A Solution to the HR Training Dilemma

What’s the biggest concern for HR managers today?  A number of independent studies put training and development first on the list. A recent study showed that professionals of all ages value ongoing education, while another found training was the biggest issue, followed by retaining top performers and recruiting new talent.

Healthcare organizations also recognize the need for career training and professional development, as physicians, nurses, therapists, laboratory technicians and other personnel seek to improve their skills and broaden their horizons. Advances in medical treatments, surgical techniques, laboratory testing, electronic medical records (EMR) and communications technology are among the many reasons that ongoing training is essential for today’s healthcare professionals. However, many HR managers face a dilemma: “How can I spare a professional who provides critical services for several days of off-site training at a time when demand for our services is rising?”

Fortunately, there is a simple answer to that problem. Bring in a temporary employee to provide those day-to-day services while the physician, nurse or other professional is learning new career skills.  That’s a win-win solution that benefits both the healthcare organization and the individual professional, without disrupting care to patients or clients.  Based on our 20+ years of experience in healthcare staffing, this is a highly effective solution for the HR training and development dilemma.

How Will EMRs Change Healthcare Staffing?

With the staunch support of federal policymakers, electronic medical records (EMRs) are on their way. In the next two years, the U.S. government will be paying out billions of dollars to healthcare organizations to integrate their current medical record systems, which in many cases now include both paper and paperless applications.  There is no question that EMRs offer benefits to the physician who will be able to get a convenient, comprehensive view the patient’s medical history. It will also mean greater portability. For instance, when a primary care physician makes a referral to a specialist, it will be easier to send the patient’s chart, lab reports, radiology scans and other information to the specialist.

However, the move to EMR will be expensive for healthcare organizations. Forrester Research expects spending to reach $50 billion in the U.S. health-information market over the next two years. Most of the cost will be one-time capital investments in new hardware, applications and networking technology. That includes the time and expense of digitizing paper records. But money will also be needed to train both medical and non-medical staffers in new policies and procedures.

In addition, solo practitioners, physician groups, hospitals and other providers may find it necessary to engage healthcare staffing firms to handle the increased workload during the transition period. From our perspective, it makes sense to treat the conversion to EMRs as a short-term project with appropriate staffing.  That allows the work to be done close at hand under the organization’s direct supervision.  All Medical Personnel stands ready to assist our clients in this process.

Staffing Up for Healthcare Reform

If you’re a health services provider wondering about the impact of federal healthcare reform, here’s a quick look at the bottom line. Roughly 30 million previously uninsured Americans will have better access to physicians, hospitals, therapists and ancillary services.  In a nation of 310 million people, that’s nearly a 10 percent increase in projected demand.  Clearly, greater individual access will increase the workload for existing staff members, and healthcare organizations will be challenged to operate as efficiently as possible.

What else will be changing? At the recent Healthcare Summit in Chicago, speakers discussed the greater focus on wellness and preventive care.  After all, healthy individuals make fewer visits to the doctor or ER, need fewer prescriptions and require fewer laboratory tests – a cost benefit to the nation’s healthcare system. But the increasing emphasis on prevention also puts new demands on physicians and other service providers facing a potential onslaught of new patients. In a busy group practice, for instance, who has time to explain glucose monitoring procedures to a new diabetes patient? Who has the expertise to “prescribe” a fitness and flexibility program to an aging senior at risk of a fall?

The healthcare reform legislation will also bring about substantial changes in technology, medical records and reporting procedures.  Patients, providers and government regulators all want more information – while protecting patient privacy and confidentiality at the same time.  That’s another challenging task for healthcare organizations, even those with a high level of internal IT and compliance expertise.

For all these reasons, healthcare organizations should conduct a strategic review of their human resources and begin planning for a changing future.

It’s Not Just Physicians Who Benefit from locum tenens

With fall just around the corner, many doctors are considering where they would like to spend the autumn and winter months. As locum tenens physicians with All Medical Personnel Locum Tenens, they appreciate the many benefits of having a flexible schedule.

We’re a big believer in locum tenens – and not just for physicians. Our flexible staffing program includes CRNA locum tenens and other professional nursing locum tenens positions. That’s because we recognize the important advantages of a locum tenens lifestyle on a temporary or long-term basis:

• Adaptability. As a locum tenens physician or nurse, you can choose from a wide array of work locations throughout the country. That means provides exposure to new working environments and healthcare systems, providing greater opportunities to advance your career.

• Autonomy. Working locum tenens allows you to enjoy a higher level of independence. You can visit new locations and select the best employment opportunities for you as an individual physician.

• Fulfillment. Many locum tenens physicians and nurses enjoy having more variety in their day-to-day clinical experiences, as well as the opportunity to diagnose and treat different types of cases and patient populations.

• Flexibility. The locum tenens lifestyle provides far greater flexibility with your schedule. You can choose to work for six months and take a six-month hiatus, or work year-round in half a dozen locations – or any other schedule that meets your needs.

If you are interested in locum tenens, click here to send us an email or call at 1.877.267.5628 to discuss these flexible career opportunities.

Living the Lippie Lifestyle!

Are you a Lippie?

For those of you who aren’t up on the latest acronyms, a Lippie is a Location Independent Professional – a physician, nurse, technician, lawyer or accountant with the ability to work anywhere in the country, or around the world. In other words, “have laptop, will travel”!

In the healthcare sector, an experienced professional with the right qualifications can enjoy the many benefits of a Lippie lifestyle, beginning with the freedom to choose where to work. For instance, a Lippie could work in the Midwest or Northeast during the warm summer months, enjoy the scenic foliage in the fall and spend the winter in Florida, Texas or the Carolinas.

A newly single professional might decide to start fresh in a new community, without necessarily making a permanent commitment. Other healthcare professionals find becoming a Lippie allows them to leave an unfulfilling position, make a lateral career move or explore a new job opportunity. It’s an ideal way to enjoy the security of a regular paycheck while moving ahead with your professional and personal life.

While the term “Lippie” is brand new, All Medical Personnel has been working closely with mobile professionals for more than two decades. Today, we connect Lippies with U.S. hospitals, physician groups, laboratories and other healthcare organizations seeking quality professionals to work for a few weeks, several months or a year or longer. If you’re considering a change, just Contact Us for more information about our placement services.