Why Choose a PRN Nursing App over a Nurse Staffing Agency

nurse manager holding a staffing app
Reviewed by
Miranda Kay, RN
January 9, 2024

Table of Contents

Healthcare facilities have a nurse-to-patient ratio to maintain. Some nurses call in sick; others quit, and the remaining nurses often feel burned out, yet the hospital or other facility needs to keep giving its healthcare consumers quality care. Facilities need efficient solutions so they can concentrate on their care plans and workflows. Discover why Nursa, a pro re nata (PRN) nurse shift app, offers significant advantages over staffing agencies to fill gaps in schedules.

Usually, facilities are more familiarized with using a nurse staffing agency. However, there are more efficient and effective ways in the market to give hospitals and other healthcare facilities the solution they need for their frequent staffing fluctuations throughout the year. 

The way facilities are hiring is changing, and Nursa is becoming increasingly popular since it allows facilities to connect directly with a broad range of nurses. 

Projections show that 50 percent of the workforce in the United States will be freelancers in 2027, which correlates with the growing popularity of a nursing app through which nurses work as independent contractors. Although PRN nurses don’t receive employee benefits, they are attracted to the flexibility that this type of work offers. 

What Is a Nurse Staffing Agency? 

Staffing agencies are intermediaries between healthcare facilities and nurses. These staffing agencies have become popular, and there is probably one near your institution. Nevertheless, some can charge high fees for their services, an essential consideration for the healthcare facilities’ budget. 

These agencies recruit nurses for hospitals that need help filling openings in their institutions. Staffing agencies have nurses to work in every setting or unit; therefore, facilities can generally find the healthcare staff they need at any moment.

Usually, the agencies preselect candidates for hospitals or can even choose clinicians for facilities when requested.

Nursa: A Flexible PRN Staffing App

Speaking of staffing solutions, Nursa is a staffing app that revolutionizes how hospitals and other facilities look for nurses in the market. 

Nursa is a platform with a downloadable app available for mobile phones and tablets, and it is also directly accessible through the web. In this open market, hospitals or other healthcare facilities can post PRN nursing jobs by shifts. 

Nursa allows facilities to have flexible staffing when and where they need more clinicians. When healthcare centers need to cover gaps in their schedules, they can post shifts in the app and find the nurses meant for the opening.

With just a small fee, facilities can access a tool that will help them gain the flexibility to maintain proper nurse staffing to provide patients with quality care in any situation.

In this app, healthcare centers can choose the best candidate from all the nurses who apply to fill the PRN job, allowing facilities to contract PRN clinicians directly. 

This nurse market doesn’t hire nurses to work in healthcare facilities. Nursa is a digital platform where hospitals and clinicians can find each other, offering efficient and flexible solutions for both. 

Benefits of Nursa for Hospitals and Other Facilities

Nursa may not be the only nursing app, but it is the best—okay, we admit we are a little biased. The following list shows some of the benefits that Nursa can give to facilities:

  • Staffing flexibility: This app efficiently supplies healthcare centers with nurses with different skills so facilities can maintain their staffing levels in accordance with their demands.
  • Knowing the applicants: Nursa is a platform that gives facilities direct contact with the nurses who apply for shifts so the healthcare centers can decide which candidate fits the opening.
  • Testing candidates: If a facility finds a nurse who meets its expectations for a position, it can offer the clinician a long-term contract after the shift finishes. 
  • Reducing expenditures: Since hospitals contract temporary workers, they don’t have to pay for benefits and other costs associated with permanent employees. In addition, the hiring process can cost a facility an average of $4,683, translating into savings that hospitals can make using Nursa.
  • Having broader access to a nursing network: Since facilities have access to an Internet platform that can reach nurses in different cities, there are more chances to find qualified candidates from a broad market of nurses who can apply for the shift.  
  • Reducing burnout: Healthcare centers can hire nurses by shift, helping maintain the needed staff. Therefore, hospitals don’t have to overload their permanent staff and can have nurses with optimal energy to provide quality healthcare services. 
  • Greater accessibility: Facilities can use the app anywhere and anytime and post a shift or choose an applicant quickly and efficiently so hospital personnel can focus on other responsibilities.
  • Job matching efficiency: Nursa uses algorithms to match candidate’s skills, experience, and qualifications with the job opening. Therefore, facilities will have candidates that fit their requirements in less time and use fewer resources. 

Nursa vs. Staffing Agencies

Since healthcare facilities may be more used to using staffing agencies when they need more nurses in their workforce because agencies have been offering their services for a longer time than nurse staffing apps like Nursa, it is essential to explain their differences to understand which option is better when hospitals need to contract PRN clinicians.

The following list compares the differences between Nursa and nurse staffing agencies:  

Nursa

  • Greater flexibility: Healthcare centers have the freedom to choose registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and certified nursing assistants (CNAs) or patient care technicians (PCTs) based on their needs.
  • Lower cost: Facilities pay only a small fee when they find the right candidate.
  • Shorter-term contracts: Nursa doesn’t require long-term contracts, allowing hospitals to fill one shift at a time. 
  • More options: Healthcare centers have direct contact with clinicians through the platform and can choose the one they think meets their requirements from among the applicants.

Nurse Staffing Agencies

  • Less flexibility: Usually, staffing agencies require fixed contracts and conditions, making it challenging to adapt to changing situations or any surge in the demand for care.
  • Higher cost: Staffing agencies usually charge high fees to hospitals for their services. Therefore, facilities may have budget restrictions.
  • Longer-term contracts: Agencies may require long-term contracts, forcing the facilities to commit for more time than needed and incur more expenditures.
  • Fewer options: Frequently, agencies send a list of preselected candidates to facilities or may send a selected nurse to start working. Having the nurse assigned by the agency can be a pro for the facilities or a con since healthcare centers have limited control over the clinicians they hire.

The professional market is evolving, and in that sense, the projection for 2027 in the United States is that 86.5 million people will become freelancers, many of whom will use per diem staffing apps. The nursing field, in particular, is benefiting from this work model, with advantages for both facilities and nurses. Post a PRN job with Nursa and find a nurse on the app today. 

Sources:

Blog published on:
January 9, 2024

Meet Guillermo, a contributing copywriter for Nursa who specializes in writing nursing content about finances, licensing, technology, and staffing solutions.

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