Begin working with healthcare staffing by first understanding the legal guidelines that govern staffing requirements. Before you can make quality decisions regarding nurse staffing and medical office staffing, you need to know the regulations that govern the number of hours that can be worked at one time, the number of overtime shifts that are allowed, and the time off required to allow your staff to recuperate.

Remember that medical staffing encompasses more than just your nursing staff. Although many healthcare staffing companies focus on providing nurses to your medical facility, you also need to manage technicians and physicians. Look for solutions that cover all of your healthcare staffing requirements instead of only one aspect of your staffing requirements.

1. Learn more about the medical staffing business.

2. Look for medical staffing companies that provide licensed professionals.

3. Consider medical office staffing software designed to keep you in compliance.

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Educate yourself on medical staffing business trends

Read up on the way staffing trends affect the care provided to patients and how you can make the most of your staff while keeping quality high and the budget in control.

I recommend: American Nurses Association provides you with the information you need to know in order to ensure adequate staffing in your medical facility. AcademyHealth provides a comprehensive look at staffing and the impact that staffing changes have on the medical industry.

Work with qualified medical staffing agencies

Ensure that the staffing agencies you deal with are providing screened applicants whose licenses are valid and whose training is up to date. Look for companies that provide you with temporary staffing as well as permanent placements so you know exactly who to call to find the professionals you need to staff your medical facility.

I recommend: AMN Healthcare has decades of experience in the medical staffing industry and boasts of high-quality solutions to your staffing needs. Onward Healthcare will help you with traveling nursing, local staffing or national staffing needs, making them a healthcare staffing service you can rely on.

Opt for software that tracks medical staffing

Select software that alerts you to scheduling conflicts such as staff who've worked too many hours or who are nearing their annual continuing education requirements. Look for staffing software designed specifically for the medical industry and ask about ongoing technical support before you make any purchases.

I recommend: Kronos provides healthcare staffing services software that helps you maintain adequate staffing while staying well within compliance guidelines. StafferLink is a web-based program that allows you to track attendance and compliance to ensure you meet all regulatory guidelines for medical staffing.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Look for software or medical staffing agencies that verify and track licensing and ongoing educational requirements. By having a process in place to alert you to ongoing needs to check licenses or continuing education, you have one less thing to worry about.

Healthcare staffing services exist to help healthcare organizations with staffing needs for myriad positions and durations. They can assist with anything from short-term, even daily, nursing assignments, to week- or month-long physician staffing when a doctor takes a vacation or other extended leave. What’s more, healthcare staffing companies can help you fill permanent positions, often with prescreened, qualified professionals who are already in their database.

Before choosing a healthcare staffing agency, consider the following:

1. Look for healthcare staffing services that are flexible, with temporary, contract and permanent staffing options.

2. Research medical staffing companies that specialize in physician and nurse staffing.

3. Find healthcare staffing companies that focus on specialized areas such as long-term care or rehabilitation.

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Find a healthcare staffing agency with temporary and permanent staffing options

It's impossible to predict just what your medical staffing needs will be in a given year. You may have a physician go on maternity leave and just need a temporary fill-in, or you may find yourself facing a nursing shortage and need to fill several permanent positions. Most medical staffing agencies offer contract, temporary, temporary-to-permanent and permanent positions.

I recommend: BrightStar Healthcare can provide healthcare staffing to suit your organization's needs, whether that’s contract, temporary or permanent help. It specializes in providing medical staffing for such positions as RNs, pharmacists, physicians assistants and case managers, among others. AMN Healthcare also offers temporary medical staffing as well as permanent placement of physicians, nurses and allied health professionals.

Choose healthcare staffing services for nurses and physicians

While nurse staffing agencies may be the most prevalent, including travel nurse staffing companies, there are plenty of agencies that focus on physician staffing too.

I recommend: Maxim Healthcare Services started in 1988 in response to the nursing shortage. Today, its offshoot Maxim Physician Services provides staffing services for all types of physicians, from anesthesiologists to orthopedic surgeons. Advantage Medical Staffing can provide both long-term and daily staffing assignments for healthcare organizations in need of nurses.

Research healthcare staffing agencies that focus on specialty areas

If your organization's staffing shortage extends beyond basic nursing or physician staffing needs, don't fret: There are plenty of healthcare staffing agencies that specialize in areas such as home care, healthcare administration and long-term care.

I recommend: Interim HealthCare focuses on staffing for nurses, therapists and other caregivers in home care services. Albion Healthcare Staffing Services can provide staffing for administrative healthcare positions, including patient billing and collections.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Take the time to research several healthcare staffing firms before settling on one. Call the medical staffing agency's previous clients, and make sure you have a comfortable rapport with the people you'll be dealing directly with at the agency.

