Healthcare has the highest percentage of job openings, and those openings are the toughest to fill based on Bureau of Labor and Statistics data. The struggle of companies to hold onto valuable employees is nothing new, but the issue has drastically increased in recent years. When one pandemic begins to slow, another health crisis rises, and the strain on the current nursing staffing increases.
To combat the staffing shortages, organizations have turned to the solution of utilizing healthcare staffing agencies to provide temporary employees called “travel nurses.” Travel nurses are typically paid more and travel from location to location depending on where their services are needed. Due to the higher expense of these services, healthcare organizations are beginning to struggle in their day-to-day operations as a deficit arises among existing credentialed and certified staff on hand.
Healthcare staffing agencies were always intended to be a temporary solution for the workplace shortage, but they are struggling to maintain these soaring costs. Companies should ideally invest with their own personnel rather than outsourcing to encourage recruitment and drive retention.
Providing training through stackable certifications will aid with maximizing their staff to make them more knowledgeable in their roles. Organizations can help their strained nursing staff by internally training existing staff with certifications like a Certified Medical Assistant or Certified Patient Care Technician. Employees will greatly appreciate the opportunities for additional training and see that their employers are investing in them, driving higher retention.
Some healthcare systems may even be eligible for grants in their states to aid training, which will further minimize the financial investment while maximizing worker investment. Stackable certifications are available for the healthcare field in a variety of modalities, such as on-site, live-online, live-mentored, and self-paced. ProTrain can offer group rates and private cohorts to assist your organization in their staffing needs.