Are Staffing Challenges Preventing Urgent Care from Seizing a Moment in Its Evolution?

Regular readers of JUCM and JUCM News know the United States is scrambling to a solution for a future that will, unless trends change quickly, see fewer primary care physicians than ever relative to the patient population. What has gone under the radar for the most part until now is the equally daunting challenge of running a practice with fewer nurses, medical assistants, and various technicians. In short, at a time when urgent care has made tremendous progress in raising its profile due to decades of providing excellent care while weathering the worst pandemic in a century, continued growth could be impeded by something as basic as being unable to hire and retain enough high-quality workers. In fact, it may be even tougher for some urgent care operators when considering that some large health systems are offering nurses five-digit signing bonuses and salaries upward of $180,000 a year. Those are real figures, from an actual recruitment ad that reflect the challenge urgent care has in competing for top talent. Assuming that you can’t compete on a dollar-for-dollar basis, it’s essential you’re able offer prospective employees a workplace they’ll embrace and become loyal to. An article in the JUCM archive, Becoming the Employer of Choice for the Emerging Urgent Care Workforce may offer some good tips.