Types of Nurses: What They Do & How They Benefit Healthcare Facilities

The different kinds of nurses, explained 

For many healthcare organizations, nurse shortages aren’t particular to any one type. Often, they’re experienced across the different kinds of roles within nursing, making it difficult for organizations to close gaps quickly. For example, a lack of Licensed Practical Nurses puts undue pressure on Registered Nurses, and a lack of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses and all the areas they encompass puts a huge strain on all nursing sections. Unfortunately, a lack of a holistic domestic pipeline has resulted in an overreliance on contract labor to fill the most pressing vacancies wherever they arise, to the detriment of other nursing vacancies. 

Often, the nuances of nursing roles are lost when grouped and presented as a single pain point. So, below, we highlight the different types of nursing vacancies organizations are struggling to fill. At a basic level, the types of nurses and the roles they fill are important to understand if patient outcomes are as important as filling empty scrubs.

Registered nurses

When we read about nurse shortages, Registered Nurses are the most commonly cited. Hardly surprising, since they’re often the most visible, working alongside doctors in various healthcare settings. 
Vital to the functioning of U.S. healthcare, RNs provide and coordinate patient care, monitoring, evaluating, and documenting medical histories and the symptoms of their patients.

Advanced practice registered nurses

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses have greater responsibilities than RNs and require further graduate education; either a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).

Where RNs primarily monitor, evaluate, and document patient symptoms, APRNs can diagnose conditions, create treatment plans, and prescribe medications. However, under the umbrella of APRNs sit several types of nurses:

• CRNPs - Certified Registered Nurse Practitioners

Specialty health care via assessment and diagnosis.

• CRNAs - Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists

Anaesthesia services and pain management.

• CRNMs - Certified Registered Nurse Midwives

The main point of contact for all aspects of midwifery.

Licensed practical/vocational nurses

Unlike RNs and APRNs, a Licensed Practical Nurse [LPN] is an entry-level nursing position. Having less responsibilities, LPNs will follow the directives of either a doctor or an RN when caring for patients.

From a candidate perspective, the LPN route is an ideal option if finances are strained, and time is constrained.

Some of the day-to-day duties of an LPN would include:

• Administering medicine
• Providing first aid treatment
• Taking records of a patient’s health progress
• Communicating with families of patients
• Collaborating with doctors
• Dressing injuries
• Keeping records

The importance of a diverse nurse workforce

Post-COVID, hospitals and healthcare organizations have become over-dependent on short-term staffing solutions, using them to paper over the omnipresent demand that systemic nurse shortages generate.

However, the over-reliance on short-term staffing isn’t sustainable. It may plug gaps, but are they the right fit? After years of papering over cracks, a sustained short-term strategy can do profound damage to healthcare organizations that pursue one. Such a strategy fails to solve systemic labor shortages and has severe financial, operational, and clinical ramifications.

So, what’s the answer? At Conexus, we recommend a long-term workforce strategy that encompasses a diverse nursing workforce predicated on the balance between a comprehensive long-term staffing structure and short-term labor as a relief valve.

The Conexus diverse hiring model:

Long-term staffing structure

1. Core staff provide the base layer, making up 70-80% of the workforce

Anchors institutional knowledge and culture

2. International nurses hired on a contract-to-perm basis

Bridges immediate and long-term need [85% of Conexus nurses convert to core staff]

Short-term labor

3. Per diem should make up around 15% of your diverse hiring model

Per diem bridge scheduling gaps, helping support a healthy work/life balance

4. Travel nurses make up for the last 10%

Never used to substitute core staff, rather to cover seasonal peaks

Solve speciality nurse shortages with international recruitment

The key to understanding the role of international nurses is to drop the common misconception that they’re stopgaps. International nurses and allied healthcare professionals aren’t stopgaps.

Instead, in addition to specialist qualifications, Conexus international nurses bring with them:

· Longevity

· Resilience

· Dedication

But these traits don’t occur by chance. Thanks to our in-depth clinical education curriculum, our nurses are ready to impact healthcare organizations from day one:

1. Assessment & Discovery

This includes a clinical interview and an ASCP-aligned diagnostic competency exam.

2. Experience building

At this point, Conexus builds on existing experience, with regular testing to support theoretical knowledge.

3. Readiness preparation

Our nurses are then readied for cultural adaptation, undergoing pre-deployment readiness with individualized education and on-assignment support.

4. Clinical support

Here, our nurses begin their transition to the U.S., receiving clinical and non-clinical support during their employment term.

‘’My deployment journey with Conexus has been amazing. My Operations Manager, Kristin, is wonderful. She’s extremely patient and handles our needs and concerns. Overall, I couldn’t thank Conexus enough for making my dreams come true.’’
Putri, BSN. RN

Get ready to build a resilient nursing team with Conexus Medstaff

While there are myriad reasons for the well-documented nursing shortage, it can’t be solved, and won’t be solved, by contract labor alone. Only a long-term workforce strategy will help alleviate the byproducts of a sustained shortage: burnout, rising costs, poor patient outcomes, and unfilled scrubs.

Enter Conexus. Our holistic international pipeline boasts a continuous supply of clinical professionals. Some are ready for deployment now; others are within a 9-12-month period. Whatever shortages your organization is experiencing, Conexus helps fill empty scrubs now while supplementing your long-term staffing strategy, so they remain filled.

Contact us to find out how Conexus MedStaff can help you hire the different kinds of nurses you need to help build your long-term staffing strategy.