“What is a staffing model in healthcare, and how do we build long-term workforce resilience?”
This is a question asked by healthcare leaders nationwide as they seek to learn more about the flexibility, proactive strategies, and multi-channel labor solutions needed, especially since 2020. Healthcare organizations have faced navigating significant changes as they’ve embraced their “new normal” following the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2023, Jake Whitmore, Senior Director of Strategic Growth at Medical Solutions, examined the evolution of healthcare staffing models in the post-pandemic era. His insights have only become more relevant in 2025.
Today’s healthcare landscape is shaped by persistent workforce shortages, shifting care demand, rising acuity, and mounting financial pressure. In response, leaders are adopting modern, more adaptive staffing models in healthcare that blend core staff with travel clinicians, PRN/per diem labor, local contracts, and both local and international direct hire talent across nursing and allied health.
These contemporary models, paired with strategic planning and strong partnerships, help health systems stabilize labor costs, support clinician well-being, and ensure high-quality patient care.
Why Traditional Staffing Models Fall Short Today
Whitmore’s original assessment remains true: traditional staffing approaches were built for a world that no longer exists. They tend to be reactive, overly rigid, and reliant on outdated forecasting methods.
Today’s environment demands more!
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects over 193,000 openings for registered nurses per year through 2032, driven by retirements and an increase in demand. Allied health roles continue to see similar upward pressure, from imaging techs to respiratory therapists.
Meanwhile, Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) reports that health systems are increasingly replacing crisis-driven staffing with diversified workforce models designed for sustainability, not emergency patchwork.
That means organizations can no longer afford to rely on a single labor channel or last-minute crisis hiring. They require staffing strategies that anticipate volume swings, unit-specific needs, and market trends. This is where more modern healthcare workforce management practices come in.
The New, Rebalanced Workforce Mix
Following the pandemic, workforce composition shifted dramatically. Now, hospitals are settling into a new equilibrium that deliberately blends multiple staffing sources to strengthen stability and flexibility.
A modern staffing model often includes:
- Core Staff (Full-Time Employees)
The foundation for culture, continuity, and quality.
- Travel Nurses and Travel Allied Health Professionals>
Essential for specialty gaps, rapid openings, rural needs, and seasonal surges
- Local Contracts and PRN/Per Diem Support
A rapidly growing trend, offering cost-effective flexibility and improved coverage for fluctuating census or staff PTO.
- Domestic and International Direct Hire
A long-term strategy to build stability, reduce dependency on overtime, and ensure steady pipelines for hard-to-fill roles.
- Float Pools and Internal Resource Teams
An efficient way to move talent where it’s needed most across units or facilities.
This multi-channel approach is no longer considered optional. According to the Advisory Board, health systems that diversify their labor mix and build internal + external staffing pipelines are better positioned to weather census variability, improve retention, and mitigate burnout.
How Leaders Can Overcome Barriers to Change
- “This is how we’ve always done it,” or
- “We’re not sure where to start.”
Whitmore emphasized three key steps that still apply today:
- Identify your “why.”
Understanding current gaps, pain points, and operational realities helps clarify what
needs to change. - Engage cross-functional stakeholders.
A CNO, CFO, CHRO, and COO may value different outcomes—so solutions must meet
collective goals, not just individual ones.
- Understand how staffing solutions have evolved.
The staffing industry now offers much more than travel clinicians. Workforce partners offer predictive analytics, vendor management, local staffing channels, international recruitment strategies, and system-level consulting services.
Modern staffing models require openness, intentionality, and a willingness to challenge old assumptions. However, organizations that adapt are seeing significant improvements in cost control, workforce stability, and patient outcomes.
Why Proactive Workforce Planning Is Non-Negotiable
Through Medical Solutions’ partnerships with thousands of healthcare organizations nationwide, one pattern is clear: systems with a defined staffing plan that weather uncertainty are far better than those without one.
Proactive planning allows hospitals to:
- Anticipate shortages
- Stabilize labor costs
- Reduce burnout and turnover
- Strengthen clinician engagement
- Improve patient experience
- Stay ahead of market and demographic shifts
This approach is becoming increasingly standard as health systems adopt comprehensive healthcare workforce solutions rather than relying on reactive staffing.
What to Look for in a Workforce Solutions Partner
Not every partner offers the scale, adaptability, or consultative approach required for a modern workforce strategy. The strongest partners:
- Serve as an extension of your team
- Offer multiple labor channels, not just travel staffing
- Blend technology with human expertise
- Provide forecasting, analytics, and proactive guidance
- Support enterprise-level needs with flexibility and speed
- Keep quality patient care at the center of all decisions
Healthcare leaders need partners who bring long-term thinking, not short-term fixes.
Your Workforce Solutions Strategy Starts Here
As the industry continues to evolve, so must the strategies that support it. By embracing a more modern staffing model, guided by flexible labor channels, strong forecasting, and a trusted workforce solutions partner, your organization can build a resilient, efficient, future-ready workforce.
Ready to strengthen your staffing model?
Explore how our team can support your long-term workforce strategy with scalable, consultative solutions across travel, local, per diem, and both local and international direct hire. Contact Medical Solutions today!
Updated December 2025
