Per Diem Healthcare Staffing Options in Philadelphia, PA

In one of the largest cities in the US, with a population of over 1.5 million, 33 percent of Philadelphians suffer from hypertension. In 2022, approximately 17 percent of Philadelphians had a disability, compared to only about 13 percent of the national population. Between 2015 and 2021, roughly 12 percent of Philadelphians were diagnosed with type 1 and 2 diabetes—and the list continues.

Discover PRN Staffing Solutions in Philadelphia, PA

There is no doubt a high demand for healthcare services in Philadelphia. However, Pennsylvania is not immune to the national nursing shortage. In fact, many qualified nurses in this state are deciding not to work in healthcare. In this context, healthcare facilities in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, need reliable staffing solutions to maintain quality patient care.

Understanding the Staffing Challenges in Philadelphia

According to The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP), the state is facing one of the most severe nursing shortages in the nation. Many of the factors contributing to this shortage are common nationwide:

An aging healthcare workforce
More patients requiring acute care
Insufficient educators and clinical training opportunities for healthcare professionals
Insufficient graduates of nursing and healthcare education programs
Bedside nurses seeking other career opportunities

HAP claims that government-mandated nurse-to-patient ratios would not help facilities solve the nurse staffing shortage. Imposed ratios would force facilities to close beds or reduce services to meet staffing requirements. Consequently, access to care would decrease, and emergency room waiting time would increase.

Interestingly, Nurses of Pennsylvania disputes that a lack of nurses in the state is causing staffing challenges in healthcare facilities. In a publication titled “The Solution to Pennsylvania’s Bedside Nurse Shortage: Patient Safety Act,” the organization states that enrollment in Pennsylvania nursing school registered nurse (RN) programs has increased by 49 percent since 2003. Additionally, the organization cites the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, stating that Pennsylvania will have a surplus of over 8,000 registered nurses by 2030. The missing piece bringing all this data together is that over 81,000 registered nurses in Pennsylvania (36 percent) are not currently employed in healthcare.

In the same publication, the organization shares the following statistics:

Pennsylvania nurses who reported that their facilities do not have enough nursing staff: 94%
Pennsylvania nurses who reported that staffing levels affecting the quality of patient care are getting worse: 87%
Pennsylvania nurses who reported that a high rate of nurse turnover is a problem at their facility and that the rate of turnover among nurses has increased: 80%

Nurses of Pennsylvania also cites the Pennsylvania Department of Health, which states that unsafe staffing is the most significant source of job dissatisfaction among nurses. The nurse organization concludes that a strong correlation exists between staffing levels and job satisfaction and that heavier patient loads lead to higher nurse burnout.

In summary, healthcare facilities face the challenge of attracting and retaining nurses to maintain safe patient-to-nurse ratios, thus reducing nurse turnover and burnout rates.

Top Staffing Options in Philadelphia

There is no question that facilities in Philadelphia need to maintain adequate staffing levels. To this end, facilities have numerous flexible staffing options at their disposal:

Traditional employment: Facilities can post job openings, review applications, interview prospective candidates, and hire and onboard new nurses. Traditional staffing is an excellent way to find the ideal candidate for a position, but this recruitment method is expensive and time-consuming.
Nurse staffing companies: Facilities can outsource the staffing process to agencies and rely on them to choose the right nurses. Staffing agencies provide a convenient solution to staffing needs but have high fees and may also require long wait times.
Travel nursing: Facilities can contract travel nurses to help cover short- and medium-term needs. However, contracting travel nurses is expensive and includes paying or compensating for housing, making it an unsustainable long-term solution.
Per diem nursing: Facilities can also contract per diem or PRN clinicians to cover specific shifts. Although facilities may prefer to find long-term solutions instead of covering one shift at a time, PRN nursing can be a great way to get to know potential employees before offering them permanent positions.

Considerations for Effective Staffing Solutions

All nurse recruitment options have pros and cons and can complement each other to meet facilities’ complex and changing staffing needs. For example, a hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, could use per diem solutions to find nurses to cover emergency staffing needs. If hospital hiring managers decide to hire additional nursing staff for long-term positions, they can offer jobs to the PRN nurses with whom they had the best experiences.

The bottom line is that staffing solutions must be effective both short- and long-term and must ensure adequate patient-to-nurse ratios without overworking staff. In other words, current staff should not feel pressured into working overtime or caring for more patients than they can safely be responsible for.

Furthermore, to address staffing shortages, HAP encourages the implementation of innovative care models, technology, and benefits that improve work-life balance.

This aspect of the HAP strategy addresses the root cause of the staffing shortage identified by Nurses of Pennsylvania: Bedside nurses in Pennsylvania need job conditions to improve—including lower patient-to-nurse staffing ratios and flexible scheduling; otherwise, they will continue to turn to less stressful career opportunities.

Regarding the role of technology, a survey commissioned by Nursa found the following beliefs among health system leaders:

Four out of five believed technology could alleviate administrative burdens, allowing nurses to focus on care delivery.
Three out of four viewed technology as a way to connect nurses to patients more effectively.
Two out of three believed technology platforms could support cost savings for hospitals seeking to fill nursing shifts.

How Facilities Can Find Care Professionals in Philadelphia

One innovative platform that leverages technology to connect facilities and local healthcare professionals in real time is Nursa. Nursa is a PRN staffing platform through which hospitals and long-term care facilities can post the shifts they need to fill, and clinicians can request the shifts for which they are qualified and able to work. Nursa conducts background checks and credential verification before clinicians request jobs so that facilities can fill shifts within minutes. This convenient access to PRN nurses allows facilities in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to maintain adequate staffing ratios on demand, guaranteeing patients quality care and protecting internal staff from burnout.

With Nursa, there are no start-up fees and no minimums. Using Nursa is significantly more cost-effective for facilities than contracting travel nurses, relying on agencies, or paying overtime rates. Additionally, local Nursa teams work closely with facilities to develop strategic rates that are both cost-effective and ensure shifts are filled and completed.

Find both short- and long-term staffing solutions in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by posting a PRN job with Nursa today.

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