The Number That Matters Most
When you are trying to fill a locum position, a per diem nursing slot, or a permanent behavioral health role, one metric matters above everything else: how many real, verified clinicians are actively looking?
In 2025, DirectShifts confirmed 21,835 new users on its platform. That is a 66% jump from 13,128 in 2024. It is not a vanity number. These are credentialed professionals who completed the registration process, confirmed their details, and are available to apply to your jobs.
Why the Rebound Tells a Bigger Story
The platform peaked at 34,179 confirmed users in 2022 during the post-pandemic staffing surge. Numbers naturally contracted as that wave normalized. What happened in 2025 is not a peak, it is a rebuild. The platform grew its active, confirmed base by two-thirds in a single year.
For healthcare employers, this timing is important. You are not catching the tail end of a rush. You are posting jobs into a fresh, growing pool of clinicians who chose to be there.
What "Confirmed User" Actually Means
Not all registered users are equal. A confirmed user on DirectShifts is someone who has:
- Completed their professional profile
- Verified their occupation and specialty
- Been reviewed against platform credentialing standards
- Opted in as an active job seeker
This is not a click-through from a job board. This is a clinician with intent.
The Occupation Breakdown Employers Need to See
The 2025 growth was not uniform. Behavioral health professionals drove the largest absolute numbers, with RNs coming in strong at 10,021 new confirmed users. Nurse Practitioners added 2,950, MDs added 1,215, and CRNAs added 165.
If you hire in behavioral health, this is the most active market DirectShifts has ever seen for that specialty. If you hire nurses or NPs, the numbers are there.
What This Means for Your 2026 Hiring
More confirmed users means shorter time-to-fill. It means more applications per job post. It means less time managing agency relationships for roles you can fill directly. It means your HR team spends less time sourcing and more time selecting.
The DirectShifts Benchmark tracks this data every year. The 2025 numbers are a strong signal that the platform is the right place to be posting healthcare jobs right now.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is DirectShifts?
DirectShifts is a healthcare staffing platform that connects employers directly with verified clinicians for locum, per diem, and permanent positions. It removes the staffing agency middleman, giving employers direct access to credentialed professionals.
How many clinicians are on DirectShifts?
In 2025 alone, 21,835 new confirmed users joined the platform. Total cumulative registered users across all years significantly exceeds this number.
Is DirectShifts better than a staffing agency for healthcare hiring?
DirectShifts gives employers direct access to clinicians without agency markups. You post jobs, clinicians apply, and you hire directly. For many roles, this reduces cost-per-hire and time-to-fill compared to traditional agency models.
What types of clinicians use DirectShifts?
The platform covers MDs, NPs, PAs, RNs, CRNAs, and behavioral health professionals including LCSWs, LPCs, LMHCs, social workers, and marriage and family therapists.
Can a hospital use DirectShifts to hire permanent staff?
Yes. DirectShifts supports locum, per diem, and permanent placements. Permanent jobs averaged 84.37 applications per post in 2025, making it one of the most competitive categories on the platform.
How do I post a job on DirectShifts as a healthcare employer?
You create an employer account on DirectShifts.com, post your job with role details, required credentials, and compensation, and start receiving applications from verified clinicians directly.
Is DirectShifts only for physicians?
No. While the platform started with physician-heavy categories, 2025 data shows behavioral health and nursing now make up the majority of active users. It is a full-spectrum healthcare hiring platform.
How does DirectShifts verify clinicians?
Clinicians complete a credentialing process that includes document uploads, license verification, and profile review. The platform tracks credentialed and signed-off applications as a separate metric from raw applications.
Source: DirectShifts 2025 Year in Review. Data reflects confirmed platform users for the calendar year 2025.
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