Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals have struggled to attract and retain an adequate number of staff members. Now, more than ever, facilities across the country have experienced firsthand the importance of using dependable staffing partners to help bridge the gap and provide expedited staffing.
When hospital staff is overwhelmed by increased demand, time is of the essence. By utilizing expedited staffing best practices, facilities can ensure they are able to fill roles and continue to best serve their patients with quality care. As we entered the pandemic with a 10% shortage of nurses, COVID-19 has only exacerbated the problem. While qualified partners can provide short-term solutions to crisis staffing, they can also assist with helping to develop a post-pandemic workforce plan to alleviate the burden on hospital staff.
In addition to a fostering a strong partnership with Texas’s state hospital association, several best practices come into play to provide hospitals a smooth staffing process for crisis staffing response:
Offer an expedited orientation process and flexible start dates.
Consider using virtual orientations and pre-recorded videos to expedite this process, bring staff on quicker and provide flexible start dates.
Accept the emergency out-of-state licensure process as approved by Texas’s board of nursing.
To determine requirements specific to Texas, please review the BON’s website.
Use truncated compliance.
By evaluating requirements and using truncated compliance, clinicians can get to the front lines faster. Truncated compliance and crisis requirements for contingent labor decrease onboarding from weeks to days.
Utilize Lotus Offers to provide expedited hiring efforts.
Partner with a staffing provider, such as Qualivis, that has a skilled clinical services team that can work on the hospital’s behalf to assess, review and recommend the most qualified candidates based on specified preferences and hiring criteria. With the simplified process, an applicant passes the clinical assessment and the Qualivis team will offer and secure the candidate. If preferred, facilities have 24 hours to conduct a final candidate review.
Provide varied contract lengths.
Offering contracts with more or less weeks will help cast a wider net for supply. Contracts with 4, 6, 8, 13 and 26 week options provide more flexibility for assignments.
Offer varied shift options.
Contracts with 48 to 60 hour assignments increase pay package capacity and make jobs more attractive. By providing a guarantee of 48 hour per week, you will use fewer temporary staff and provide relief for your core staff.
To learn more about crisis response staffing and additional staffing options for your facility, contact [email protected] or visit Qualivis.com.
This sponsored section is underwritten by THA Member Solutions. Qualivis is endorsed by the Texas Hospital Association.
