The Future of Nursing: Why Permanent Hires Are Essential for Long-Term Success

The Future of Nursing: Why Permanent Hires Are Essential for Long-Term Success

With the ongoing pressures facing the healthcare system, many healthcare providers continue to rely heavily on temporary or contract nursing staff. This can lead to a lack of continuity in patient care, increased costs, and decreased job satisfaction for nurses. The pandemic saw an increase in travel nursing. In 2019, only about 2% of all registered nurses were travel nurses, but from January 2020 to the fall of 2021, travel nurse openings increased by nearly 500% . We’ll explore why permanent hires are essential for the long-term success of the nursing profession and the healthcare industry as a whole, and what steps can be taken to secure these nursing roles.?

Benefits of perm vs. term nursing staff

Permanent nurse staffing provides greater continuity of care for patients, and we can see the impact this has on medical outcomes. For example, a recent UK study found that “a one percentage point increase in the proportion of rostered RN hours worked by permanent and bank RNs was associated with a statistically significant reduction of 1.2%–1.4% in the odds of patient death”.?

Additionally, permanent nursing staff can help healthcare providers save money. While travel nursing may present a short term solution, a reliance on these roles can be a huge financial burden. For example, one Atlanta-based healthcare organization spent $400 million in 2020 on temporary nurse staffing, a third of which went directly to agencies, rather than to nurses.?

Finally, permanent nursing staff can provide a sense of stability and consistency to healthcare providers. When nurses are hired on a permanent basis, they are more likely to feel invested in their work and committed to the success of the organization. This can lead to increased job satisfaction and retention rates. However, despite the benefits of permanent nursing staff, many healthcare providers struggle to attract and retain qualified nurses.

The challenge of recruiting and retaining nurses

One of the biggest challenges healthcare providers face in retaining qualified nurses is competition. Nurses who are in high demand can be selective about where they work, and many organizations struggle to stay competitive with ever-increasing compensation packages in other workplaces. Since 2021, some healthcare organizations have been offering sign-on bonuses of $50,000, and even more, in attempts to beat their competition.

However, even with increased monetary incentives, nurses have been burning out at record rates and moving to other professions. If job dissatisfaction has an impact on retention, job skepticism has an impact on recruitment. Nurses are wary of pursuing a job that may have higher mental and physical demands, while potentially not being equipped with the tools and resources to meet them. Recruiters and talent acquisition professionals are therefore left with the task of selling a role that already garners negative public perception. As a result, each organization's unique workplace culture is often the deciding factor when it comes to retaining and recruiting nurses.?

Taking steps to attract and retain more permanent nursing staff

There is no easy fix to the challenge of recruiting and retaining permanent nursing staff. We’ve heard a few helpful ideas in our conversations with healthcare talent acquisition and human resources leaders.

First, nursing leadership plays a critical role in promoting permanent hires and the retention of existing staff by helping their organizations develop strategies for attracting and retaining qualified nurses. They can also advocate for competitive salaries and benefits and provide opportunities for professional development, training, and promotion. We know from the many nurses we survey that job satisfaction, manageable nurse-to-patient ratios, and career development programs are equally as important as pay.

Talent acquisition teams should also refine their sourcing strategies to focus not only on qualified nurses but also on those who are most likely to accept a job offer. This may involve reviewing screening questions and creating more targeted ads to get the right people to apply.?

Employers should consult nurses they’ve previously hired to identify what aspects of the recruitment, screening and onboarding processes could be improved. This knowledge can be used to better direct future recruitment initiatives and source from an optimal talent pool.?

Finally, consideration should be given to ways to improve the work-life balance for nurses. Offering counseling and other mental health programs, as well as professional development opportunities, can reduce the emotional strain and help nurses feel more invested in their workplace This contributes to happier and healthier nurses, higher retention rates, and better patient care.?

Applichat Healthcare helped 49 healthcare organizations in the USA and Canada hire more permanent nurses in 2022. See our results and read our client feedback here .