Healthcare organizations that communicate information about the work experiences, benefits and perks at their facilities are better able to find the candidates who want to join their teams, said Dr. Iman Abuzeid, CEO and cofounder of Incredible Health, an artificial intelligence-powered healthcare career platform.

Abuzeid told Healthcare IT News that data from the company's fifth State of U.S. Nursing Report also showed that hospitals have introduced more flexible schedules and nursing salaries are up at 66% of hospitals this year -- a 40% increase over last year.

The research also found that, even though nurses will trust a platform that uses generative AI to match them to healthcare employers, they're hesitant to use AI on the job and fear their employers' use of AI to deliver healthcare.

In the following Q&A, Abuzeid explains why healthcare leaders should not only share their AI roadmaps with nurses and other healthcare employees, but also take the time to communicate their organizations' success using AI to improve patient care and employee experience.

Q. Despite staffing shortages, nursing teams across the U.S. report force reductions and staffing mandates. What are your insights about the current job market challenges nurses face? 

A. Nurses face many challenges when it comes to finding a job, including applying to many employers and not hearing back, limited awareness of employer expectations for resumes, limited guidance for interviews, and limited awareness of the myriad of opportunities available to them nationally.

We've found the health systems offering what nurses actually want are attracting more talent.

Our 2024 Healthcare Executive Report found 82% of healthcare leaders have experienced challenges in recruiting permanent nurses to fill vacant positions in the last year.

The top request healthcare executives received from nurses was for salary increases, and more than half (64%) stated increases were the most effective method for attracting and hiring nurses. In addition, flexible scheduling and career advancement opportunities are increasingly offered by health systems.

Hospitals implementing these hiring strategies are seeing success.

Q. How can artificial intelligence help shrink the nursing shortage and improve healthcare employee experiences on the job?

A. AI can shrink the nursing shortage by expanding opportunities and streamlining the job search process for healthcare workers. 

AI-powered tools can match nurses with the right role more efficiently and automate administrative tasks, freeing up time for patient care. Additionally, these technologies can enhance the overall job search experience by providing tailored job recommendations and improving hiring workflows. 

At Incredible Health, we recently introduced a suite of AI-powered products to help both nurses and health systems with the hiring process.

One feature, our Resume Wizard, enables nurses to generate a free resume, automatically optimized to showcase their skills and match them with the hospitals and roles that meet their criteria.

Health systems on our platform use generative AI to help recruiters instantly automate specially tailored messages to nurse candidates, highlighting key details about hospital benefits, perks and other differentiating factors of joining their team. Since implementing this feature, we’ve observed a remarkable 20% increase in nurses accepting interview requests on Incredible Health’s marketplace.

It helps nurses make more informed decisions about which job opportunities to pursue and helps hospitals distinguish themselves from competitors.

Q. If more than half of the nurses surveyed (53%) fear AI "creates a generational divide," what does that mean for the seasoned, experienced workforce and the organizations that rely on them for institutional knowledge, training and mentoring?

A. Seasoned nurses play a key role in training and mentoring the next generation of nurses in the workforce. Data from our recent report also found most nurses are using AI for scheduling and basic administrative tasks, but only 11% reported using it to recommend patient care during the intake process. 

Fear is anticipated when exploring a new technology that has some unknown implications, but the older generations can be reassured that these tools are an assistant in automating tasks, rather than a replacement for patient care. 

Q. If nurses hesitate to use AI for recommending patient care (12% in the Incredible Health study reported using these tools) what is behind this fear, and how can healthcare organizations address it?

A. The fear behind this can be different for every nurse, but our data found 64% of nurses believe AI will hurt their employment.

These concerns extend beyond the healthcare industry – as many American workers fear how AI could impact the future of work. 

Lack of communication around AI and its role can create stress for employees. To mitigate this, healthcare leaders should share more about their AI roadmap, intended use and how it has already created a positive impact within the organization. 

Q. Anecdotally, how has AI improved communications with existing nurses and resulted in positives – like higher salaries, flexible scheduling and a decreased dependency on travel nurses – and attracted new nursing talent to end an organization’s shortage?

A. Health systems on our platform use generative AI to help recruiters instantly automate specially tailored messages to nurse candidates, highlighting key details about hospital benefits, perks and other differentiating factors of joining their team. 

Touting what their health system offers, like flexible scheduling and career advancement opportunities, helps attract talent and retain nurses. 

This year, 35% of hospitals have introduced more flexible schedules, up 23% from last year, and 66% have increased nurse salaries – a 40% rise from the previous year. 

Improvement in nurse retention and better staffing ratios are a direct result of offering nurses what they want.

The HIMSS AI in Healthcare Forum is scheduled to take place September 5-6 in Boston. Learn more and register.

Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.

Updated August 15, 2024: A previous version of this article stated that nursing salaries were up 40% this year, an unintentional conflation of the statistics presented in Abuzeid's answers. We apologize for any confusion this error may have caused.