Fun Facts about Healthcare Professionals

To celebrate our 45th Anniversary of providing recruitment solutions to the healthcare industry, we have collated 9 of the most interesting and fun facts about our healthcare professionals. Many of those have shaped our company and the industry we work in. Who knows…one of these interesting facts might shape your journey ahead.

1 – 10% of Nurses in the Healthcare Industry are Male

Only 10% of Nurses in Australia are men, but did you know that across our HCA team of Nurses, Midwives and Carers 20.8% are male? Historically, the nursing industry has been dominated by women, however over the past 10-15 Years, the stigma around gender stereotypes has begun to dissolve, and we are seeing a sizable increase in the number of males working in healthcare ‚ especially at HCA.

2 – 77% of Nurses said they Nurse with an Agency for the flexibility

We mentioned previously in another post, What do Nurses Want, that 38% of our Nurses think that flexibility is the most important part of their nursing life. This directly correlates with trends in workplace flexibility across the Healthcare Industry, as well as the entire Australian workforce.
The reason for seeking flexibility varies; from wanting to spend more time with the family, or having more time to yourself, to fitting an Agency job around a full-time or part-time job.

3 – 60% tell us that they are learning additional skills and doing training through online mediums

This statistic shows that our Nurses are keen and eager to learn, not just on the job, but in their personal time. Whether these are online courses directly related to their role, such as a ACFI Online Learning, or to help them develop their soft skills, it would seem that our Nurses just love to learn.

4 – 72% of Nurses chose to become a Nurse based on the input of their family members,

Of the 650 Nurses we surveyed early this year, we found that 72% directly mentioned a family member or relative as one of the primary reasons they chose to become a Healthcare professional. There were a few reasons, from Nurses that had parents that worked in the healthcare space, to direct events in their lives where a family member was cared for by a Nurse.

5 – 56% of our Nurses consider themselves to be Night Owls

This statistic came from a quiz we conducted, surveying over 800 Nurses in August 2016. We wanted to expand on this point, just to show how unique our Nurses are.
Did you know that 1/3 of the Australian workforce works at night (after 6pm)? That is 2.3 Million people based on a 2016 survey conducted by the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics). With more than half of our Nurses considering themselves night-owls and actually enjoying and choosing to work these hours, it’s safe to say that Nurses are a unique bunch!

6 – 36% of Nurses are over 50 Years of Age

In a recent study by the Department of Health (Health Workforce Australia 2014: Australia’s Future Health Workforce ‚ Nurses Overview), it was projected that the shortfall of Nurses across Australia would be approximately 85,000 by 2025. One of the main reasons for this is the ageing workforce within the industry. Across Australia, 36% of Nurses are over 50 years old with the average age of Nurses 47.

The Australian government recognises that the best way to counteract this shortfall is to coordinate approaches across governments, employers and educational institutions.
Taking the previous statistic one step further, HCA has a relatively young workforce, compared to Australia’s Nursing industry. 36.8% of our Nurses are between 25-34. We tend to attract a lot of younger Nurses due to the flexibility and ease of travel working as an Agency Nurse.

7 – 49% of Nurses surveyed said that they relate most to either Carla (Scrubs) or Abby (ER)

A fun statistic we received from a survey we ran in August 2016; Our Nurses most associated with either Carla Espinosa or Abby Lockhart as celebrity Nurses from television. Both are strong individuals who aren’t afraid to step up and lead in any stressful situation.

8 – 33% of our Nurses are interested in working Rural or Remote

From a recent survey we conducted, we asked our Healthcare professionals whether they would consider working a Rural and Remote role with us. 33% of respondents were interested in working off the beaten track in one of our +500 facilities across Australia, yet we see less than half this number of an annual basis. Come on team, where’s your sense of adventure?

9 – Midwives are the Healthcare Professionals most satisfied with their job, across the board

Out of all the surveys we have conducted, all ABS research and all independent data, there is one commonality ‚ Midwives are the healthcare professionals most satisfied with their job. 84% of our Midwives surveyed said they had high levels of job satisfaction. Also, great to hear was that 71% of our Midwives said they were highly satisfied due to working with us, hence would definitely recommend HCA to their friends and colleagues.

There you have 8 of the most interesting facts about the healthcare industry we work in. Stay tuned for our next article as we take you through numbers 16 to 21 of our ’45 Things to say for our 45th Year’.