Hospitals, nursing homes and physical therapy centers all rely on medical staffing agencies to find competent, qualified staff for their facilities. Healthcare staffing services recruit licensed, certified healthcare staff for a variety of healthcare job positions, so it's important that healthcare staffing recruiters are properly trained and educated.

Working for a medical staffing agency requires certification as a medical staffing recruiter, as well as an education in billing, privacy policies, and position qualifications and requirements. Someone looking for healthcare staffing education and training to work in medical or nurse staffing should do the following:

1. Earn certification as a certified healthcare staffing recruiter.

2. Learn the necessary skills to work for a healthcare staffing service.

3. Become educated in medical office staffing basics.

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Earn healthcare staffing certification

Anyone working in the healthcare staffing business as a staffer or recruiter should be trained and certified in the field. This includes basic competency training, along with human resources and medical qualification education and training. Become trained and certified in medical staffing.

I recommend: Attend seminars provided by EPracticeManagement to get training in legal issues, coding and billing, physician recruitment and retention, and other important medical staffing topics. Get training from the Healthcare Training Center and earn certification as a certified medical staffing recruiter, or CMSR.

Obtain medical and travel nurse staffing training

Working in healthcare staffing requires both medical training and qualification, along with human resources and management training. Get education and training in all the relevant areas of medical staffing, such as travel nurse placement and physician retention methodology.

I recommend: Get training from Health Career Agents to learn about medical and nurse staffing. The company offers many software training courses to fully educate you about healthcare staffing. Expand your education in the medical staffing business with training from the Academy of Healthcare Recruiters. It provides training in a variety of areas for medical staffers.

Get up-to-date information and training in the field of healthcare staffing

To excel in healthcare staffing, you need a good deal of medical knowledge, along with the ability to find the right doctor, nurse or healthcare worker for each position. It's important to be educated in every aspect of healthcare staffing to best serve your clients.

I recommend: The Bernard Hodes Group offers online seminars, research studies and a monthly newsletter that will all educate you on the latest in the world of healthcare and medical staffing. Nurse Partners provides a training guide to teach you about physician and nurse staffing and how to get started in healthcare staffing.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Attend continuing education seminars in healthcare staffing to keep your training current and to learn about new staffing trends.

Healthcare staffing encompasses everything from hospitals, nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities to outpatient care and home health aide care. Healthcare staffing is a vital part of the healthcare industry, and finding competent, certified individuals is important to maintaining quality of care.

Within healthcare staffing there are several key terms that are used often. These key terms can refer to job positions or qualifications, and understanding some of them will make understanding the world of healthcare staffing much easier.

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Travel nursing

Travel nursing is the process in which licensed nurses are hired on a short-term basis in a hospital or nursing facility. Travel nurses usually travel to a different facility to fill or help with nursing shortages every few months, but are sometimes offered permanent placement.

I recommend: StudentDoc explains the benefits of travel nursing and how it's helping to alleviate the national nurse shortage.

Nuclear pharmacist

Nuclear pharmacy is a specialized field of pharmacy in which pharmacists compound and dispense medication that contains radioactive materials. Because the field is so specialized, nuclear pharmacists are in high demand. The most common employment of nuclear pharmacists is in the dispensing of chemotherapy drugs.

I recommend: Purdue University's Division of Nuclear Pharmacy explains the importance of nuclear pharmacists and what it takes to become one.

Occupational therapy

Occupational therapy is a form of therapy used for patients who have suffered illness or injury that has impaired some of their basic functions. Occupational therapists help stroke victims regain motor and speech skills and help accident victims learn how to walk and be mobile.

I recommend: The American Occupational Therapy Association explains how occupational therapists help people recover from illness or injury and get back to a normal life.

Long term care nursing

Long term care nursing is the continuous provision of nursing and medical care to patients with chronic illnesses or mental disorders. Long term care nurses can specialize in specific areas of long term care like cancer hospice care or AIDS treatment centers.

I recommend: Nursing Spectrum explains how the responsibilities of long term nurses and the relationships they develop with patients and families differ from those of other nursing fields.

LPN

An LPN is a license practical nurse, responsible for basic patient care like daily hygiene, taking vital signs, and administering IV and oral medication. LPNs work everywhere from hospitals and nursing homes to specialized treatment facilities, but a recent shortage has put LPNs in high demand.

I recommend: The Central School of Practical Nursing offers a concise explanation of an LPN's daily duties and functions.

JCAHO

JCAHO, or the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, is an organization made up of medical professionals. JCAHO conducts evaluations and accreditation examinations at medical facilities to ensure quality of patient care, healthcare staff education, and regulation compliance.

I recommend: The offical JCAHO website explains its mission and how it helps to maintain a standard of care in healthcare staffing and facilities.