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In recent years, on-demand staffing has risen to great promises with healthcare in particular. Even before the gig-economy boom, hospitals and other facilities leaned on per-diem nursing agencies to account for labor shortages and vacancies that must be filled at short notice. Whenever full time employees were on paid leave, sick leave or maternity leave, these agencies have been relied on to cover for their absences. In some regards, healthcare has been notably ahead of the curve with its staffing solutions, compared to other industries.
Though always prominent, the pandemic has pushed per diem nursing into the forefront. Workplace stress and conditions at the height of COVID-19 has pushed nurses, physicians and other HCPs to their absolute limits. As a result, said nurses have begun to leave the industry at a record-shattering rate. Per diem nursing agencies are now being heavily relied upon to handle short-term gaps while travel nurses are on-boarded to carry out long term needs. Despite this, agencies can be a slow, cumbersome and costly way to fill in vacant positions. On-boarding alone can take weeks to accomplish, at the best of times. This is why technology-based staffing solutions have become a powerful and preferred alternative as of late. With platforms like VitaWerks, healthcare organizations can account for higher demand and sudden patient spike counts, without sacrificing quality or timeliness. These staffing solutions are not only here to stay, but they are revolutionizing healthcare as we know it.
On demand nurse staffing adjust to changing market trends
Demand and supply for an industry like healthcare can be incredibly volatile. It is true that hospitals were woefully understaffed for the COVID-19 pandemic, but demand changes all the time in healthcare. To a lesser extent, events like flu season, massive accidents or natural disasters will flood hospitals with more than their expected daily patient case volumes. Accidents in particular tend to stress-test trauma centers. Taking account the severity of these cases, facilities must fill each vacancy with highly-qualified HCPs who have the training and experience to handle difficult and time sensitive operations.
Simply on-boarding more full time employees seems like a good solution. However, this would not be a sustainable business model, once the case numbers drop and the healthcare market returns to normal. Facilities will become overstaffed and they will be forced to shoulder unnecessary labor costs for very little return. Eventually, hospitals will have no choice but to make difficult and costly staff cuts in order to save their bottom line. This is not free of cost, either— hospitals often have to provide severance pay for any employees that they separate themselves from, in this manner. Leaving a facility understaffed is not a viable option, either. It is widely known that skewed patient-to-nurse ratios inevitably produce measurably worse patient outcomes. At the same time, they often lack the resources to hire more full time staff at all.
Fortunately, this is where technology-based on demand nurse appsstaffing comecomes in. Instead of choosing between two equally-bad extremes, facilities can flexibly adjust their staffing based on their current situation and context. Whenever cases rise or more specialized HCPs are required, hospitals can simply hire per diem nursestalent to handle the sudden increased workload, until that particular wave subsides and patient case volumes return to normal. For anyone hesitant to hire per diemthese kinds of HCPs with mobile services, platforms like VitaWerks go through thorough background checks and evaluation processes to ensure that their nurses are qualified to handle such complex cases. More and more facilities are starting to operate at a 60 percent staffing capacity, while hiring on demand HCP staff as needed. Healthcare facilities no longer have to contend with brutal labor shortages nor do they have to shoulder unnecessary labor costs. Instead, they can maintain the right amount of manpower for their situation, without compromising on quality whatsoever.
Striking the perfect balance
Maintaining that perfect nurse-to-patient ratio is more difficult now than it has ever been. Much of this can be attributed to the dramatic exodus of nurses the healthcare industry has seen in recent years. With the increased stress of acute care facilities, nurses are now turning to less-stressful healthcare environments or are leaving the industry altogether. In 2020, the average turnover rate for registered nurses in American hospitals rose to a staggering 18.7%. Retaining full-time talent with sound internal strategies while filling shortages with on demand nurse staffing as needed will ultimately be the key to avoiding understaffing. VitaWerks in particular will let you cover for vacant positions as soon as possible, with the most qualified per diem healthcare professionals on the market. More and more facilities are choosing to partner with this effective and innovative platform, as VitaWerks continues to expand its operations nationwide.
These offerings compare highly favorably to travel agency contracts that lock facilities to nurses for months on end. Not only that, but their on-boarding process can take at least a week, which is not good for facilities in an urgent situation. VitaWerks lets you truly hire spontaneously, on the spot and as-needed, at a fraction of the time and cost. With advanced AI-matching technology and an intuitive one-click platform, hospitals can find highly qualified and thoroughly-vetted nurses in just a matter of hours. If ever you run into any trouble at all, throughout the process, the app also provides you with high quality, 24/7 customer support. Connect to one of our expert nurse champions whenever you need any clarifications or assistance. For comparison, some agencies do not even offer weekend or night assistance at all. Finding professionals with VitaWerks is not only effective, it is a completely painless on demand nurse staffing process from start to finish.
Embracing the digital age
The world is changing at a shocking pace. Digitization has flipped several industries upside down and healthcare is no exception. The pandemic completely changed our perception of staffing and accounting for sudden unexpected changes in supply and demand. Travel agencies have always been there, as a way for hospitals to acquire much needed manpower whenever market trends started to shift right under them. More than anything, the pandemic showed the populace that that alone is sometimes not enough. Facilities require faster, more efficient staffing solutions without skimping on quality. That extra time spent waiting can mean the difference between a successful operation and a sinking ship that is simply delaying the inevitable.
On-demand staffing platforms like VitaWerks provide everything that the new age facility is looking for. The company is not content with sitting on its laurels either. With every passing day, its team of engineers and forward-thinkers are looking for new ways to improve on the AI and customer experience. Over time, these technology-based solutions are sure to eclipse traditional nurse staffing agencies in terms of prominence. Hospitals who made the transition to these advanced staffing solutions have already found immediate dividends. Filling vacancies has never been less-hassle free and more convenient than it is right now. As on-demand nurse staffing continues to improve, one can only imagine what lies ahead in this exciting new technological frontier. No matter what happens, you can count on VitaWerks to remain right at the forefront of innovative staffing solutions.
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