When will things get back to normal?

By Andrew Turner Director - Specialist Staffing APAC Medacs Global Group, Director - APSCo Australia

For many of us, at the start of this year, we had hoped 2021 would be ‘normal’ following the volatility of 2020. The question I have begun to ask myself more and more is ‘What is normal anyway?’

From an outsider’s perspective, the Healthcare recruitment industry perhaps appeared an enviable sector to work within during a global health emergency.

Pre-COVID our market was busy and whilst it has remained buoyant, COVID has disrupted our marketplace in previously unseen ways – international and domestic border restrictions are by far the greatest challenge we face.

Our clients still have jobs to be filled, our candidates still seek new opportunities - it’s just we along with our industry colleagues need to work with greater flexibility and agility to enable everything to fall into place.

During 2019 and early 2020 Australia faced unprecedented bush fires followed by flooding, which was immediately followed by the pandemic and at the time of writing, an earthquake in Victoria!!

From my own reflection, we may at times place too much emphasis and nostalgia on things getting back to normal…if we were to look back the healthcare market has undergone significant and repeated challenges over the last ten years – all of which have required our industry and more importantly our people to adapt to a changing dynamic.

COVID has brought to the forefront the resilience of our people, I am immensely proud of the work of my teams over the last two years to support essential services across Australia and New Zealand, there is a patient at the end of our work, and we play a key role in supporting the continuation of care.

As we embark on our 2022 planning, my teams and I are more optimistic for the future –not a return to normal – just that we are better placed than ever to tackle the challenges that will inevitably come our way. To quote the 90’s classic – "Things can only get better!"