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How to Find Qualified Healthcare Professionals During the US Shortage

September 24, 2023
Giselle Bardwell
Is your medical practice short staffed – needing nurses or other healthcare workers immediately? Is your current staff handling a large workload, causing stress and short tempers? Do you feel like you’re pulled in a million directions and your patients’ level of care is suffering? Sounds like you need more help…and fast!

However, finding nurses in today's workforce can be a challenging task, as the demand for qualified nurses continues to grow and the supply remains limited. This shortage of medical staffing is projected to continue until 2030, making it a prolonged issue for healthcare practices. 

Let’s discuss the steps you can take to help find qualified healthcare professionals for your organization.

Partner with a Nurse Staffing Agency

First, consider using a healthcare or nursing staffing agency like BrightStar Care Cleveland, to help you find vetted medical professionals to join your team. Agencies specialize in finding qualified candidates for specific positions and can often provide a pool of quality clinical staff for you to choose from.

Medical staffing agencies also provide additional services to help you mitigate the costs and risks associated with hiring and managing additional employees, such as Workers Comp costs and claims, Unemployment Insurance claims, etc. Nurse staffing agencies also make the candidate search more efficient, which means less time and effort on your end. 

Need medical staff today? Learn more about how a medical staffing agency can benefit your healthcare company.

Use Online Promotion for Job Openings

Another option is to use online job boards, such as ZipRecruiter and Indeed, and professional networking sites, such as LinkedIn to advertise your open nursing and healthcare positions. This can help you reach a large pool of potential candidates and allow you to review resumes and qualifications online. 

You can also use social media to advertise your open positions and reach a wider audience. Platforms, like Facebook, allow you to post about your open positions on your company profile.

However you’ll most likely need to run ads to promote jobs on any of these platforms. You can post a job for free but the chances of it being promoted or job hunters finding your post are unlikely. While the cost per day can vary between platforms, the average daily spend can range from $15 to $150.

In short, online promotion for healthcare jobs can be a great avenue if you have the time and budget.

Partner with a Local Nursing School or University

We’re lucky to be in a healthcare hotbed. Cleveland has a number of universities and medical campuses willing to help their students find work. Many nursing colleges have job placement programs that can help connect you with recent graduates who are looking for employment. 

Here are some local programs to you can contact: You can also offer internships or externships to medical students as a way to get them hands-on experience and potentially hire them after they graduate, creating a direct line to future hires.


 

Engage in Healthcare Professional Networking

Networking with other healthcare professionals and organizations can also be a useful way to find medical staff. Associations, such as The Academy of Medicine of Cleveland & Northern Ohio and the Ohio Health Care Association, offer help to businesses searching for healthcare employees.

Reach out to colleagues in the field to see if they know of any qualified nurses who may be interested in your open positions. Sometimes even their own nursing staff will know of previous colleagues looking for a new position. 

Getting the word out organically through connections and referrals tends to bring in low quantity but high quality candidates.

Consider Medical Professionals from Other Countries

Another way to find nurses is to look outside of the United States to find healthcare employees who are qualified to work in Ohio. Due to political and social unrest, healthcare professionals outside the US may be willing to relocate in order to work in a well-paying and stable job. 

However, be aware that there may be additional paperwork and requirements involved in hiring medical workers from other contries, so it's important to do your research and understand the process. Learn more with Ford Murray’s Three Strategies for Hiring Foreign Nurses and see if this avenue has potential for your practice.

Encourage Professional Development

Finally, consider offering training and professional development opportunities to current employees who may be interested in becoming nurses. This can help you build a pipeline of educated professionals within your organization and may also help to retain your current employees. 

Hiring from within also creates another benefit to joining your practice for those looking to grow their careers. As a larger incentive, you can offer continuing education reimbursement to help cover the costs of schooling, making it even easier for your staff to earn necessary certifications.

In conclusion, finding nurses in today's workforce can be a challenge, but there are several steps you can take to help you find the qualified candidates you need. By taking these steps, you can find the medical staff you need to meet the demands of your organization and provide high-quality care to your patients. 

Keep in mind that all of these options require you to reach out and ask for help which requires time and effort. Depending on the state of your practice, you may not have that luxury. If you need to offload the burden, please consider engaging a medical staffing solution. 

Our experts at BrightStar Care are happy to discuss your options and take on the hiring responsibility so that you can focus on your patients’ care. Call us today at 440.613.1500 or contact us via our website here.