How a Large Hospital Successfully Transitioned from a Management Group to a Hospital-Employed Model
The recruitment process can take many forms when it comes to bringing on locum tenens clinicians and casting a wide net often results in inefficiencies, miscommunications and unnecessary costs.
Challenge
Disappointed with performance and outcomes, the flagship hospital for a large healthcare system in the Northeast ended its contract with its previous staffing partner – a group practice contracted to run its hospital medicine program – and realized the opportunity to streamline the processes of its hospitalist department. They turned to LocumTenens.com 5 to aid in their efforts of transitioning back to a hospital-employed program.
Solution
The facility partnered with LocumTenens.com as its exclusive source for staffing locum tenens clinicians during the transition. Much more than an as-needed vendor, the hospital utilizes LocumTenens.com as a valuable strategic partner not only to make sure that all their schedule coverage needs are met for physicians and advanced practitioners, but also to:
- Focus on sustaining high quality of care throughout the department.
- Simplify management of the schedule by having a dedicated scheduler assigned by LocumTenens.com.
- Streamline onboarding and orientation.
- Engage in joint monitoring of patient census and forecasting based on seasonal trends.
Results
For five years, the facility has consistently relied solely on LocumTenens.com to source its locum tenens hospitalists. They have had no need to engage other locum agencies or resources. The client's satisfaction is consistently high, both with their established clinicians and the ongoing relationship with LocumTenens.com. The client has been able to focus its efforts on recruiting full-time employed hospitalists while knowing their team is fully staffed and schedules are filled. Furthermore, reaching a healthy staffing level has helped them to avoid the additional turnover that often occurs in a burnout-driven feedback loop.
Conclusion
In a healthcare staffing landscape where industry disruptors abound and labor shortages run rampant, healthcare organizations benefit greatly from having streamlined hiring processes in place – and Hospital Medicine is no exception. Transitioning to an “insourced” flexible staffing model with an experienced and knowledgeable agency partner allows facility administrators to work one step ahead and anticipate the natural ebbs and hospitalist staffing needs. This has a positive influence on the speed at which positions can be filled and the quality of clinicians overall, and enables hiring managers to scale these efforts to meet greater facility needs.
Looking Ahead
Data shows that clinicians are exiting the workforce earlier, even during prime career earning periods. Having a strategic partner to source from will be increasingly valuable for hospitals and clinics that want to maintain access to talent and continue providing uninterrupted care to their communities.
See our staffing optimization solutions, or get in touch with a sales representative today to start talking through the details of your facility’s staffing needs, and LocumTenens.com can find the solution that’s right for you and the community you serve.