As patient needs evolve and specialized talent becomes increasingly scarce, many leaders are adopting more flexible approaches to managing their workforce. A contingent workforce, comprising per diem, travel, contract, and temporary clinicians, provides hospitals and care facilities with the agility to scale quickly, maintain coverage, and support their permanent teams. 

This article examines the operation of a contingent workforce, its growing importance in modern healthcare staffing, and the steps organizations can take to develop a flexible, high-performing model of their own.

What Is a Contingent Healthcare Workforce?

A contingent workforce includes clinicians who work outside traditional full-time roles, providing flexibility and rapid coverage across departments. These workers may include:

• Per diem clinicians who pick up shifts as needed
  
• Contract workers assigned to 4–13+ week placements
  
• Travel clinicians brought in from around the country
  
• Temporary workers used for seasonal surges or special projects

Unlike permanent employees, contingent staff are deployed strategically to match fluctuating patient demand, census variability, or staffing vacancies. This approach has shifted from a stopgap solution to a long-term staffing framework focused on flexibility, efficiency, and patient safety.

Why Healthcare Facilities Are Expanding Contingent Staffing

Healthcare organizations are turning to contingent staffing because today’s demands require far more flexibility than traditional full-time models can provide. 

Rising Patient Demand

Seasonal spikes, aging populations, and rising chronic care needs are driving higher volumes across emergency departments, respiratory units, long-term care facilities, home health settings, and outpatient services. Contingent clinicians help organizations respond quickly when demand surges faster than expected.

Persistent Staffing Shortages

Nursing, allied health, pharmacy, imaging, behavioral health, and therapy roles remain difficult to fill. Many facilities cannot hire fast enough to keep pace with vacancy rates, making contingent staffing an essential tool for maintaining safe ratios and uninterrupted care.

Burnout Prevention

When core team members are stretched thin, overtime quickly turns into fatigue and turnover. Contingent labor supports permanent staff by absorbing excess workloads, creating healthier schedules, and reducing reliance on emergency coverage.

Cost and Operational Efficiency Advantages

A strategically blended workforce helps organizations avoid expensive crisis hiring while reducing overtime costs. It also minimizes disruptions caused by prolonged vacancies, allowing operations to run more predictably and efficiently.

Key Benefits of  Contingent Workforce Management 

Below are the main benefits organizations gain when they invest in a well-structured contingent workforce strategy:

Flexible Coverage Across Care Settings

Contingent clinicians can be deployed to the units that need help most, whether census rises on one floor or acuity increases on another. Leaders can adjust staffing day-to-day or even shift-to-shift, ensuring the right skill mix is always available without overloading permanent staff.

Stronger Patient Care and Safety

With additional clinicians available during peak volume, patient assessments happen on schedule, response times improve, and handoffs become smoother. This reduces avoidable delays and lowers the risk of errors that often occur when teams are overburdened.

Faster Access to Specialized Skills

Staffing partners maintain deep, pre-credentialed pools of high-need professionals. When a unit requires a phlebotomist, SLP, coder, respiratory therapist, or therapy provider, facilities can fill those roles quickly, typically within days instead of weeks.

Operational Agility

A built-in contingent workforce gives organizations the flexibility to scale up during construction, EMR rollouts, seasonal spikes, and regulatory changes. Leaders can temporarily add expertise without disrupting full-time staff or delaying critical efforts.

Support for Strategic Initiatives

Contingent clinicians can be assigned to new service lines, pilot programs, or backlog-reduction projects. This allows permanent staff to stay focused on core responsibilities while temporary specialists help support organizational priorities.

