The nursing shortage is a pressing issue that has wide-reaching implications for the healthcare industry and patient care. As the need for skilled nursing professionals continues to grow, hospitals and other healthcare settings are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain qualified nurses.
This shortage not only affects the well-being of patients but also places immense pressure on existing nursing staff, leading to burnout and high turnover rates. It is essential to confront this challenge with innovative solutions that can pave the way for a more robust healthcare workforce and the next generation of nurses.
4 Industry Solutions Supporting New Nurses
While significant challenges are impacting the nurses, certain industry practices are helping to mitigate these trends. Competitive salaries, increased travel opportunities, and contract flexibility are common helpful steps toward sustaining and growing the nursing industry.
But beyond these practices, healthcare systems are applying innovative initiatives to help train and retain new nurses. These support the next generation of nurses in ways that directly address the financial, educational, and logistical challenges nursing students face.
These creative industry solutions include:
- Supplying More Nurses as Educators: Helping nurses work as educators as part of (not on top of) their current roles.
- Hospital-based Nursing Programs: Offering hospital-based nursing pathways to help with education costs and hospital staffing retention rates.
- Clinically-Focused Patient Care Assistant Positions: Offering hands-on patient care assistant positions during training that support current nursing staff while giving new nurses hands-on experience.
- Investing in Leadership and Mentor Relationships: Helping new nurses understand expectations while making meaningful staff and system connections.
Here is a closer look at each of these four ways that healthcare systems are creatively supporting the next generation of nurses.
1. More Nurses Working as Educators
Finding nursing education staff can be a challenging task. In 2023, over 60,000 nursing school applicants were turned away from programs due to insufficient faculty numbers, limited clinical spaces, budget constraints, and/or classroom availability issues.
Even if nurses are interested and willing to teach as faculty members, they are often unable to do so because of scheduling conflicts and burnout. Potential nursing educators frequently face the decision of balancing full-time nursing roles with part-time teaching duties, which can pose an overwhelming scheduling challenge. The struggle to staff nursing programs has caused universities to slow down enrollment or stop opening new programs.
A creative new staffing model is being developed to help nurses balance their time between patient care and teaching. This strategy involves splitting a nurse’s time between patient care at the hospital and faculty time at a partner school, combining the two for a full-time work week of 36 to 40 hours.
This type of model benefits everyone involved — schools gain more faculty members, students stay updated on clinical knowledge, nurses achieve a better work-life balance, and hospital systems experience improved retention and training.
2. Tuition-Free Hospital-Based Nursing Programs
Another developing system of supporting new nurses is hospital-based nursing programs and registered nursing diploma opportunities.
These programs enroll students in hospital-based, tuition-free programs that are followed by a temporary work commitment to the hospital system. These programs aim to remove typical barriers to nursing school by reducing costs and offering significant support, which may include books, study rooms, facility resources, professional connections, and more.
These innovative programs help with staffing shortages by expanding a nurse’s education opportunities and removing barriers to starting a nursing career. The educational training is also very hands-on, with direct access to clinical experience. The requirements to apply are often the equivalent of a high school diploma, and the tuition and resource support allow nursing students to enter the field with fewer upfront costs.
3. Expanded Clinical Student Training
Some university programs are connecting students with enhanced clinical experience, supporting nurses as patient care assistants. This alleviates the workload of nurses while providing students with hands-on training during their nursing program.
This innovative approach to healthcare provides better outcomes for patients, nurses, and students. One of these programs has provided 11,000 hours of direct patient care through front-line clinical experience, with many patient care assistants transitioning into permanent positions at the same facility after completing their training.
A program like this helps train the next generation of nurses while supporting existing staff. Direct clinical experience is invaluable in training. Additionally, these programs offer students experience in local healthcare systems, enabling them to understand which type of facility and specialty is the best fit for their career.
This healthcare exposure not only helps nursing students receive better training but also aids in long-term retention, as nurses are better equipped to determine which specialty they’d like to pursue or which population they’d like to work with.
4. Leadership Development for Nurses
Many healthcare systems are providing more intentional leadership development and career opportunities for nurses. This support helps current or aspiring leaders to better understand their role and overall leadership expectations.
One-on-one coaching is an effective way to put this leadership development into practice. While this type of mentorship is typically seen as an executive- or senior-level practice, there are benefits in implementing professional coaching across all levels of the nursing industry. A coaching relationship offers helpful feedback and clear expectations, enabling nurses to develop confidence and achieve their career goals.
This is yet another innovative practice that leads to higher retention rates. When nurses have connections and professional examples, they are more likely to stay with a healthcare system and reach their leadership potential.
Coaching and mentorship have also been shown to be highly preferred by Gen Z employees over formal in-class training or access to online courses. Prioritizing professional relationships and leadership training yields more effective nurses with longer tenure.
SHC Supports the Next Generation of Nurses
This innovative approach to support the next generation of nursing is good news for prospective nurses. It will increase educational opportunities, decrease staffing shortages, and help with burnout and stress for current healthcare workers. These factors will lead to more nurses with quality training and well-fitting professional paths.
At Supplemental Health Care, we support these new approaches to support the next generation of nurses. We know the nursing industry is facing unique challenges, but we are confident in the connections we can help nurses make. Our team is ready to help you find the right nurse job opportunity today. Reach out to our recruiting team to learn the next step!
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