NURSE LEADERS SURVEY
Challenges facing nurse leaders also include low staff compensation, workplace violence, patient safety, shift scheduling and various others.
Composition of the Nursing Workforce Hospital nurse leaders were asked to indicate the current composition of their nursing staffs by nurse type. Their responses indicate that hospital nursing staffs are:
• Sixty-nine percent composed of permanent, full-time staff nurses.
• Thirty-one percent composed of part-time or contingent nurses (e.g., float pool nurses, travel nurses, local nurses, per diem nurses, etc.).
Part-time nurses represent 19% of the total hospital nurse staff while contingent nurses represent 12% of the total staff. Since the COVID-19 pandemic it has become apparent that nurses and other healthcare professionals value flexibility in how and when they work. AMN Healthcare’s 2023 Survey of Registered Nurses indicates that 12% of nurses plan to work as travelers in the coming year, while 4% plan to work per diem. The survey suggests that hospital nurse staffs reflect this changing workforce dynamic and include a mix of full-time and flexible time nurses. When asked what their goal is for nurse staff composition at their hospitals, nurse leaders indicated it is not far removed from their current staff composition. The survey suggests that hospital nurse leaders would like to:
• Increase the percent of permanent, full-time nurse staff at their facilities from an average of 69% to an average of to 72%.
• Keep their part-time staff at 19%.
• Reduce their contingent staff from 12% to 9%.
These staffing goals suggest that nurse leaders have embraced a flexible nurse staffing model that allows for scaling staffs as dictated by varying levels of patient demand and service utilization.
The Primary Reason for Using Contingent Nurses: High Turnover The number one reason nurse leaders cited for using contingent workers further reflects the volatility of today’s nurse workforce. Sixty-seven percent of nurse leaders said they use contingent nurses to stabilize units or departments with high nurse turnover. Often, these can be departments with high level of stress and safety challenges, such as the emergency department (ED) or intensive care units (ICUs). Typically, contingent nurses can cover additional shifts quickly when gaps in the nurse staff occur.
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