The landscape of nursing and healthcare professions is evolving rapidly. No longer confined to traditional full-time hospital roles, today’s nurses and health professionals are reshaping their careers, pursuing flexibility, better compensation, and diverse workplace experiences. As staffing strategies evolve, healthcare facilities must adapt to what I like to call the new nurse career priorities. Understanding these shifts can empower organizations to align with modern workforce expectations, rather than resist them.
A Nursing Workforce Under Strain
The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t just highlight existing staffing shortages, it accelerated them. Between 2020 and 2021, the U.S. saw a loss of over 100,000 registered nurses, a decline not seen in decades.¹ Meanwhile, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects nearly 195,000 annual RN job openings through this decade, largely due to transitions to other occupations or early retirement.²
To manage this stress, healthcare facilities are increasingly turning to PT and per diem staffing. According to a 2022 nursing survey, about 70% of RNs work full-time, 11% part-time, and 8% per diem.³ With more nurses embracing schedule flexibility, on-demand staffing platforms are stepping in to meet both provider and worker needs. Enter Valor Talent.
Meet Valor Talent: A Game-Changer in On-Demand Staffing
Valor Talent has built a smart platform designed to connect facilities with qualified nurses and health professionals when they’re needed most. Offering curated shift listings and quick access to talent in real-time, Valor Talent ensures facilities are never over-reliant on full-time staff. It meets an urgent need for practical, flexible staffing, work that can adapt to last-minute absences, vacations, or gaps without burdening existing teams.
What Nurses & Health Professionals Value Most
Recently, we surveyed 1,000+ healthcare staff on Valor Talent to understand what drives their engagement with on-demand work. Here’s what emerged:
1. Enhanced Pay and Fast Payouts
Key takeaways:
- 19% of respondents identified pay as a top motivator
- 11% specifically upgraded their earnings compared to full-time or agency roles
- 8% praised Valor Talent rapid payment system
As Valor Talent RN Femi Faniku explains, “With Valor Talent, you see your earnings daily—no waiting weeks. That helped me save for my new home.”
Compensation remains a critical issue: 64% of nurses feel underpaid, while 78% report only meeting basic household financial needs.⁴ For those seeking control over income and schedule, per diem roles offer an immediate pathway to improved financial stability, at no long-term cost to facilities.
2. Flexibility as a Lifestyle
Key takeaways:
- 12% choose Valor Talent for its schedule freedom
- 55% of nurses say flexibility is essential in choosing an employer
Valor Talent RN Tonya Richardson says, “I’ve kept a steady Valor Talent schedule for two years, and found freedom. Facilities even request me directly because we work well together.”
The ability to choose when and where you work not only improves work-life balance but it attracts and retains talent in healthcare’s modern age.
3. Exposure to Diverse Work Environments
Key takeaways:
- 10% cite the ability to work at different facilities as a top motivator
Those knitted into Valor Talent as “favorites” enjoy repeat assignments across locations, fostering multiple professional communities. Radiologic technologist Ashlyn Fajerson shares: “Being a favorite reassures me—and facilities trust me in return.”
This dynamic allows nurses to broaden experience, sharpen adaptability, and avoid burnout, all while building meaningful interprofessional relationships.
Why Facilities Should Adapt to These Shifts
Understanding nurse career priorities isn’t just nice to have, it’s essential for modern healthcare operations. Here’s how Valor Talent helps both sides win:
1. Budget-Friendly Staffing
Per diem clinicians may cost more per shift, but eliminate the recurring long-term expenses, like salaries, benefits, and onboarding, associated with full-time hires. Facilities can match staffing levels to patient demand and their budgets, reducing waste and risk.
2. Strategic Contingent Workforce
Medical leaves? Pandemic surges? Unexpected callouts? Valor Talent offers facilities reliable, real-time staffing options—without overburdening existing teams or jeopardizing care.
3. Talent Retention Through Trust
By offering flexible, well-compensated shifts, facilities signal respect and understanding of modern nurse preferences. Happy, prioritized clinicians are more likely to return, and even recruit their peers.
Bridging Nurse Career Priorities with Career Growth
To truly resonate with nurses, facilities that partner with Valor Talent can take additional steps beyond staffing:
Offer Flexible Engagement Tracks
Consider combining per diem options with part-time or float pools, enabling clinicians to stay consistently engaged without rigid schedules.
