Why is there a nursing shortage?

Most areas are experiencing nursing shortages, but some locations are worse than others. If you’re struggling to find enough nursing help, you might be wondering, Why is there a nursing shortage? There are often many factors that create a nursing shortage, with possibilities that include:

• Nurse burnout : The nursing field has a high turnover rate due to the demands of the work. It’s a highly stressful job, and nurses often aren’t treated with respect despite all the hard work they do. This can lead to burnout, which causes nurses to leave for other careers. Normal healthcare situations result in burnout, but events like the COVID-19 pandemic can make it worse.
• Retiring nurses: An aging workforce means many nurses are retiring or preparing to retire. With so many people leaving the workforce, there aren’t as many left to train new nurses.
• Larger populations of older Americans: Increasing age in the general population also adds to the strain. Health care issues tend to increase with age, meaning the need for healthcare services is growing. Likewise, the life expectancy is rising, so people need health care for longer.
• Lack of instructors: Many nursing programs have to turn applicants away because they don’t have enough qualified instructors. This limits the number of new nurses who are entering the field.

Impact of a nursing shortage

No matter what the reason, a nursing shortage impacts your staff and patients. Being understaffed puts even more stress and responsibilities on your nurses, which can increase burnout. The pressure can cause them to rush, potentially resulting in mistakes, such as medication errors or missed symptoms.

Patients experience longer wait times. They may have to wait days or weeks to get an appointment with their physicians. At the office, patients might have to wait longer than usual to be taken to an exam room, or see a nurse or the doctor.

In the ER, the shortage can also extend the wait, which can allow an individual’s medical issue to progress before they receive treatment. Hospitals may have to turn patients away if they don’t have enough staff to care for them. Elective procedures might be postponed to devote resources to critical patients.

Hiring in a nursing shortage

Finding nurses to fill vacancies during a shortage is stressful. There are fewer job seekers applying for positions, and the best candidates often have multiple offers. Improving your processes and making your organization attractive to applicants can help. Here are some ways to hire during a nursing shortage.

Offer a hiring bonus

When everyone needs nurses, standing out by offering a hefty hiring bonus can persuade more people to apply for your jobs. Research the hiring bonuses other organizations in your area offer to be competitive. Consider your organization’s budget to determine how much you can offer.

Start a referral program

An employee referral program can help you connect with nurses who might not otherwise find your company. It’s also a way to reward your current employees for referrals, which can encourage them to stay.

Offer flexible schedules

You may need a full-time nurse for specific hours, but in a nursing shortage, you might have to be more flexible. Alternative schedules can appeal to nurses who have other obligations that keep them from working regular hours. For example, some nurses might prefer mom’s hours during the day, so they can drop their kids off and pick them up from school while working in between. Some nurses might prefer 12-hour shifts so they can work fewer days. When possible, accommodate those varying schedules to attract more applicants.

Streamline your hiring process

A streamlined hiring process makes it easier to hire quickly when you find an ideal candidate. With lots of job offers, a candidate you want to hire might not stick around if you have a drawn out process. Ensure you’re ready to hire when you advertise your position, and prioritize steps like verifying credentials and checking references to complete them quickly.

Improve your job descriptions

Better job descriptions can help attract more people to your organization. Instead of writing a boring, traditional job description, spice up your descriptions to showcase your organization’s personality and attract nurses who want that type of environment.

Increase your perks

Offering more perks than the competition can help you attract more nurses. Examples include:

• Paying off student loans for nursing school or offering tuition reimbursement for additional schooling
• Concierge services to help nurses handle things like dry cleaning and car repairs
• Gym memberships
• Free, healthy snacks
• Discounts on goods and services
• Stipends for scrubs

Partner with nursing schools

Reach out to nearby nursing schools to create partnerships that can help you find nurses. You might provide clinical opportunities for students to help them become familiar with your practice. This can allow you to make connections with the students, so you can hire them when they graduate.

