Healthcare Staffing Solutions in Oklahoma City, OK

Hospitals and other healthcare facilities in Oklahoma City, OK, need short-, medium-, and long-term staffing solutions.

Efforts are underway to address nursing shortages statewide. However, healthcare services cannot wait. Facilities need immediate, cost-effective solutions to staffing challenges.

Learn about the root causes of staffing shortages in Oklahoma, initiatives designed to address these issues, and ways to face present needs effectively.

What Are the Causes of Oklahoma City’s Staffing Challenges?

Oklahoma has long struggled with a nurse staffing shortage.

In 2020, an already limited workforce saw many nurses retire, choose a different career path, or decide to stay home with their families. Others left Oklahoma to find higher wages in other states.

Financial Causes of the Nursing Shortage in Oklahoma City

The financial draw to leave the state is significant as registered nurses (RNs) can make much higher pay in neighboring states. Compare the average RN wages in Oklahoma with neighboring Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado:

Oklahoma: $82,110
Texas: $90,210
Colorado: $91,730
New Mexico: $92,140

Oklahoma City, with an average annual RN wage of $82,020, is only about three hours away from Fort Worth, Texas, where RNs make approximately $94,240 annually.

Causes of Hospital Nursing Shortages

According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), in January 2022, Oklahoma hospitals faced critical nursing staff vacancies.

Numerous efforts have been made to increase the number of nurses in Oklahoma. However, according to Julie Hoff, dean of the Oklahoma University College of Nursing, the state still faces a significant “nursing care shortage.”

What does she mean by this?

Her nursing school is graduating more students, but many graduates decide to work in insurance, pharmaceuticals, and outpatient care. There continue to be insufficient nurses to offer much-needed 24-hour care.

Julie Hoff shared that the percentage of hospital nurses is at an all-time low. Close to 62 percent of nurses worked in hospitals in 2011, but only 57 percent worked in hospitals in 2023.

Understandably, many nurses choose to work in settings that offer the best conditions. Many leave their jobs because of high patient-to-nurse ratios and burnout. Furthermore, according to the ANA, one in four nurses report being assaulted on the job. Therefore, the nurse exodus should not come as a surprise.

Besides prioritizing nurse recruitment, hospitals and other healthcare facilities must focus on retaining nurses.

Which Healthcare Staffing Solutions Exist in Oklahoma City?

Many efforts to increase the number of nurses in Oklahoma are currently underway.

At the turn of the century, the Oklahoma Nurses Association (ONA) and Oklahoma Hospital Association began working to bridge the gap between the supply and demand of registered nurses.

One of the most successful initiatives has been the implementation of Academic-Practice Partnerships (APPs). APPs are partnerships between nursing schools and healthcare organizations. Healthcare organizations provide prelicensure nursing students with jobs, and nursing students earn school credit for their clinical experience.

Since 2020, the ONA, Oklahoma Organization of Nurse Executives, and Schools of Nursing Education Deans and Directors have used APPs as strategies to staff hospitals.

Nursing schools have also partnered with each other in recent years. Applicants who are not accepted in the Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program at Oklahoma City Community College can complete a one-year practical nursing program at a partner career and technical school. After completing their practical nursing program, these graduates are guaranteed spots in the ADN program. Their year of practical nurse training counts towards their ADN. Therefore, these students can obtain their RN licenses after only one more year of education.

This initiative is inspiring other Oklahoma nursing schools to follow suit. It allows nursing schools to not turn away candidates, which could permanently cause aspiring nurses to give up on nursing. It also helps bring nurses into the workforce more quickly since graduates of practical nursing programs can work as licensed practical nurses (LPNs) while they complete their RN education.

How to Choose the Best Healthcare Staffing Solution

Healthcare staffing in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, does not have a single solution. Solutions must be multifaceted and address short-, medium-, and long-term needs.

Healthcare facilities can use apps to guarantee a steady flow of nursing assistants and practical nurses on their paths to obtaining higher licensure. However, facilities also need flexible staffing options. Apps alone do not guarantee on-demand staffing or flexible scheduling to meet changing needs.

Nurse staffing companies can help but are often not effective for emergency staffing. Nurse staffing agencies in Oklahoma City, OK, also charge exorbitant fees, making this option an unviable healthcare staffing solution.

To address fluctuating needs, hospitals and other healthcare facilities should consider per diem or PRN staffing. Facilities can find qualified and vetted PRN nurses in Oklahoma City, OK, with Nursa.

Find Healthcare Professionals in Oklahoma City with Nursa

Nursa is a PRN healthcare staffing app providing solutions in Oklahoma City, OK, and throughout the United States.

Nursa connects acute and post-acute care facilities with local healthcare professionals for PRN shifts. Nursa takes care of credential verification so that facilities can contract clinicians quickly and safely.

Not only can facilities use PRN staff to cover urgent short-term needs, but they can also offer these professionals internal staff positions without paying Nursa any hire-away fees. Thus, Nursa offers healthcare facilities in Oklahoma City, OK, short-, medium-, and long-term staffing solutions.

Post PRN jobs with Nursa today.

Sources: