Healthcare staffing shortages continue to be an issue for hospitals, and unfortunately, there’s no sign of a dramatic turnaround in sight. While hospitals must deploy creative recruiting, hiring, and retention strategies to ensure they’re as well-staffed as possible, one other important area to address is planning for coverage. Time-to-fill for many clinicians can take months, while specialty positions such as neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs) can be even more challenging to fill. To plan for shortages, here are some best practices to consider.
1. Get providers involved in strategizing.
One important way to develop strategies to address healthcare shortages is to get your staff involved. Physicians and nurses are expected to deliver consistent outcomes for patients, despite having fewer colleagues to support them. Integrating these professionals into decision-making processes will open up discussions and could lead to insights that yield creative solutions. After all, your staff is committed to delivering top-notch care and maintaining a positive work environment, and they may be able to make meaningful contributions when planning for coverage.
2. Prioritize mental health.
Burnout is a very real problem affecting a large portion of the medical community, and it’s been exacerbated by the pandemic and its aftermath. Working in an intense setting such as the NICU is demanding to begin with, but the challenges that come with staffing shortages can take an even greater emotional and physical toll on NNPs and other providers. Many doctors and nurses are changing industries, taking extended leaves, or planning for an early retirement. Hospitals can do their part to promote their staff’s mental health by introducing practices that help to reduce burnout. From developing a culture that prioritizes wellbeing to offering incentives that prioritize the work/life balance, there are many creative solutions hospitals can deploy.
3. Recruit continuously.
Recruitment isn’t a one-and-done activity, but an ongoing initiative. Ideally, you should have a list of potential candidates you could consult any time an opportunity opens up. This will reduce your time-to-fill and benefit your bottom line. Try to build up a funnel by keeping track of candidates who have applied for previous positions but weren’t the right fit at the time.
4. Hire for fit.
Even amidst a staffing crisis, hospitals should prioritize hiring for fit when sourcing new candidates. Onboarding a candidate whose values don’t align with your company culture will likely lead to another vacancy in the near future, and ultimately, a waste of resources. Instead of going through the time-consuming, costly recruitment process with another bad hire, be sure to seek providers who will thrive in your hospital from the start.
5. Leverage locum tenens coverage.
A final but important strategy for getting the coverage you need is utilizing locum tenens staffing. The core purpose of locum tenens is to meet your temporary staffing needs, but it works best when you plan in advance. While it may not always be possible, gathering your staff’s PTO and leave dates in advance and planning for it early will give you the best odds of finding locum tenens staffing that meets your hospital’s specific needs.
If you’re seeking NNPs for your hospital, turn to Ensearch. We offer locum tenens staffing solutions to address your talent needs with the candidates who are best suited for your openings. Get started by completing a Comparative Needs Analysis today.
