4 Ways Your Practice Can Overcome the Nursing Shortage

The American Nurses Association (ANA) recently sent a letter to The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) urging the HHS secretary to declare the unsustainable nurse staffing shortage a national crisis and to implement immediate solutions to address it. The nursing workforce crisis was a prevalent problem long before the pandemic. It’s a complex issue involving several factors, and it will likely take years to solve entirely. But there are many ways healthcare organizations can start addressing the problem now.

Why is There a Nursing Staff Shortage? 

Advancements in medicine and improved quality of life have helped Americans live longer, but not necessarily healthier, lives. As the population grows older, the demand for health care services rises. This rising demand, however, doesn’t equate to the current supply of nurses.

The growing population of older adults also means that more Americans will be retiring, including nurses. The average age of registered nurses is 50 years old, and many have chosen to speed up their retirement due to the stress of the pandemic. Additionally, current nursing school enrollments are not growing fast enough to meet expected demands. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) report, several US nursing schools had to turn down 80,407 applicants in 2019 due to insufficient faculty and facilities.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated many chronic nursing workforce challenges like burnout, emotional exhaustion, and feelings of lack of support. A survey from Trusted Health said that  39% of nurses ages 20-39 reported feeling less committed to nursing because of the pandemic. Nursing is already a stressful and demanding job, but with the pressure of the pandemic, more nurses are transitioning to other healthcare roles or leaving the field entirely. Many nurses have made extraordinary sacrifices while overcoming health risks, limited equipment, and the pandemic’s uncertainty, pushing them to breaking point.

Impact on the Healthcare System

Nurses are an essential part of the healthcare system. Several studies show that when there are enough nurses and a lower patient-to-nurse ratio, it improves patient safety and outcomes. On the other hand, nursing shortages lead to more errors, higher patient readmission rates, and worse mortality rates. Moreover, when fewer nurses take care of patients, it can lead to prolonged patient wait times and overcrowded emergency rooms.

Nurse burnout is both a symptom and a cause. As more nurses leave their jobs, the remaining staff are forced to pick up the work left behind, increasing their workload and lengthening their hours. The added pressure and stress can quickly lead to burnout, work dissatisfaction, and lower standards of patient care.

Over one million nurses are expected to retire between 2010-2030, taking years of clinical knowledge and wisdom with them. As more experienced nurses retire, healthcare organizations are struggling to find skilled nurses to take their place. Instead, new nurses are prematurely thrown into a stressful, critical care environment, increasing the risk of burnout and turnover.

Addressing the Nursing Shortage

The increasing demand for healthcare coupled with the current nursing shortage is creating a gloomy future for healthcare. Stopping the nursing shortage crisis requires long-term strategic planning with the help of government institutions. However, individual healthcare organizations can help mitigate the problem with these solutions.

1. Offer Relocation Compensation

Healthcare organizations need to attract new nurses and retain experienced ones. The good news is that the nursing shortage isn’t the same in every state. Some states have too many nurses, while others don’t have enough. Providing a compensation package that includes a relocation allowance is an excellent incentive for nurses from states with a surplus of registered nurses to transfer to those with a deficit.

2. Foster a Healthy Working Environment

Every organization wants to keep its best talent. However, the uncertainty of the pandemic is leaving our nurses uninspired by their work. Create engagement, recognition, and mental health support programs that help nurses feel good about the work they do. People go into nursing because it’s a rewarding and fulfilling career. When their work goes unrecognized, especially during stressful times, they might be tempted to look for opportunities elsewhere. Holding recognition programs at regular intervals is a powerful tool for retaining employees.

Build an engagement program that is meaningful to your employees. For example, if your staff values fitness, you can hold fitness challenges or offer discounted rates  with the local fitness center.

Provide mental health resources and programs to help relieve workplace stress. ANA listed resources and tips specifically curated for nurses on their website. 

3. Provide Growth Opportunities

Training and growth opportunities help retain employees and increase job satisfaction. Advancement opportunities can include leadership, management, communication, or other specialty-specific skills training. Make it a priority to invest in nurses’ professional development. Give them time to attend conferences and offer reimbursement.

Nurses need continuing medical education to meet licensing requirements throughout their careers, but allotting time for it isn’t always easy. Providing easy access to continuing medical education opportunities through in-house or online classes can increase participation in this obligation and help nurses save travel time.

4. Use Healthcare Recruitment Solutions

Finding the right employee and retaining them can be time-consuming for your healthcare organization. Plus, the current nursing shortage is making recruitment more challenging. Outsourcing your recruitment process to a company specializing in healthcare is an efficient strategy to combat the shortage. Not only do recruiting companies have the expertise, but they have a large pool of candidates and a good selection of quality prospects, so you’ll never fall short on applicants.

Companies like Nexus HR, a top healthcare recruitment company with a global reach, can help you bridge the skill-set gap between early-career nurses and experienced nurses who will soon be retiring. Nexus HR follows a rigorous screening process, helping you find the best candidate that fits your organization. With an end-to-end recruitment process that offers everything from onboarding and training programs to compensation and benefits planning, Nexus HR helps you retain quality employees. Contact Nexus HR today to help you get top talent for your organization and build long-term employees.