As healthcare employers battle the COVID-19 pandemic, more are leaning on temporary coverage and fewer are reporting shrinking numbers of open positions, according to The Medicus Firm's latest "Recruiting Pulse Survey."
To gauge how the pandemic is affecting healthcare employer recruitment and staffing, the national search group conducted three separate surveys April 21-27, May 28 to June 4 and July 16-26. Each survey was distributed to more than 13,000 contacts across the country. The firm received 572 responses in total from a mixture of hospitals, health systems and medical groups.
Five takeaways from the latest results:
1. Nineteen percent of healthcare employers added more open jobs in the past 30 days, an 11-point increase from the last survey period.
2. Nearly 60 percent of employers reported no change in the number of open positions.
3. About one-fourth of respondents reported using locum tenens, but overall locum tenens utilization in the past 30 days was up for 10 percent of respondents.
4. Eleven percent of employers said they've had to move start dates out, down from a high of 22 percent at the pandemic's onset.
5. More than half of newly hired providers haven't experienced a change in relocation plans, stabilizing from earlier in the pandemic.