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According to Vivian Health’s Future of Healthcare Work Report findings, clinicians on long- and short-term travel contracts are more willing to explore permanent employment in 2023 than in previous years. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vivian saw clinicians prioritizing safer and more respectful work environments. This year’s results continue this trend, with other priorities rising to join them: focusing on flexibility, work-life balance, and commute times when considering new positions.

The findings cover employment settings, wages and benefits, workload, clinician mental health, desired work environment characteristics, and insights into attracting clinicians to permanent employment. This year’s report emphasizes a rising demand for permanent employment by travel clinicians, which could be a saving grace to an industry that staffing shortages have rattled. Over half of the respondents are over 45, and 28% are over 55. These findings suggest there is also an opportunity to retain experienced professionals as the industry hurtles toward a retirement cliff brought on by the hardships of working during a global pandemic.

Staffing challenges in the healthcare industry predate and were exacerbated by the pandemic, presenting many difficulties and rapidly evolving conditions for the professionals that have continued to work over the past three years,” says Parth Bhakta, co-founder and CEO of Vivian Health. “The increased demand for more permanent, stable, long-term positions serves as a light at the end of the tunnel for those who have carried the weight of these shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Switching to Permanent Employment

Vivian Health found 1,663 clinical and clinical-support staff from across the country using a combination of emails to their proprietary healthcare talent marketplace, online communities, and social media tools. Of the respondents, 65% were registered nurses. Of all respondents, 36% were employed in travel positions, with 44% employed in permanent positions. Vivian’s methodological goal was to achieve a diversified, representative sample of the non-physician clinical workforce.

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Eighty-six percent of travel clinicians surveyed said they are open to switching to permanent work, with nearly half (46%) planning to work permanently in 2023. That number has grown significantly since 2022 when only 55% considered switching to permanent positions. While these statistics are promising for understaffed hospital systems reeling from the aftermath of the global pandemic, employers must make significant investments to create better, safer work environments to attract healthcare professionals.

“Healthcare professionals indicated an even greater need for work-life balance and workplace safety when searching for jobs than in previous years,” says Bhakta. “The respondents ranked feeling safe at work and their commute time as important in their job search, marking a shift from last year, when the most important factors in new job searches included respect from leadership, workload, and support for mental health and well-being.”

Heavy workloads and the inability to take time off can often lead to burnout, exhaustion, and stress for healthcare clinicians. Fifty-six percent of respondents (n=935) were asked every week to work overtime, and half of the employed clinicians surveyed took just 5 to 10 days of PTO in 2022. The call for additional staff was a common theme in this report, with 57% of respondents indicating their unit was adequately staffed less than 75% of the time.

Vivian asked respondents, “what could your employer do to increase your overall job satisfaction?” Excluding increases to wages and bonuses, the top five responses were:

  1. Increase the number of support staff
  2. Increase the number of nurses
  3. Allow adequate time for meals and breaks
  4. Offer more PTO
  5. Offer flex scheduling
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When making the switch to a permanent role this year, clinicians stated that their top five considerations are:

  1. Hourly Wage
  2. Benefits
  3. Workload (Staffing)
  4. Commute Time
  5. Flexible Schedules

“Vivian actively participates in conversations with nurses and has seen an increase in appetite for permanent positions,” says Vivian Health User Research Manager Rachel Norton, BSN, RN. “Healthcare professionals are looking for the additional stability that permanence offers. Employers hoping to hire and retain permanent talent will have to offer a well-rounded experience and environment to meet their needs.”

Renee Hewitt
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