Retain Top Talent in Any Climate

Outpatient facilities run lean by design, but shortages have created gaps along the front lines that are stretching existing staff thin at even the healthiest of facilities. Many surgical leaders are facing a perpetual and costly cycle of recruitment and onboarding, and still finding it impossible to keep positions filled.

While the pandemic has introduced new challenges for maintaining a consistent staff, the reasons for the shortage go deeper, suggests executive recruiter Andréa Venezio, CEO of Ambulatory Surgery Centers for Sapphire Health Group in Lewisville, Texas. “We’re seeing a large number of perioperative nurses retire, which we knew was coming due to their age, and we’re seeing younger nurses with less home commitments move to traveler agencies for the boost in pay, which has led to many open positions nationwide,” she says.

The problem is these factors are compounded by pandemic-driven volume fluctuation and burnout, and staffing is down to record-low numbers. In her 17 years as an ASC recruiter, this is the leanest hiring pool Ms. Venezio has ever witnessed — and it doesn’t appear to be improving anytime soon. Still, creativity is what always keeps successful outpatient organizations afloat and it’s no different with the current staffing issues facing surgical facility leaders. Here’s how several industry leaders are filling their staffing needs in the face of unprecedented challenges.

• Retain top performers. Taking care of the highly skilled and versatile team members into whom you’ve already put time and money is essential, stresses Ms. Venezio. What she’s learned from surgery center directors over the years is that the value of taking time to get to know your staff on a personal level and gifting unique rewards to recognize hard work is an easy way to bolster retention. “Gift cards to the spa are always appreciated,” she says.

It’s also important to create a secure and consistent work environment that staff don’t want to leave, advises outpatient surgery management expert Ann Geier, MS, RN, CNOR, CASC, the CNO at Ambulatory Healthcare Strategies in Spencerport, N.Y. “Treat everyone fairly, set expectations and make them known to everyone, and tie pay increases to performance,” says Ms. Geier. Leaders need to make sure they’re helping in all areas, and they need to take care of themselves in order to have the energy to be there for their employees, she adds.

• Prevent burnout. Surgical leaders need to take an active role in helping their staff work through feelings of exhaustion and burnout stemming from the pandemic before it causes them to leave their position — or even the industry. Some healthcare systems have implemented in-house counseling and emotional and mental support, which outpatient facilities connected to larger health systems can and should tap into. Freestanding ASCs that don’t have the resources to offer in-house emotional support still need to make mental health a priority, says Ms. Geier. “Talk to your staff about taking adequate time for themselves and encourage peer and leader support to talk through feelings of exhaustion and burnout,” she says. “Acknowledging fear shows staff members you care and can help them feel connected to your staffing team and stay positive as the pandemic continues.”

• Foster professional growth. Offering new skills development for existing staff is a proven way to bolster retention and recruitment, while sharpening the talents of your existing team, says Ms. Venezio. “Leadership training for your OR staff to earn their Certified Administrator Surgery Center (CASC) certification is a valuable move to build a versatile leadership team with those who can still circulate when needed,” she says.

Ms. Venezio says in-house training is especially important for pre-op and post-op staff who want to make the move to intraoperative care where staff shortages seem to be more severe. This is exactly what Surgical Care Affiliates (SCA), a company with 220 ASCs in 35 states, is doing with the AORN Periop 101 OR nursing curriculum. The company is using the curriculum to train nurses who want to transition to intraoperative care, according to Lisa Berus, MSN, MEd, RN, CASSPT, CNAMB, CAIP, senior director of clinical education and training at SCA.

The organization holds four to five AORN Periop 101 cohorts per year and now offers the training virtually, which has been very successful. “The nurses in this program are working in our pre-op or post-op areas and want to transition into the OR,” says Ms. Berus. “They are also nurses from outside our organization, mainly new grads and nurses from skilled nursing facilities, who are coming in with the understanding that they will be trained as an OR nurse.”