Utilizing an extended workforce can not only help facilities fill gaps or meet staffing quotas but can also be an important strategy in retaining full-time staff. As more nurses and health professionals become overworked and burnt out, more are choosing to leave the profession entirely. This leads to more strain on the nurses and health professionals who continue in the field, causing the turnover cycle to repeat and create even wider gaps in coverage and decreased quality patient care.
For facilities looking to focus on retention, Medely’s all-in-one extended workforce solution can be the next step to addressing turnover in full-time staff while also utilizing nurses and health professionals who have pursued per diem work in order to maintain a more flexible schedule. Medely is excited that we’re bringing our solution to Portland, Oregon to help mitigate the growing staffing shortage and strengthen healthcare worker retention with a flexible, cost-effective staffing solution.
Portland staffing shortages
According to the Oregon Center for Nursing, “Oregon has more licensed nurses than ever–approximately 73,000–with about 54,000 actively practicing (as of 2022).” With a large number of nurses practicing in Oregon and a higher salary for nurses compared to other states, the shortages should be resolving, but studies show that gaps are continuing to rise.
These shortages are largely driven by the ongoing departure of nurses from the profession, even in the post-COVID healthcare landscape. According to a survey from Oregon Longitudinal Data Collaborative, “25% of registered nursing graduates leave healthcare employment in Oregon after three years.” And according to the Oregon Center for Nursing, “more than 30% of nurses leave their jobs within the first year.” So while the number of nurses is at an all-time high, retention is proving to be a pain point for facilities in Portland.
With such a high turnover rate in new nurses, gaps in coverage are projected to continue. According to the Oregon Center for Nursing, “The 2022 OED report projects Oregon will have about 29,000 openings by 2032. If you break that out to an annual number, Oregon will need an average of 2,900 new nurses every year between 2022 and 2032 to meet the need. This number alone means Oregon programs are about 1,600 nurses short every year to meet the projection.” As more nurses continue to leave the profession, the larger the gaps become for meeting these numbers, leading to less satisfactory patient outcomes, more errors, and potentially higher costs for facilities due to readmissions.
How Medely can support nurse retention in Portland
Nurse turnover exists for a multitude of reasons, including being overworked, lack of pay, too many patients, strained work-life balance, or a combination of all of these factors. In a Medely survey on nurse retention, “60% of respondents said they felt overwhelmed or exhausted at work within the last year.”
Although such a large number of nurses are facing burnout, facilities have the tools to address this turnover. According to that same survey, nurses were asked to rank what’s most important for them in a job, providing facilities with the blueprint to address those factors to increase nurse retention. “When asked, “Rank workplace appreciation, competitive compensation, shift flexibility, and a manageable workload in order of importance when choosing an employer with “5” being most important and “1” being least important, each were ranked with around the same average: workplace appreciation (2.4), competitive compensation (2.45), shift flexibility (2.46), and a manageable workload (2.68).”
For facilities looking to retain their staff, addressing these issues can seem daunting or costly, but one of the most effective solutions for nurse retention is creating a flexible extended workforce to support full-time staff. This allows them to take more breaks, reduce their stress, and decrease overall turnover. This provides full-time staff with much-needed support, reducing patient loads and overtime to help prevent burnout, while also giving per diem nurses and health professionals the opportunity to work flexible assignments. Harnessing the power of per diem nurses is key to addressing the shortages and answering the demands of full-time staff.
How Medely Works
Medely’s Talent Marketplace gives facilities access to our network of over 300,000 nurses and health professionals. Our easy-to-use solution allows administrators to post a shift within minutes, reducing time spent from having to individually call or text people in their float pool. After a shift is posted to the Talent Marketplace, Medely nurses and health professionals with the qualified credentials and specialties can pick up the shift and work the times required. Using Medely eliminates the need for facilities to credential per diem staff on their own. With our streamlined credentialing system, we ensure their licenses and credentials are up-to-date before they can pick up shifts. And with Medely, there are no fees for posting shifts. Simply post a shift and pay the nurse or health professional for their time worked.
With the goal of targeting nurse retention in Portland, having consistent coverage is key to addressing long-term burnout in full-time staff. Medely simplifies finding consistent coverage and reconnecting with nurses or health professionals who were a good fit. After a Medely nurse or health professional completes a shift, facilities can add them to their Favorites and directly offer them future shifts when openings arise.
By utilizing the same nurses or health professionals, facilities have found better continuity of care, less time spent onboarding per diem staff, and better full-time staff retention due to prioritizing per diem staff who fit well with the environment. Angie Giagni, chief nursing officer at Exceptional Community Hospital – Maricopa and current Medely user, shares that favorites have been instrumental for her facility. “I really like that [the] platform allows for us to open shifts exclusively to our favorites. Onboarding a new person is challenging because of our small staffing model. So, now that we’ve built up our favorites, it’s been really nice just to offer those shifts up to them exclusively.”
If facilities are looking for a way to manage their entire extended workforce, including their personal float pool or their agencies, our Talent Fusion product allows facilities to manage their entire extended workforce in one place. When a shift needs to be filled, facilities can post it on Medely to the most cost-effective option first, typically their internal float pool. If nobody in the float pool can take it, it’ll go to Medely’s Talent Marketplace where one of our local Medely nurses or health professionals can pick up the shift or assignment. Then, if it still hasn’t been taken, it’ll go out to the facility’s agencies through our integrated Vendor Management System. With an all-time fill rate of 91%, facilities can rely on Medely to effectively fill shifts and manage their staffing needs.
Retain nurses with Medely
By utilizing per diem nurses and health professionals through Medely, facilities can create a thriving work environment for full-time staff that allows them to find a healthier work-life balance to target burnout and high turnover rates. Need nurses or health professionals in Portland? Find coverage within minutes through Medely!
