The Pulse of the Profession

The proper classification of nursing staff is an incredibly important issue for hospitals and nursing facilities. The importance of proper classification affects not only the financial and legal standing of healthcare facilities but also the stability and rights of the nurses themselves. We explore how healthcare facilities can navigate the complexities of independent contractor status in nursing. 

In a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, the crux of success for post-acute and hospital system leaders lies in ensuring high-quality care, as it directly influences patient outcomes and the reputation of their facility. Paramount to achieving this is making sound staffing decisions. The right healthcare professionals enhance patient satisfaction and safety and foster a culture of improvement. ShiftMed recognizes the power of leveraging W-2 healthcare workers to bolster care quality, and we illuminate how it can transform your facility's performance. 

Worker misclassification is a pressing issue in healthcare staffing relationships, with significant implications for healthcare facilities and professionals. Properly classifying workers as either W-2 employees or 1099 independent contractors is crucial to comply with tax obligations, labor laws, and ensure worker benefits. 

The healthcare industry continues to evolve in response to ever-increasing demands. Amid this evolution, the role of nurses remains pivotal, necessitating a comprehensive strategy to incentivize their performance and commitment. This is where nurse staffing incentives come into play, aiding healthcare organizations in enhancing productivity, improving patient outcomes, ensuring quality care, and boosting staff retention. As a complete healthcare workforce solution, ShiftMed offers an extensive suite of benefits that can significantly contribute to these objectives and streamline healthcare professionals' work processes. 

As healthcare continues to experience a labor shortage, wage inflation has become a significant issue. According to Premier Inc., the nurse base pay is up 9% since June 2021 and is likely to continue rising. Travel nursing agencies, which offer temporary nursing staff to fill in gaps in staffing, are expensive and exacerbate wage inflation. In fact, a recent 2022 report examined input from 272 hospitals in 32 states on registered nurse turnover, retention, vacancy rates, recruitment metrics and staffing strategies. The report revealed that for every 20 travel RNs eliminated, a hospital can save $4,203,000 on average. As a result, health systems and post-acute facilities are searching for alternative solutions. 

Hospitals and healthcare facilities across the country are experiencing critical staffing issues in nursing. From recruitment and retention issues to mass resignations, the supply of skilled RNs decreased by more than 100,000 from 2020 to 2021.   The shortage is pushing many healthcare facilities to ramp-up efforts to find alternatives to fill gaps in their healthcare staffing, including turning to gig workers like travel nurses or contract nurses.