Staffing shortages are inevitable. No amount of advance planning can safeguard against unexpected illnesses, unanticipated personal emergencies, or unforeseen resignations. Regrettably, filling these gaps in coverage can be a tedious and time-consuming process, often taking hospital staff away from other pressing duties.
Fortunately, working with the right staffing agency can alleviate this burden. Reputable staffing firms, such as Weatherby Healthcare, keep facilities running smoothly by taking the time to understand their unique needs.
At Weatherby, we connect hospitals with their own personal consultant who acts as a single point of contact. He or she focuses on finding the most qualified providers to guarantee continuity of superior patient care.
Here, we highlight four ways facilities benefit from partnering with the right staffing agency.
Rigorous Screening to Generate Only the Best Providers
The best locum tenens agencies offer standalone departments dedicated to embracing each facility’s own quality standards. The Weatherby medical staff services team, for example, comprises subject-matter specialists who consistently conduct thorough reviews before presenting a clinician for consideration.
They conduct a full review of every application received, verifying work history, obtaining references, preforming background checks, and authenticating everything from a provider’s education and board certifications to DEA registration and licenses.
The team also initiates critical queries, such as those sent through the National Practitioner Data Bank and the Federation of State Medical Boards, to further investigate any claims history and sanctions against licensure. This ensures Weatherby Healthcare sends out only dependable, trustworthy providers ready to deliver exceptional patient care.
Meticulous Credentialing to Keep Onboarding Effortless
The most reputable locum tenens staffing agencies have a separate expertly staffed team busy working on the external credentialing process. These folks are committed to assisting providers in completing privileges for any given assignment, where applicable. These team members also serve as facilitators for both the provider and the facility by helping with the follow-up on outstanding verifications to expedite turnaround.
They also ensure each Weatherby Healthcare provider has comprehensive malpractice coverage recognized in all 50 states, which offers protection even after the assignment ends.
Specialty-Specific Recruiters to Apply Their Expertise
Some of the smaller staffing agencies may focus on just a few medical specialties, or task one recruiter with managing providers from multiple specialties. At larger companies like Weatherby, however, each recruiter is focused on just one specialty, which allows him or her to quickly and adeptly hone knowledge of the industry. He or she knows intuitively what makes a desirable—or undesirable—provider in that specific field.
Speaking to an ever-increasing pool of providers nationwide every day, these recruiters know who is out there looking for work. It is these well-established relationships that will ultimately produce the best providers.
Round-the-Clock Support to Handle all Logistics
Working with a dependable staffing company lets hospitals say goodbye to hassles and unexpected headaches. Reliable agencies like Weatherby handle all the travel, housing, and transportation arrangements for every locum tenens provider they send out. Plus, they offer 24/7 one-on-one service and support through phone, email or text at any time, for any reason.
These consultants, available at all times to handle every detail, logistic, and snafu, allow hospital employees to stay focused on their own tasks at hand, safeguarded from unwanted distractions.
Though staffing a hospital will never be a simple process, working with a healthcare staffing company can take much of the burden and provide you with qualified, experienced physicians who look forward to helping your facility.
Read What Facilities Can Expect When Using Locum Tenens Providers for more tips, and check out Common Locum Tenens Provider Complaints (and How Your Facility Can Prevent Them) to find out how to keep these physicians happy at work.
