Are Travel Nurses the Solution to the Nursing shortage?
The U.S. will need an additional 1.2 million nurses this year to meet patient demand and replace nurses leaving the profession. While hospitals have always used staffing and travel nurses to supplement their needs, the pandemic has exacerbated a problem that has been brewing for years. The recent legislative proposal to cap the amount travel nurse agencies can charge hospitals will only solve a symptom of a larger, longer-term problem — it is not a long-term solution.
One take-away: healthcare must find a way to attract — and keep — full-time nurses. So-called "international nurses" are a lucrative business, but importing nurses from another country creates another shortage: a shortage of nurses in the home country. Rich countries (like the U.S.) are generally the winners in this scenario, and poor countries the losers, which adds to poverty and further inequalities. Travel and staffing nurses will solve some immediate needs but are not a remedy beyond the COVID pandemic.
Easier said than done: the solution to the nursing shortage and retention is well documented — academically, socially, and personally. The treatment imposed on nurses over the past several decades will not go away easily. Money alone will not solve the hurt feet, body, and soul after a 10-to-16-hour day. But the issue is now on the table, and the world is aware, both locally and globally. Stay alert and actionable.
Related reading: Nurses are Agents of Change and Positioned to Lead Innovation