Reports from the front lines of hospital perioperative departments show a daily, ongoing crisis.
Short-handed nurses and staff are strained to handle the unpredictable capacity demands of their service lines. These critical shortages of both contracted and full-time staff are driving a cycle that increases costs and leads to burn out for existing staff.
Influxes of COVID-related inpatient admissions drive fluctuations of surgical case volumes as well as growing backlogs of deferred procedures. Staffing costs have increased as leaders attempt to supplement with travelers, invest in additional recruiting, or implement strategies for retention, which a recent gathering of leaders cited as one of their top staffing challenges. Existing nurses and staff are pressured by growing workloads, which are exacerbated by frequent quarantining due to infection. Early retirements or simple resignations are common.
Rather than attempt to hire and spend their way out of this self-perpetuating challenge, two leading health systems recently and successfully leveraged innovative tools to address and mitigate operating room staffing shortages.
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