Nursing Shortage Solutions For 2022
March 14, 2022
It’s no secret that the U.S. nursing shortage has made the job of adequately and effectively scheduling nurses in hospitals, clinics, and offices around the country extremely challenging.
2022 Nursing Shortage Solutions
Minimizing overtime to reduce nurse burnout and properly managing employment costs while also covering all necessary shifts can be daunting.
The good news is, that managing the nurse shortage is not an impossible task if you have the right scheduling tools paired with the right scheduling strategies. This will give your facility the ability to do the following:
- Reduce workplace stress
- Improve employee satisfaction
- Build an atmosphere of mutual respect
- Achieve positive workplace outcomes among your nursing staff.
Per Diem or Contingent Staff Can Fill in the Gaps
Even with enticing perks, sign-on bonuses, and additional offers to fill those less-than-desirable shifts, there may still be a few that consistently seem open. As a scheduler, you understand how crucial it is to get every shift position staffed for optimal performance. Units that are understaffed have nurses that are overworked, overstressed, and distracted. Hiring contingent nurses that are available to fill open shifts as needed can be the perfect solution to those frustrating staffing problems. Having contingent workers on standby means that you don’t have to guarantee specified hours to those nurses on a weekly basis. These nurses typically don’t want full-time hours, so that makes managing the schedule that much easier.
Using Training and Educational Opportunities as a Perk to Staffing Your Nursing Unit
One of the reasons that many nurses fail to volunteer for those “undesirable” shifts is because they feel unprepared or insecure about handling the common difficulties associated with the shifts. As medical technology changes, advancements in medicine develop, it’s important for your nurses to be able to adapt.
By offering training, certifications, and other educational opportunities, your nursing staff (both new and established) will know that their employer cares about their professional growth and development.
Which trainings might open doors for promotions within the facility? When new opportunities for growth and advancement develop, your nursing staff can be kept well-informed and in the loop about the training that apply to them. Consider utilizing your nurse scheduling software’s Class function as a way for nurses to sign up for educational opportunities. Additionally, a scheduling system that provides messaging capabilities allows you to alert your nurses about opportunities via personal or group communications.
When nurses feel valued and appreciated on the job, they enjoy coming to work, their performance improves, and they develop a greater desire to work hard and take on more responsibility.
Schedule360® can help make all of that possible. Allowing for clear and concise communication, automated scheduling, and nursing accountability, your nurses will be an integral part of the scheduling process. Your nurses will be happier and your ability to fill open shifts will be much simpler than ever before. Call us today for more information and to learn how Schedule360® can be a benefit for your medical care facility.