Expand your recruitment channels

When applicants are limited, expanding to new recruitment methods can help you reach more people. Feature your employees, share nurse testimonials and talk about your openings on your social media channels. Paid advertisements are also an option to reach more people.

Hire a healthcare recruiter

If you’re having trouble finding nurses yourself, consider using a recruiting agency that specializes in health care. They may have job seekers in mind who match your needs. This can also free you up to help your existing nurses and focus on other job duties.

Retaining employees in a nursing shortage

Since finding new staff members during a nursing shortage is challenging, focusing on employee retention to hold onto your current nurses is important. The following methods can help improve your nurse retention rates.

Offer competitive pay

Nurses with lots of job opportunities will often follow the money. If another healthcare organization offers a higher salary, you’ll likely lose your best nurses. Ensure you’re offering competitive wages and a well-rounded benefits package to keep your employees from going somewhere else.

Strengthen your onboarding process

A strong nurse onboarding process helps to create a sense of belonging from the beginning. It helps new hires integrate into the organization and feel like a part of the team. This can encourage your new nurses to stick around.

Provide ongoing training

Ongoing training opportunities are valuable in the nursing field. Provide free continuing education options that help your employees with their ongoing licensing requirements. Regular training also increases your nurses’ skills, which can improve patient care.

Improve your workplace culture

The nursing profession comes with a lot of stress, and a work environment that adds to the stress can send nurses running. To help counter this, ensure you have a positive, supportive environment for your nursing staff. It can help improve retention, and your nurses will likely talk about how great your organization is to work for. This can help you recruit more applicants for your nursing vacancies.

Provide recognition

Recognizing your nurses’ efforts can make them feel valued. It creates a positive, supportive environment that makes people want to work for you. Recognition comes in many forms. Simply thanking your nurses and pointing out when they do something well can help and is easy to do. Public recognition at staff meetings or on social media can also boost morale.

Listen to your nurses

Getting regular feedback from your nursing staff helps you spot problems early before they cause your nurses to quit. Perform regular check-ins to gauge employee engagement and satisfaction. Ask for specific feedback on what you’re doing well and where you need to improve. Then, take action on that feedback. Do more of what makes your nurses happy, and work on fixing the things that could cause them to leave.

Have clear advancement opportunities

Some people are happy being staff nurses for their entire career, but others want to advance into leadership roles. Make potential advancement opportunities clear to all of your nurses, so they realize they have options if they stay with your company. One-on-one meetings can help you determine which nurses want these opportunities. Help them create individual plans that can allow them to move up through the ranks. Whenever possible, follow through by promoting nurses internally for leadership opportunities.

FAQs about nursing shortages

What are industry-wide ways to help with the nursing shortage?

Since there are multiple reasons for a nursing shortage, the solution also has to be multifaceted. Improving nurse education opportunities can increase the number of new nurses who enter the field. Flexible scheduling and online courses can help make training more accessible. Mentoring and leadership opportunities empower your existing nurses and influence new nurses. Effective mentorship can keep new nurses engaged and reduce turnover. Legislation and nurse advocacy groups can help improve the healthcare industry when it comes to staffing regulations and educational opportunities.

How can you prevent nursing burnout?

Providing support to your nurses can help reduce burnout. Avoid asking them to work a lot of overtime. Have their backs in difficult situations, such as dealing with unruly patients who treat them poorly. Promoting a healthy work-life balance with scheduling that gives nurses time off and requiring nurses to take vacations can help. Publicize your employee assistance program to encourage your nurses to reach out for support when necessary.

What are alternatives if you can’t find nurses?

If you’re short-staffed and can’t fill the positions with registered nurses, consider your needs. In some cases, hiring a certified nursing assistant (CNA) or licensed practical nurse (LPN) can relieve your RNs of some duties and allow them to keep up. Hiring an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) is another option if you have the budget. An APRN can handle similar duties as a physician, which can help the overall patient load. They can also serve as a mentor for new nurses to help them improve their skills quickly and work more efficiently. A travel nurse is also an option to fill job openings until you can find permanent replacements.