In part 1 of a two-part series, we explore what healthcare employers are doing to keep their nurses.
Healthcare facilities are exploring varying methods to recruit and retain their nurses, working against a global nursing shortage that is expected to hit 13 million by 2030.
The global nursing shortage is nothing new. Before the pandemic in 2020, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) had already identified a shortfall of 5.9 million nurses, the majority of which were found in low and lower-middle countries, with huge gaps seen in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Mediterranean.
As the nursing workforce ages, 17% of nurses are expected to retire in the next 10 years, which means some 4.7 million nurses will be needed to keep the workforce numbers current.
Governments and the healthcare industry around the world need to act fast to combat the working shortage. A solid plan must be in place to keep the nurses we already have, ensure a working succession strategy, and ensure that more nurses join the workforce.
Having learned from drastic numbers of resignations of healthcare workers during the pandemic, hospitals are working double time to beat the nursing shortage. Let’s see what hospitals around the world are doing to keep and train new nurses:
1. Bonuses and better pay
In Singapore, where 1,500 nurses have already resigned during the first half of 2021, the health ministry has implemented an increase of 5% to 14% on nurses’ monthly base salaries, in addition to special bonuses in 2020 and 2021. Nurses with publicly funded healthcare organizations also received a special COVID-19 Healthcare Award amounting to SGD 4,000 in 2021.
Meanwhile, in New York, a recently launched state program that aims to increase the workforce by 20% in the next five years promises that healthcare workers could get up to USD 3,000 in bonuses.
2. Employer-sponsored child care
Child care and senior care challenges were cited as reasons for resignations according to a benefits report by Care.com, which estimated that nearly 4 million US workers resigned every month during the second half of 2021.
To address this need, more healthcare facilities are considering offering hospital-based child care.
“People are leaving the industry because they’re not able to balance work and life,” said Priya Krishnan, senior vice president of client relations for Bright Horizons, the largest provider of employer-sponsored child care in the US. Out of the 655 centers it operates, 82 are hospital-based.
Offering child care benefits to employees is also beneficial for US companies, who can claim up to $150,000 in tax credits.
3. Perks for returning nurses
In an effort to entire retired nurses to rejoin the workforce, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador is offering to reimburse the licensing and insurance fees of retired registered nurses.
A hospital in South Carolina is also offering tiered employment options to retired nurses by increasing its percentage of part-time nursing staff to 30%.
4. New graduate nurse transition
The need to develop a more robust orientation program for new graduate nurses should also be addressed. The pandemic caused practice programs to shift online. To ensure that new nurses are fully supported, the Organization of Nurse Leaders – MA, RI, NH, CT, VT, and the Massachusetts Rhode Island League for Nursing has recommended creating virtual support groups to allow nurses to ask questions, debriefing sessions to allow them to reflect on their experiences, mentoring, and using storytelling and reflection tools to aid new nurses in processing their experiences.
In the second part of this series, we continue to share with you what other healthcare companies are doing to keep and recruit new talent.
About Wingspan
Wingspan has partnered with many NHS facilities in the UK to hire and deploy hundreds of nurses from the Philippines, and many of these nurses continue to be part of the fight against COVID-19. More than just screening and hiring talent for you, Wingspan sees through every hire from start to finish to ensure compliance with regulatory and deployment policies.
To understand how we can help you find experienced nurses that will stay for the long term, contact us at solution@wingspan-consulting.com.