US hospitals struggle to match Walmart pay as staff flees omicron

Often discussed with our kids. DIL a doctor, son a whoknowswhatthe heckhedoes IT unicorn. One VA, the other private hospital. The article dances around the issue of labor supply. When CVS and Walgreens started their huge expansion in the early 2000s, Walgreens alone was soaking up 90% of pharmacy graduates annually. Even at Safeway, we were offering $50K signing bonus'. RNs and medical tech staff in particular are in such high demand that they move about almost as pro rata non. Covid layoffs have exacerbated the labor shortage. (Side note: firings are an employee failure. Lay offs are a management failure) The medical industry is no different than any other industry scrambling for labor. Instead of engaging in cutthroat hiring practices in a limited labor pool, they should be flexing their economic power to increase internal training, internships, trade, community college and university level supply trains. They should work on PR, and partnerships to encourage work values.

It is not just pay that is causing a nursing shortage. It is the working conditions and the hours. 12 hour shifts are great, you don't have to work 5 days a week. They are, however, exhausting as you age. Plus, as studies have shown, mistakes increase after 10 hours.
Next is that if someone doesn't show up for their shift, they expect you to cheerfully stay on for a partial or full extra shift. Nursing is a fairly demanding job in hospital. Many get burnt out and quit. Yhis is a problem that isn't going to get better any time soon.
The other issue, is those that have busted their butts during the pandemic, now being fired because they don't want the mandatory vaccines.

Off topic a bit but still related to shortages. The last math teacher that left our school, the district was so desperate that for the first time I can remember offered a sign on bonus to finish this school year. Half at signing and the other half at the end of the school year.