How Did We Get Here?
Before Covid-19 began to affect nursing and healthcare jobs in March of 2020, hospitals and patient care facilities were already facing a staffing shortage. This was due, in part, to retirement outpacing new nurses entering the profession. Add to this an aging population in many areas of the country, and a real need for qualified nursing staff quickly became a major issue.
What’s the Forecast?
The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that there will be a 9% increase in nursing employment translating to more than 194,000 job openings annually from now until 2030. This also indicates a continuation in job growth and continued high pay rates for temporary and travel nurses and healthcare workers.
What Does this Mean for Temporary and Travel Nurses?
Travel Nursing traces its roots to the 1980s nursing shortage. Unsurprisingly, the demand for such services grew exponentially during the pandemic. A large number of healthcare jobs became available as professionals chose to retire earlier than expected. Long term care facilities, rehabilitation centers, and out patient care centers are the practice areas expected to have the most need for additional skilled nursing staff. Nurse staffing agencies work with these facilities to fill those gaps.
How Can You Be a Part of the Solution?
When there is a nursing shortage in a healthcare facility the patients often suffer. There can be higher error rates, higher morbidity rates and even mortality rate increases. It is well understood that temporary nurses are just as qualified and capable as staff nurses. This makes them a safe solution to keeping appropriate staff to patient ratios which is so vital to proper patient care.
Let WPA Nurse Staffing help you find the place where you can do the most good for communities in need of skilled care. Check out our jobs board or contact us today!