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Why is supplemental nurse staffing so important in healthcare?

Without support from supplemental nurse staffing agencies, healthcare facilities often find themselves:

  • Short-staffed  
  • Compromising on their patient care  
  • Paying out considerable amounts in overtime costs 
  • Lacking skills that are crucial to looking after patients with unique needs 
  • With burnt-out or stressed healthcare staff   

Supplemental nurse staffing services provide the solution to: 

Temporary and chronic staffing shortages  

Supplemental nurse staffing services ensure both temporary and chronic staffing shortages in healthcare facilities don’t impact the quality of patient care. 

For temporary shortages, due to staff nurses taking time off or peaks in demand due to seasonal illnesses or emergencies, nursing staffing agencies supply skilled travel nurses to provide continuous care without burning out staff nurses. 

For chronic shortages, especially in rural or underserved areas, travel nurses fill long-term vacancies that are hard to staff permanently - especially if the skills required are more specialized. 

By providing scalable travel nurse staffing solutions, supplemental nurse staffing agencies help facilities manage peaks in demand and temporary or chronic staffing shortages- without compromising on patient care standards.  

Overtime Expenses and High Hiring Costs 

By enlisting the help of travel nurses, facilities reduce overtime expenses and the high hiring costs associated with hiring and employing staff nurses.  

You’re able to get going straightaway, as you don’t need to go through the time it takes to recruit, onboard, and train each new hire – they're fully qualified and ready to go! Plus, permanent recruitment is a costly process, so you save money with every travel nurse hire. 

Travel nurses provide a flexible and cost-effective solution. Facilities only pay for services when needed, avoiding the long-term financial commitment and high costs associated with recruiting and retaining permanent staff. The workload is also shared, bypassing the need to pay staff nurses increased overtime.  

Overstretched Nursing Teams 

With travel nurses, you can provide immediate relief to overstretched nursing teams by filling staffing gaps, reducing the workload, and preventing burnout. They offer qualified, experienced nurses who can quickly integrate into teams and handle high patient volumes, ensuring consistent and quality care.  

This, of course, increases morale and staff satisfaction, as well as boosts retention rates, which is vital for maintaining safe nurse-to-patient ratios. Supplemental travel nursing, therefore, is critical to enhancing staff well-being and patient outcomes, as studies have shown clinician burnout is a major threat to public health in the US. 

What about supplemental nurse staffing for workplaces and schools? 

Using travel nurse staffing services for workplaces and schools is a cost-effective way to create a safe and healthy environment. After all, we spend most of our lives at work or school, so it’s essential to ensure your employees or students are adequately cared for.  

For example, working with experienced supplemental nurse staffing agencies like Advantage is essential when:

  • There’s a flu season or a local health outbreak- especially if vaccinations need to be administered or screenings carried out 
  • A permanent nurse is on extended leave such as maternity leave or a long vacation 
  • You have students or employees with additional health needs 
  • You're based in a rural area, where finding a permanent nurse can be difficult 
  • You’re holding specific programs or healthcare initiatives 

Get in touch about our supplemental nurse staffing services, to ensure you maintain outstanding standards of care for both patients and your staff.