What happens when urgency is the default in hospital staffing

In an emergency, hospitals are the first stop, so within a hospital system, it would make sense that administrators are meeting all problems with a sense of urgency.

But what if urgency is creating deeper issues?

Staffing fluctuations are an expected part of any healthcare system. But when administrators respond to standard hospital staffing fluctuations by going into crisis mode, this creates a reactive cycle that’s hard to break.

The default for hospital staffing

Unfortunately for most hospitals, reactivity is the default. An Influx of patients occurs, administrators exhaust all internal staffing options, and they end up with the same result: hefty agency fees to fill the shift as quickly as possible. Without intervention, the cycle will repeat itself.

So, what’s the root of this cycle?

Lack of resources – For large hospitals or health systems, schedules are created by someone who isn’t involved in the hospital’s day-to-day rhythm, leading to a gap in understanding of coverage needs. For smaller hospitals, schedules are created by a busy charge nurse or floor manager. While they have an inside look at coverage needs, they don’t have extra time to plan ahead and often just need to fill shifts quickly and move on.
Little understanding of trends – Understanding trends at a hospital might seem impossible. Who can predict emergencies? But like most of healthcare, coverage needs have a cyclical nature. But most schedulers have little insight into these trends due to a lack of time or outdated, manual systems.
Inefficient systems – When gaps arise, facilities often rely on full-time staff. But with 33.1% of hospitals reporting a vacancy rate of 10% or higher, full-time staff are already worn thin. If they can’t rely on full-time staff, they turn to agencies, which are slow, expensive, and a key factor in making the cycle even worse.

Reliance on urgent coverage impacts more than budgets

While last-minute coverage will always be necessary, relying on it as the default isn’t. When it becomes the default, it creates a significant set of problems.

High costs – Filling gaps last-minute is often pricey, and most administrators are willing to pay anything to get the shift filled to avoid having to turn away patients or potential compliance issues that come with higher staff-to-patient ratios. But even relying on high-cost, last-minute coverage a few times can strain budgets. Labor spend is already the most expensive line item, with 60% of spend allocated to hospital staffing. Not only that, but workforce costs rose 5.6% last year and are only going to increase as time goes on.

Strain on administrators – Keeping up with last-minute changes is not only inefficient for budgets; it impacts administrator well-being. Having to constantly keep up with last-minute staffing changes is unsustainable. When administrators are forced into crisis mode, care crumbles.

Reduced patient care – When hospitals function reactively, they’re not only setting themselves up for financial failure; they’re creating an environment that can’t support quality patient care. When staffing is chaotic, care gets missed, staff is impacted, and ultimately, patient outcomes can deteriorate.

How to improve this cycle

The good news is that this cycle is fixable with two core components.

Building a flexible workforce

Needs are going to shift. There might be no gaps one week and three gaps the following week.

The key to solving hospital staffing shortages is shifting to a flexible workforce. Patient influx is never going to be consistent, so why are you relying on your staffing systems to be?

Creating a flexible workforce means creating a mix of staff and contingent labor that can be utilized in any scenario. Enter Medely.

We help you build a pool of qualified nurses and health professionals in your area. Expanding your contingent labor outside your internal staff. When a last-minute need arises, post a shift to Medely, and our AI-powered solution fills the shift with the right professional for the your hospital. From there, our favorites feature allows you to create a consistent pool of trusted professionals whom you can call back at a moment’s notice.

Prioritizing data and analytics to support staffing decisions

The second piece of the puzzle is pairing past data and current trends to predict future staffing needs.

Your past data holds a wealth of knowledge. From average callouts to seasonal surges to average spend on coverage, taking time to study past data is the first step to creating a more efficient schedule.

The second step is understanding current trends. Where are you noticing more callouts? What specialties are you noticing need more coverage? What is your current monthly spend on filling shifts?

If you’re a busy administrator, don’t worry. Medely can do all this for you. Our Optimize platform analyzes demand, utilization, and constraints to proactively drive staffing decisions across internal teams and external labor capacity.