Champion Continuous Learning
Use shift diversity to offer micro-learning opportunities: short trainings delivered onsite or via mobile apps, keeping staff sharp and invested.
Build Community
Host regular meetups, clinician appreciation dinners, online peer forums, or mentorship groups. A shared sense of belonging reduces burnout and strengthens ties.
Empower Through Feedback
Allow returning clinicians to rate their facility experience. Use this data in staffing decisions and continuous improvement, making every assignment better.
What the Future Holds for Nurse Career Priorities
Healthcare is transforming. Nurses and allied health professionals increasingly prioritize purpose, choice, and control, and platforms like Valor Talent are built to deliver just that.
That’s why embracing flexibility, compensation transparency, and diversified experience isn’t a “nice extra”, it’s a strategic move. Facilities that align with modern nurse career priorities not only attract top talent—they build resilient, responsive systems.
As you shape your staffing future, remember: agile workforce strategies aren’t just for survival, they’re the path to thriving in a changing healthcare landscape.
Final Thoughts
In essence, nurse career priorities today center around earning power, autonomy, and meaningful work. Staffing platforms like Valor Talent answer that call with flexible scheduling, competitive pay, and high-touch experiences, designed around clinician needs. For healthcare organizations, partnering with Valor Talent improves staffing stability, operational efficiency, and workplace culture.
Ready to embrace the future of care delivery?
Sign up for Valor Talent to staff smarter and support modern nurse career priorities.
Professional Development: A Rising Priority for Nurses
Beyond pay and flexibility, today’s healthcare professionals increasingly value opportunities for career growth and skill development. In our evolving healthcare landscape, nurses want to stay competitive, expand their clinical knowledge, and remain adaptable in fast-paced environments.
Platforms like Valor Talent can play a key role in enabling this growth. By working across multiple facilities, nurses encounter different patient populations, care protocols, and technologies, allowing them to build a more diverse clinical resume. This experience is invaluable for nurses seeking leadership positions, specialty certifications, or advanced practice roles in the future.
Facilities can support this priority by partnering with Valor Talent to highlight shifts that offer learning opportunities. Whether it’s exposure to outpatient surgery centers, behavioral health units, or pediatric clinics, every shift becomes a stepping stone in a nurse’s long-term career path.
Mental Health and Burnout: A Growing Concern
Another major aspect of nurse career priorities is mental health. According to recent studies, over 60% of nurses report symptoms of burnout, citing high patient ratios, lack of autonomy, and poor work-life balance as key factors.⁵
By enabling nurses to control their schedules, avoid mandatory overtime, and select facilities where they feel supported, Valor Talent actively reduces the triggers of burnout. Additionally, being able to rotate between facilities instead of being confined to a high-stress unit can create emotional breathing room, allowing nurses to reconnect with their purpose.
Healthcare facilities must start treating nurse mental health as a staffing strategy. Rotating schedules, wellness resources, mental health days, and supportive team environments are all crucial to retaining top talent in today’s competitive environment.
The Role of Technology in Supporting Nurse Career Goals
Technology has become a cornerstone of modern nursing, and not just in patient care. Staffing, credentialing, compliance tracking, and shift scheduling can now be done seamlessly via apps like Valor Talent.
These platforms empower nurses to:
- View available shifts in real-time
- Set availability and location preferences
- Upload licenses and certifications digitally
- Track pay and hours with transparency
- Communicate directly with facilities
By streamlining administrative tasks, nurses can focus more on patient care and personal goals, whether that’s taking on a night shift near home or planning around continuing education.
Facilities also benefit: a tech-enabled staffing platform like Valor Talent ensures compliance, credential verification, and rapid response hiring, all in one intuitive system.
Conclusion: Supporting Nurses Means Supporting Healthcare
The modern nurse is driven, adaptable, and purposeful. They are not just seeking jobs; they are designing careers that support their lifestyles, aspirations, and values. Whether it’s better pay, career mobility, or mental well-being, nurses are no longer compromising. They’re choosing platforms like Valor Talent that align with their evolving goals.
Facilities that understand and respond to these nurse career priorities will become magnets for top-tier talent. In turn, they’ll cultivate a workplace that is more resilient, empathetic, and future-ready.
Let’s not resist the change; let’s champion it.
Partner with Valor Talent today and create staffing solutions that empower nurses and enhance patient care.
