Where to Next for Healthcare Staffing: Navigating the Challenges and Opportunities

Jared McGriff -

The healthcare staffing industry is undergoing significant transformation. As it adapts to evolving market dynamics, technological advancements, and workforce challenges, industry leaders are faced with the task of innovating to survive and keep up with the trends and strategies that shape the future of healthcare staffing.  At last month’s Staffing Industry Analysts Executive Forum, North America in Miami, these topics were highlighted in the session, Where to Next for Healthcare Staffing.

The following key points punctuated the engaging panel discussion that was rich with insights from staffing leaders who have seen the industry as it has evolved over the past few decades. The panel featured the following executives:

Meredith Lapointe, chief business officer, AMN Healthcare

John A. Martins, president and CEO, Cross Country Healthcare

Benjamin Mirtes, CEO, Ingenovis Health

Sophia Morris, executive VP, client fulfillment and strategy teams, Aya Healthcare

1. Decline in Travel Nursing

Travel nursing has experienced a sharp contraction, with a 37% decline projected for 2024 following a 36% drop in 2023. This trend is largely driven by healthcare systems reducing bill rates to pre-pandemic levels and decreasing reliance on contingent staff. However, optimism remains as a modest growth rate of 3% is projected for 2026.

2. Per Diem Nursing Flexibility

Per diem nursing offers flexibility for both healthcare providers and clinicians. While this segment has seen a 17% decline in 2024, its adaptability continues to make it an attractive option for filling shifts on short notice.

3. Locum Tenens Growth

Locum tenens remains a bright spot, with steady growth driven by advanced practice roles such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants. This segment addresses gaps created by the physician shortage and offers opportunities in underserved areas.

4. Allied Health Dynamics

Allied health staffing shows mixed results, with specialties like radiology and imaging performing well while laboratory roles face revenue challenges.

Emerging Opportunities in Healthcare Staffing

Outpatient Care Expansion

As patient preferences shift toward outpatient care, healthcare systems are consolidating assets and exploring partnerships to meet demand. Utilization of outpatient services has increased by 30% over the past decade.

Advanced Practice Roles

Advanced practice clinicians are increasingly filling gaps left by retiring physicians and those seeking more flexible work arrangements.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Consolidation within the industry is expected to continue through 2025 and 2026 as firms seek competitive advantages through strategic acquisitions.

Leveraging Technology and AI in Healthcare Staffing

"A lot of people thought that AI was just going to get rid of recruiters, and it's not. What it's enabling recruiters to do is have more meaningful conversations, and have a higher likelihood of those conversations turning into a placement...that's what you want AI to accomplish."

- Ben Mirtes CEO, Ingenovis Health


"We have predictive scheduling that is now leveraging AI to actually match the right people to the right shifts and predicting, using what they've given as their own schedules or their own preferences or their own capabilities, to actually fill those schedules in well ahead of time...the possibilities are endless, and I'm excited to keep evolving it as an industry, because I think we're at the forefront of what healthcare needs to do to get their workforce right."

- Meredith Lapointe, Chief Business Officer, AMN Healthcare

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing healthcare staffing by enhancing operational efficiency and care delivery:

Predictive Scheduling: AI algorithms are being used to match clinicians to shifts based on preferences and capabilities, improving accuracy and reducing administrative burdens.

Compliance Automation: AI tools have saved thousands of hours in document processing, streamlining credentialing processes.

Recruiter Efficiency: Far from replacing recruiters, AI enables them to focus on meaningful conversations that lead to successful placements.

Addressing Burnout and Workforce Retention in Healthcare Staffing

Burnout among healthcare workers remains a critical issue post-pandemic. Organizations implement wellness programs, leverage clinician feedback apps, and maintain personal engagement through regular check-ins to support their workforce.

Future Outlook of Healthcare Staffing

With an anticipated shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2033, innovative models such as travel sabbaticals and fellowships are being explored to attract clinicians to underserved areas. The integration of telehealth solutions further expands access to care in rural markets.

As the healthcare staffing industry navigates these challenges, collaboration between providers, technology integration, and workforce engagement will be key to ensuring sustainable growth and improved patient outcomes.

This session highlighted the resilience of the industry and its ability to adapt to changing landscapes while maintaining its commitment to exceptional care delivery.


"We were not going to go recruiterless, because I think that human touch as it pertains to burnout, people want to talk. They want to know that somebody cares...it's just those little things that I think are so basic and so easy to do, but we just overlook them when we are moving so fast and we are thinking about AI and efficiencies."

- Sophia Morris, executive VP, Client Fulfillment and Strategy, Aya Healthcare

Q&A

Question 1|

We do have one question on the app, it says, And you kind of just hit on this. According to SIA, the American Hospital Association, estimates that the US will face a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2033 are your companies forecasting the same numbers? And how are you preparing for the future?

Answer 1|

Meredith Lapointe: I just gave a stat that was slightly lower. So maybe I'll take this as we look at it, we'd see a major shortage. The numbers might vary a little bit sometimes how you're counting which types of clinicians, or if you're looking at rural versus urban, but I think the bottom line is, there is a shortage. I don't know any firms that would argue that there's not, and it's it's a big number, and you're not going to get there through education channels, so we're going to either have to shape demand or shape supply, or shape how they intersect much differently, yeah, and I think part of that is probably what the AAMC updates their numbers as they do their analysis, and they did reduce it so like it's better, but their magic eight ball changes time.

