I’m sure you are aware of the areas that using travel nurse staff can benefit your hospital from a financial aspect: Workers’ Compensation, Vacations and Sick Days, Accounting Costs and Wages, Training Time, Payroll Taxes, Pension Costs, Termination Expenses & Unemployment.
But are you aware of the hidden values of using travel nurses?
1. For starters the additional help can take a big stress of your permanent nursing staff. The less stress and more satisfied with their jobs your perm nurses feel the better your hospital will run and the better patient care you will be able to provide.
2. Another benefit that travel nurses bring to your healthcare facility is a fresh perspective and a wide variety of different experiences that can breathe new life into a nursing unit.
3. Research has also shown that better patient outcomes are related to higher percentages of temporary nursing staff. In fact compared to perm nursing staff the research showed that temp nurses are just as experienced and even more likely to hold a BSN or higher.
4. Travel nurses can also free up your permanent nursing staff to attend training sessions or important meetings.
5. Travel nurses are an invaluable resource for providing feedback for your hospital or unit. They have seen how a lot of similar units operates and can give you real insight into areas where your healthcare facility could improve. They may even be helpful in implementing new forms and protocols that they have used at other facilities (with permission of course).
6. The nature of the travel nursing industry lends itself to discussions about which healthcare facilities they prefer to work at. So travel nurses can also let you know the areas that your facility excels in because sometimes we can be our own worst critics, especially without a frame of reference to compare against.
7. Travel nurses can also be a valuable resource as you grow your hospital and expand the scope and responsibilities of your units. Either through freeing up the perm staff for additional training or contributing their knowledge and ideas from other healthcare facilities.
8. Travel nurses can also set a great example of flexibility and eagerness to learn new competencies to your existing nursing staff.
9. They can also add a level of diversity and cultural awareness that your permanent nursing staff may not be able to add because as a travel nurse they are exposed to a number of different parts of the country and types of healthcare facilities.
So when you are making the decision about using travel nurses at your healthcare facility don’t forget to look past the bottom line and see the hidden value of travel nurses and the positive impact they can have on your hospital and staff.
