‘Magic Cure’ for Nurse Staffing Challenges – But This Approach Could Help
The following is a guest article by Jane Jeppson, RN, MBA, Head of Clinical Operations at Nursa
In 11 years of nursing, I’ve watched too many colleagues I respect leave the profession.
Their reasons are personal yet universal: frustration and burnout due to scheduling inflexibility, unmanageable workplace conditions, and lack of opportunities for career advancement.
It’s heartbreaking to see so many talented clinicians walk away.
The exodus of nurses is a crisis within the U.S. healthcare system. Some projections indicate we are headed toward a shortfall of up to 450,000 nurses by next year. Yet even as we explore ways to retain nursing talent while bracing for further impact, hospitals and healthcare leaders struggle to stem the tide.
What’s needed is a shift away from traditional solutions toward new models of nurse recruitment and retention.
The Need for a New Approach
Today, nearly one out of three nurse leaders plan to change positions in the year ahead, in part because they don’t have the financial or technical resources to meet nurse workforce needs, a recent survey found. Meanwhile, another survey showed that though nurses reported higher levels of nurse satisfaction in 2023 versus 2022, more than half were still unhappy with their current job. Six out of 10 believe their organization doesn’t support nurses and patients over profits.
Healthcare leaders will not be able to buy their way out of the problem and achieve the nurse staffing levels they seek. According to a survey of healthcare executives, 77% say they have increased wages for nurses by 20% or more, yet 86% still saw 10% or more of their nursing staff quit in 2023. These nurses sought work elsewhere or left the field altogether, whether for their own self-preservation or for the sake of their families.
Increases in acuity levels, workplace violence, and mental health struggles are just a few of the challenges nurses face daily. Shift after shift, these woes are compounded when layered with mandatory overtime, frequent staff departures, and low nurse-to-patient ratios. Most nurses are also juggling significant workloads at home, including taking care of family members, children, and themselves.
As a former bedside nurse, I’ve watched turnover trending upward through the years. I’ve wondered why nurses who worked hard to get accepted into and graduate from competitive nursing programs would leave when they still love the art and science of nursing. The common denominator I heard in their answers? Rigidity of working conditions and scheduling.
Flexibility, on the other hand, empowers nurses to stay in the field they love. It allows them to practice behaviors that breed resilience – something they’re often told they need more of. It creates opportunities for nurses to work at the bedside while maintaining their own physical and mental health, meeting caregiving needs at home, and providing pathways to pursue further education in the field. It is an incredibly powerful way to show nurses they are heard, respected, and valued.
It’s Time for a New Model
We’re lucky to live in a time when technology can help solve decades-old problems with nurse staffing at the speed of the internet and without adding more burden to nurse leaders’ workloads.
The latest nurse staffing platforms—accessible via a PC or mobile device—serve as digital switchboards, connecting competent nurses to facilities needing to fill open shifts quickly. Through these platforms, nurse administrators are empowered to more efficiently address changing patient census and staffing needs with a few taps on a screen or clicks of a mouse.
The key to enjoying the benefits of a tech-enabled approach is a willingness to adopt new models of staffing that meet the evolving needs and priorities of nurses, especially the emerging generation of frontline clinicians. Mandatory overtime for full-time employees who are already operating at their own personal capacity leads to burnout and turnover – not only from that unit but potentially from the bedside completely. Instead, administrators should invest in tools that expand the nursing workforce they can pull from without straining their full-time staff.
Hybrid staffing models—ones that integrate contract clinicians where needed to supplement staff nurses—also support a critical pipeline for the future of the nursing workforce. The flexibility and improved work-life balance of a hybrid model empowers CNAs, LPNs, and RNs to pursue education and further advance their careers. Without the necessary flexibility to juggle their home life, caregiving responsibilities, and personal and career goals, clinicians turn to other opportunities that will meet those needs, even if they are found outside of the nursing profession.
There is a significant and growing segment of untapped, experienced, competent nursing talent that could solve a lot of the workforce challenges for healthcare administrators. Models that prioritize flexibility in work create opportunities to not only tap into these pools to fill shifts with significantly less effort but also alleviate burnout and improve retention of existing staff.
Finding new solutions to nursing workforce challenges is critical. Leveraging technology and hybrid staffing models to meet the evolving needs of the current and new generation of nurses will alleviate healthcare administrators’ staffing burdens, retain highly skilled clinicians, and improve the caregiving experience for all – especially patients.
Jane Jeppson is the Head of Clinical Operations for Nursa. She is a registered nurse with more than a decade of experience across diverse healthcare roles and environments. With a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Business Administration degree, Jane has blended her clinical expertise with a deep understanding of healthcare management. She has worked as a bedside nurse in specialties ranging from Pediatric Neurosurgery and Trauma to Pulmonary Oncology, PACU, and Same-Day Surgery. She’s also worked in various hospital leadership roles, including as a charge nurse, educator, and patient and nurse experience leader, where she consistently strived for excellence in patient care. Jane has also leveraged her clinical expertise for humanitarian efforts in Guatemala, the Philippines, and Taiwan. In her role at Nursa, she spearheads initiatives that empower and enrich the lives of nurses and create a positive impact on healthcare delivery.
