The healthcare workforce has been one of the hardest hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and as the labor market has tightened, facilities have been forced to adapt.
One of those adaptations is a shift toward temporary staff in an effort to fill vacate roles, meet demand and avoid reducing capacity. That’s according to findings from a new survey conducted by AMN Healthcare, the 2022 Survey of Allied Healthcare Professional New Graduate Hiring Patterns.
The survey is based on 1,005 responses from healthcare executives/managers at hospital systems, independent hospitals, school districts, laboratories, home health facilities, healthcare professional offices and other healthcare facilities in mid April.
Workforce highlights
To no surprise, the survey found healthcare organizations are facing a shortage of allied healthcare professionals. A whopping 85% of facilities in the survey said they are experiencing shortages a “great deal,” “a lot” or “a moderate amount.” Just 15% responded “a little” or “not at all.” Similarly, 80% said the current labor shortage is the top challenge facilities are facing. In addition, 71% said longer times to fill positions is a primary challenge, as well as staff burnout (46%) and quality of candidates (45%).
Numerous other studies and surveys have found the labor market in the healthcare industry––and other industries––has tightened over the last few years. For healthcare, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the decision by some to leave the healthcare profession altogether.
The majority (67%) of facilities said they are implementing additional hiring incentives in order to address the workforce shortage, while 59% are increasing pay rates. Another 59% said they are hiring temporary workers and 58% are hiring new graduates, including radiologic technologists (38%); physical therapists (36%); laboratory technologists (31%); occupational therapists (30%); speech language pathologists (26%); and respiratory therapists (26%).
“The national shortage of healthcare professionals is not limited to nurses and physicians,” Robin Johnson, divisional president at AMN Healthcare, said in a statement. “Allied healthcare professionals also are in short supply and many facilities are struggling to keep pace with their staffing needs.”
Allied healthcare professionals are defined broadly as “those health professions that are distinct from medicine and nursing.”
Trend toward temporary workforce
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the mix of temporary versus permanent staff. Prior to the pandemic, the allied healthcare professional staff makeup at facilities was 25%, compared to 75% permanent staff. Now, that figure stands at 30%. Another 72% said their facilities plan to continue hiring new graduates.
“The fact that 30% of healthcare facilities’ allied healthcare professional staff now are composed of temporary providers underscores the increasingly mobile nature of the healthcare workforce,” Johnson said.
The vast majority (82%) of survey respondents also said they had hired new allied healthcare professional graduates in the last 12 months. Top reasons for doing so included:
- To fill positions in a timely manner 74%
- To mitigate staff shortages 66%
- To meet rising patient demand 50%
- To maintain continuity of care 49%
- To prevent revenue loss 21%
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."