Question 2|

Thank you. Thank you for taking my question. I'm Gaurav Deshpande from HyperTrack. First of all, wanted to thank Meredith, Ben, and Sophia just wonderful session. My question is about no shows, as you know, for per diem staffing and even for travel nursing, no show can be a factor. Would love to understand how you're handling no shows on the day of the shift, when the person signs up for the shift but doesn't call and there's a no-show. How do you handle the no-show back-fills? Would just love to hear what strategies you're deploying for that.

Answer 2|

Sophia Morris: I'm happy to grab that one. You know, I think in general, we're definitely seeing a higher level of unprofessionalism in the space right now, and it's something that we're having to navigate. One of the things that we've talked a lot about it just as we were prepping for the session, is kind of getting back to the basics in a lot of ways, with our clinicians and and part of that is making sure that our recruiters are set up for success through their vetting process.

There are some of these intangibles that you can't really measure necessarily. You know, through through the technology or through the AI. It's through talking to them. It's through understanding their background. It's through looking at their work history. It's through looking at have they canceled before. You know, I'm not big on setting draconian policies on somebody who misses a shift, but if somebody is repeatedly missing shifts and the reasoning is continuing to not add up, then they're likely somebody that we're not going to probably work with long-term.

And you have to determine what that looks like for your organization, and you need to train your teams up front to make sure that they're vetting, that they're understanding those red flags. We also have a full clinical team that, you know, sometimes, so they deal with the professionalism, the behavioral issues, as well as the clinical issues too.

And, you know, I think that it's something that eventually will maybe cycle through some of the individuals that are, you know, are the ones that are missing the shifts. But you know, I think taking a reasonable approach with what you're willing to tolerate and what your health care systems are willing to tolerate is the way that you need to look at it.

Ben Mirtes: I think another thing is just making sure you're having that constant engagement, probably maybe less relevant on the per diem side, but certainly on the travel nurse and Allied side, that constant engagement all the way up to the start date and making sure you're trying to flush out some of those risks upfront so that you're not dealing with that issue at the end. But, fully agree, like the unprofessionalism that has spiked more recently is an issue that we're all dealing with.

Question 3|

My name is Jiten Ravias. Thank you so much for being here. One of the questions around burnout and stress among healthcare workers been extremely high since COVID, and during that time, how are you guys handling it and does that have any impact on the regular business operations?

Answer 3|

Ben Mirtes: At Ingenovis, we started ACT, which stands for adverse advocacy, careers and tools. And, you know, we're trying to provide more of those solutions to our clinicians, so as they deal with things like burnout, they have the opportunity to, you know, to leverage other tools, advocates that we've set up for them. You know, we recently had a wellness symposium that covered everything from mental to financial to physical. So, you know, we think, at Ingenovis, that it's a super important part of the future of, you know, the healthcare worker, and making sure that you're not just focused on where their next assignment is, but you're helping them with burnout and the stress that comes with those jobs, which are very challenging situations that they go into every day. So, you know, we've been very forward in trying to invest there.

Meredith Lapointe: We've done similar, you know, we have a clinical team similar to Aya has, where they're able to connect with our clinicians and really work with them.

We're also leveraging our clinician apps and getting feedback and engagement on a very regular basis to get pulse checks. How are you doing? What's going on? And then the final area that I think is really important is we're collecting that feedback and sharing not at the individual level, but at the collective level, back with our clients, and saying, hey. Just so, you know, these are how people are feeling about every step of the process of working with you, this is probably a pretty good indicator of what your culture is like. You know, which managers are doing a really great job of engaging your clinicians overall. And that's not only felt good, but probably helped a lot of our clients also improve their own retention and sort of the reinforcing mechanisms is going to make it better for their workers, too.

Sophia Morris: And I'd add just one more thing, too. I asked my, and this is a very simple thing that you could do tomorrow if you're not already doing it, I asked my recruitment team recently, do you call your nurses once a week or your clinicians or providers once a week just to wish them a good weekend? Ask how their week was, how are you?

Very basic things that introduce a personal touch, and this is why we were not going to go recruiterless, because I think that human touch – as it pertains to burnout, people want to talk. They want to know that somebody cares.

When I was a recruiter, I called all of my nurses every week, and maybe once a quarter, they would answer. And I had a nurse one time that said to me, man, I really appreciated those Friday calls. Just even you leaving me that message meant something. I was just leaving her a message every week. I didn't even know she listened to it, but that meant something to her, and that meant something to me, you know. And I think that if we're if we're in this room we're in this business, it's because we're passionate about helping people and creating exceptional experiences and it's just those little things that I think are so basic and so easy to do, but we just overlook them. When we are moving so fast and we are thinking about AI and efficiencies and all the things that we can do to drive our business forward faster, we can't lose that personal touch.

About HyperTrack

HyperTrack validates over 1 million shifts per month for leading staffing marketplaces in healthcare, light industrial, retail, hospitality, and other industries.

Staffing marketplaces using HyperTrack reduce no-shows by 60% and improve fill rates to over 95%. Schedule a briefing at https://hypertrack.com/