he landscape of healthcare staffing has faced more drastic changes in the past few years than it has for a long time. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare sector has become an increasingly competitive setting, creating more challenges for both healthcare workers and hiring managers alike.
These challenges have also created a paradigm shift in nursing. On the other hand, the brightest minds in the field have been working to find solutions to these problems and have made plenty of breakthroughs this year.
While numerous healthcare organizations have made enough adjustments in their processes in 2022 to be prepared for the new year, it is crucial to consider what trends will continue to affect the industry.
As employers for nurses, you may use these healthcare staffing industry trends to guide your workforce strategies in the coming year.
Advancements in nursing technology will continue to arise. Technological advances are inevitable in any field, and the healthcare sector is no exception.
In 2022, you have seen the birth of new nursing technology that will help pave the way for better healthcare in the following years. According to Forbes, some of the most impactful tech trends in healthcare include telemedicine, extended reality, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning.
New tech advancements can help make jobs more manageable, but new demands must also be met.
The pandemic has made telemedicine or remote healthcare necessary, with remote consultations rising to 32% in regards to outpatient concerns and 13-17% in other specialties. It also means that all healthcare staff must be well-versed in using said technology. Additional training will prove worthwhile as telemedicine would allow nurses to avoid traveling to work and wait times when doing their rounds.
Another technological advancement that affects nurses is the implementation of AI. It is mainly used in healthcare for gathering, classifying, and handling data. However, AI has recently been used to track a patient’s well-being, such as sensors that check if the patient has fallen, automated alerts, and many others.
One of the significant changes you may have seen this year is the mode of healthcare delivery. With the pandemic significantly accelerating the use of telemedicine and remote healthcare, nurses and patients benefit from a more efficient method than face-to-face consultations.
This trend allows for more streamlined healthcare processes as it provides advantages, such as reduced travel hours and wait times.
In the earlier days of implementing this healthcare delivery model, differing workflows caused inefficiencies that made the setup less than ideal for most. This problem continues to be remedied by the proper training of healthcare staff and guidance for telemedicine navigators.
The telehealth setup may have many advantages, but it also means that your nurses must be well-versed in modern healthcare. Along with this comes a rise in demand for well-trained nurses in the newest healthcare delivery methods available.
The past year has shown a ballooning demand for nurses, mainly temporary nurses and travel nurses. In conjunction with this, the World Health Organization (WHO) records an approximate worldwide shortage of 4.3 million healthcare workers.
More studies by more organizations, such as the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the American Nurses Association (ANA), highlight the need for more nurses and the rise of available nursing jobs. This nurse shortage is attributed to a lack of educators, an aging population and workforce, unequal workload distribution, and burnout.
To combat this continuing problem, you can focus more on nurse retention. This includes empowerment, implementation of new technology, and meeting the needs of your nurses.
Another good way to address this issue is by using healthcare staffing organizations. Reputable staffing agencies for nurses would ensure that nurses are adequately placed and trained for their assigned workplaces, reducing the top factors that affect nurse retention, like burnout.
Burnout is known to be one of the leading causes of nurse shortages. While it is present in any occupation, the enormous amounts of stress that nurses deal with every day make it a pressing issue in the profession itself.
Burnout can be caused by several factors, such as long working hours, the number of patients, and stressful specialties. It not only affects nurse retention, but it also increases infection and mortality rates among patients and lowers the general quality of care delivered.
The proper nurse-to-patient ratio, emotional support, and reasonable workload and working hours should be implemented to avoid burnout.
For many, this could mean hiring more nurses to distribute the workload equally. Some staffing organizations outsource nursing professionals globally, which can prove helpful in combating the nursing staff shortage crisis.
As for any professional setting, it is essential to acknowledge that everyone uses social media, including nurses. We put the social media trend in the in-between because it has both positive and negative effects on nursing, depending on the usage.
Responsible use of social media can transform it into a source of inspiration and support for the nursing staff. Nurses can share their experiences and tips on social media. Even organizations such as the American Journal of Nursing and the ANA have social media accounts.
The flip side of this trend? Sometimes, posts reveal confidential patient information, which would breach security and privacy. It can also be used for bad publicity when fake news is spread and unprofessional behaviors are exposed.
In general, your nurses should not be discouraged from using social media. Instead, initiate educating them and giving them clear guidelines on social media use.
How could they positively use social media? What boundaries must they respect? Healthcare staffing can also help you with this by providing nurses training that includes social media etiquette.
The field of medicine has benefitted so much from learning from the past. By closely looking at these healthcare staffing trends, you can have realizations that will help your organization. Eventually, you can make meaningful changes and be more prepared for the future.
At PRS Global, we pride ourselves on having compassion at the center of our engagements and instilling a mindset of putting people first. This entails giving our clients the best quality of care by providing the best healthcare professionals we can.
With this in mind, we employ excellent methods of global outsourcing and screening to guarantee that we onboard the best nurses for your organization. You can learn more about the benefits we can provide or contact us now for your staffing needs.