Essential Skills and Certifications That Strengthen a Contingent Workforce

Healthcare organizations depend on contingent clinicians who are competent, credentialed, and ready to contribute on day one. Certifications include the following:

Credential	Time to Complete	Workforce Impact
CNA	4–12 weeks	Rapidly fills bedside support roles during nursing shortages
CCMA	8–12 weeks	Improves clinic and urgent care throughput
Phlebotomy Technician	4–8 weeks	Supports high-volume labs and hospital draw schedules
Medical Billing & Coding (CPC, etc.)	3–6 months	Protects revenue cycle accuracy and compliance
Pharmacy Technician (CPhT)	6–12 months	Maintains safe medication workflows across settings
CHFP / Admin & Leadership Certifications	6–18 months	Supports staffing coordination and operational continuity

These validated credentials ensure professionals bring proven clinical capability, accuracy, and safety to every assignment. This is especially critical when relying on contingent staff to maintain consistent care standards.

How to Build a Reliable Contingent Healthcare Workforce

The steps below outline how healthcare organizations can create an agile contingent model. 

1. Align Workforce Strategy With Staffing Needs

Start with a clear assessment of staffing requirements by unit, facility type, patient population, and seasonal patterns. This ensures that your contingent workforce strategy aligns with real operational demands.

2. Blend Permanent and Contingent Clinicians

A strong workforce model doesn’t replace full-time staff; it enhances core teams. A balanced mix protects continuity, ensures patient safety, and reduces the risk associated with vacancies.

3. Partner With a Qualified Staffing Agency

Working with an experienced partner like GHR Healthcare provides access to:

• Large, vetted talent pools
• Rapid deployment of clinicians
• Proven credentialing and compliance workflows
• Specialty-focused recruiting for high-need areas

These benefits make it easier for organizations to build sustainable, high-performing contingent teams.

To learn more about how strategic agency partnerships strengthen workforce planning, explore the benefits of partnering with a healthcare staffing agency and using an MSP for staffing.

4. Streamline Credentialing and Onboarding

Delays in onboarding disrupt operations. Structured, efficient credentialing ensures clinicians are cleared, prepared, and clinically ready before their first shift.

5. Maintain Clear Expectations and Communication

Orientation, reporting processes, workflow standards, and team integration are critical for ensuring contingent staff deliver safe, consistent patient care.

6. Support Ongoing Professional Growth

Providing contingent workers with access to training, continuing education, and safety programs helps maintain high-quality care and strengthens overall workforce performance.

How Contingent Staffing Supports Long-Term Workforce Stability

A well-structured contingent workforce doesn’t simply solve short-term staffing gaps; it strengthens the long-term health of organizations. It accomplishes this in the following ways:  

Lower Reliance on Overtime

Planned contingent coverage reduces the need for excessive overtime, helping control labor costs and preventing fatigue that leads to performance issues and burnout.

Better Retention of Permanent Staff

Permanent teams enjoy more sustainable workloads when contingent clinicians share the demand. This healthier balance improves morale and supports stronger long-term retention.

Career Pathways for New Professionals

Contingent assignments give early-career clinicians real-world experience in diverse care settings. This exposure accelerates skill development and prepares them for advanced credentials and long-term roles within the organization.

Access to Specialized Expertise

Short-term specialists bring targeted skills when organizations need them most. Their support helps maintain service availability, strengthen care quality, and reinforce long-term goals without overextending permanent staff.

Why Partner With GHR Healthcare for Contingent Workforce Planning

GHR Healthcare delivers flexible, scalable solutions built around the realities of modern care. Organizations benefit from:

• A nationwide network of high-quality clinicians
• Expertise in compliance, credentialing, and certification verification
• Data-driven strategies that improve workforce efficiency
• Customized approaches for hospitals, long-term care, outpatient, and specialty practices
• A commitment to patient safety, cultural competence, and high-quality care 

Whether you need per diem support, contract assignments, travel clinicians, or long-term workforce planning, GHR helps strengthen your staffing infrastructure at every turn.

Advancing Workforce Resilience Through Contingent Staffing

A flexible and reliable contingent workforce is essential to maintaining safe staffing levels, protecting clinical teams from burnout, and ensuring consistent patient care. As healthcare challenges evolve, contingent staffing provides the agility, stability, and expertise organizations need to stay ahead.

Ready to strengthen your workforce with flexible, high-quality clinicians?

Explore GHR Healthcare staffing solutions to build a contingent staffing strategy that supports your team today, tomorrow, and for years to come.