The following is a guest article by Jane Jeppson, RN, MBA, Head of Clinical Operations at Nursa
In 11 years of nursing, I’ve watched too many colleagues I respect leave the profession.
Their reasons are personal yet universal: frustration and burnout due to scheduling inflexibility, unmanageable workplace conditions, and lack of opportunities for career advancement.
It’s heartbreaking to see so many talented clinicians walk away.
The exodus of nurses is a crisis within the U.S. healthcare system. Some projections indicate we are headed toward a shortfall of up to 450,000 nurses by next year. Yet even as we explore ways to retain nursing talent while bracing for further impact, hospitals and healthcare leaders struggle to stem the tide.
What’s needed is a shift away from traditional solutions toward new models of nurse recruitment and retention.
The Need for a New Approach
Today, nearly one out of three nurse leaders plan to change positions in the year ahead, in part because they don’t have the financial or technical resources to meet nurse workforce needs, a recent survey found. Meanwhile, another survey showed that though nurses reported higher levels of nurse satisfaction in 2023 versus 2022, more than half were still unhappy with their current job. Six out of 10 believe their organization doesn’t support nurses and patients over profits.
Healthcare leaders will not be able to buy their way out of the problem and achieve the nurse staffing levels they seek. According to a survey of healthcare executives, 77% say they have increased wages for nurses by 20% or more, yet 86% still saw 10% or more of their nursing staff quit in 2023. These nurses sought work elsewhere or left the field altogether, whether for their own self-preservation or for the sake of their families.
Increases in acuity levels, workplace violence, and mental health struggles are just a few of the challenges nurses face daily. Shift after shift, these woes are compounded when layered with mandatory overtime, frequent staff departures, and low nurse-to-patient ratios. Most nurses are also juggling significant workloads at home, including taking care of family members, children, and themselves.
As a former bedside nurse, I’ve watched turnover trending upward through the years. I’ve wondered why nurses who worked hard to get accepted into and graduate from competitive nursing programs would leave when they still love the art and science of nursing. The common denominator I heard in their answers? Rigidity of working conditions and scheduling.
Flexibility, on the other hand, empowers nurses to stay in the field they love. It allows them to practice behaviors that breed resilience – something they’re often told they need more of. It creates opportunities for nurses to work at the bedside while maintaining their own physical and mental health, meeting caregiving needs at home, and providing pathways to pursue further education in the field. It is an incredibly powerful way to show nurses they are heard, respected, and valued.
It’s Time for a New Model
We’re lucky to live in a time when technology can help solve decades-old problems with nurse staffing at the speed of the internet and without adding more burden to nurse leaders’ workloads.
The latest nurse staffing platforms—accessible via a PC or mobile device—serve as digital switchboards, connecting competent nurses to facilities needing to fill open shifts quickly. Through these platforms, nurse administrators are empowered to more efficiently address changing patient census and staffing needs with a few taps on a screen or clicks of a mouse.
The key to enjoying the benefits of a tech-enabled approach is a willingness to adopt new models of staffing that meet the evolving needs and priorities of nurses, especially the emerging generation of frontline clinicians. Mandatory overtime for full-time employees who are already operating at their own personal capacity leads to burnout and turnover – not only from that unit but potentially from the bedside completely. Instead, administrators should invest in tools that expand the nursing workforce they can pull from without straining their full-time staff.
Hybrid staffing models—ones that integrate contract clinicians where needed to supplement staff nurses—also support a critical pipeline for the future of the nursing workforce. The flexibility and improved work-life balance of a hybrid model empowers CNAs, LPNs, and RNs to pursue education and further advance their careers. Without the necessary flexibility to juggle their home life, caregiving responsibilities, and personal and career goals, clinicians turn to other opportunities that will meet those needs, even if they are found outside of the nursing profession.
There is a significant and growing segment of untapped, experienced, competent nursing talent that could solve a lot of the workforce challenges for healthcare administrators. Models that prioritize flexibility in work create opportunities to not only tap into these pools to fill shifts with significantly less effort but also alleviate burnout and improve retention of existing staff.
Finding new solutions to nursing workforce challenges is critical. Leveraging technology and hybrid staffing models to meet the evolving needs of the current and new generation of nurses will alleviate healthcare administrators’ staffing burdens, retain highly skilled clinicians, and improve the caregiving experience for all – especially patients.
Jane Jeppson is the Head of Clinical Operations for Nursa. She is a registered nurse with more than a decade of experience across diverse healthcare roles and environments. With a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Business Administration degree, Jane has blended her clinical expertise with a deep understanding of healthcare management. She has worked as a bedside nurse in specialties ranging from Pediatric Neurosurgery and Trauma to Pulmonary Oncology, PACU, and Same-Day Surgery. She’s also worked in various hospital leadership roles, including as a charge nurse, educator, and patient and nurse experience leader, where she consistently strived for excellence in patient care. Jane has also leveraged her clinical expertise for humanitarian efforts in Guatemala, the Philippines, and Taiwan. In her role at Nursa, she spearheads initiatives that empower and enrich the lives of nurses and create a positive impact on healthcare delivery.
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2024-08-08 19:30
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Healthcare Central is published from a syndicated feed.
