Locum Tenens: We all “need” each other…..

When I spend time all alone at home, my mind tends to drift off. In fact, some of the things that go through my mind probably deserve some sort of psychological review. Some, that do pass my mediocre screening, are put down on paper.  Currently, I am watching some NHL hockey and thinking that I spend an awful lot of my time during the work week asking physicians to do locum tenens work. Sometimes with positive feedback, sometimes with indifferent feedback, and sometimes…some “not so nice” feedback. I wonder, how would I feel about if I was asked to do physician recruiter locums assignment? Hmmmmmmm…..

So I can picture it. While watching the Anaheim Ducks play the NY Rangers my cell phone rings…

“Hello Mr. Bernard….”

“Yes?”

“Sir, I would like to know if you would be interested in flying to NC every other weekend to help us recruit a few podiatrists. We can really use your help.”

(Thinking to myself: I currently work M-F, and after hours all the time answering emails, phone calls, and credentialing our Locum Tenen providers. Then I try and sprinkle in a little personal life. Where would I find the time?)

“How much are they paying?” I ask. “Well, that’s what I make now.”

So why would I spend my precious extra time going anywhere but my couch to watch the hockey game? More Physician Recruiting on my time off? I will tell you right now I am a little worried that I am not going to be able to give a good reason and this could just be negative for me.  : )

So I have to go to the reasons why some physicians I have worked with have done Locum Tenens.

I am working with a physician right now that is working 240 hours a month for a full time position. He is about 4 years out of residency, a shining star in his specialty and on the fast track to a leadership position. Sounds like someone that would never do locums. But, yet he does want too. Why? Well, he is tired of the fast track to leadership and fitting himself in the pre-established mold for himself. He is young and wants to explore. He wants some days off and heck maybe even a month off to go and see the world.

This physician went from college, to med school, to Internship, and then his Residency. Then right into working nonstop to pay off Sally Mae. Where did the freedom go?

So, after a lot of thought, he is beginning the steps to enter what we all All-Star call the “Locum Lifestyle”. He is getting a couple of licenses. He can now pick his schedule around when HE wants to work. He can still work the 240 hours one month, but maybe only 48 the next. Trips to Europe & South America have already been planned. And, since this physician got more licenses, he has a wide choice of options, and can pick jobs that pay very well. Talk about enjoying your post-grad life!

Ok, let’s go to the other end of the spectrum. I was also recently working with a great physician that was in his early 60s. Had a great career, accomplished what he set out to accomplish. He was thinking about retirement. But, as widely known, the stock market crashed and he realized that he wasn’t financially or emotionally ready to call it quits.

Yet, he didn’t want to sign a Permanent Contract that committed him to a long term situation or to a set number of full time shifts. So he decided to live “la vita locums”. Luckily for all parties involved, he was a great Locum Tenen Provider. We at All-Star Recruiting found him a Locums Assignment which had him only 2 hours away from his home, twice a month. This physician picked up a string of shifts, stayed at a comfortable hotel arranged by our travel team (with a kitchen, internet access, and a mandatory king size bed). And best of all, the hospital (and their patients) were forever grateful for his help, so it was nice to feel appreciated (to mention the financial benefits).

So, there you have two examples of Locum Tenen Physicians both at the beginning and the end of their respective careers. Well, how about someone in “the middle” of their career?

Glad you asked!  How about this situation: A physician we work with often unfortunately had issues with the Physician Group she had signed a Permanent Contract with. Quite simply- they “over hired”. And from their perspective, why not?  They were in a very sought after location, so they had plenty of applicants. Now she was not getting the shifts she needed to make her bottom line.

However, she didn’t want to make a change. She loved her job, her house, and the community she lived in. So what could she do? Well, calling me at All-Star Recruiting was a great start. After a little digging I found her a locum position 1 ½ hours away, and as a result she was able to go for 5 shifts a month. She ended up making the extra money she needed and she was able to keep her house, live in her community, and her wonderful, overstaffed job. That’s sounds like more “winning” then Charlie Sheen did.

I have a great deal more examples that are running through my mind, but intermission is over and the Rangers are on a power play. So, I am ending it here for now. Locum Tenen Physicians, in the right situation, are greatly needed in our current healthcare system and provide a valuable service. And it can truly create “win win” scenarios. So if you are a physician…..the next time I call, I will understand if you yell at me for interrupting your lunch, but I will also understand that sometimes, you need me like I need you.

Have a great, successful week.

Jeremy Bernard is a Physician Recruiter at All-Star Recruiting and specializes in Permanent and Locum Tenens Placement in Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine, and Neurology. Contact him at jbernard@allstarrecruiting.com or at 800-928-0229 ext. 115.

Join our Team!

We at All-Star Recruiting are always looking for energetic,
highly-qualified individuals who want to join a very successful and growing
healthcare staffing company in the Fort Lauderdale area. This is truly an elite position which offers unmatched earning potential. Our environment is professional, fast-paced, but not overly “corporate”.

This opportunity is for a “full desk” position which requires:

• Computer savvy & Experience with a large-scale database system (CRM)
• Excellent verbal/written communication skills
• Ability to develop rapport with both candidates and clients
• Heavy phone volume and confidence in closing C Level individuals
• Effective negotiation skills

 

We realize our opportunity is certainly not for everybody, but if the above sounds like something that fits with your core competencies and personality, we would love to speak to you!

In terms of compensation- this is a salaried + commission position, with the latter being one of the most aggressive packages in the industry.  If you have the required experience and drive, contact us at 800-929-0229 and ask to speak to Human Resources, or simply e-mail your resume to jobs@allstarrecruiting.com.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Thanks Dad….now how about a little help with Credentialing?

As a boy I was always asking my Dad…“why”?.

“Dad…why this and why that?”. I know my father had a lot of patience because he always answered me. He actually seemed to like it too. He was also my hockey coach growing up, and how he balanced everything out was truly amazing. My parents had five kids by the age of 29 and my Father supported us all on a construction worker’s paycheck. Furthermore, my father was always working extra jobs to make sure our family had what we needed.

But this post isn’t only about my family. I’m only mentioning this because I have never stopped asking why???? And now I find myself asking “why?” again as I am helping a physician of mine fill in another credentialing packet for a locum tenens assignment (don’t get me wrong….this is good news as it means we have another Physician going on a Locum Tenens Assignment at All-Star).

For those of you unfamiliar with the process- The physician has to first fill out our company’s credentialing packet and then, as a service to our Providers, I (along with our QA/Credentialing Dept.) help with the facilities packet. Furthermore, I can only hope that the physician already has a license in the state of the locum assignment or we would be filling in that packet too. And in some cases, we also help out with payor-mix credentialing too (more on that later). Sooooo…..back to the question of “why?”.

Do we like killing all these trees with this massive amount of paperwork that is filled out, faxed, sent FedEx, signed, copied, etc.? Do we think we are so intelligent that our packet (or our credentialing process) is going to get “the truth” where someone else’s packet is not? Do we like all this repetitious and tedious writing?

When I was told by our Marketing Department here at All-Star Recruiting that they were looking for a blog about Healthcare Staffing I had no idea what to write about. But as usual, the easiest thing to write about is what may be irritating to you at a particular time. I guess it is kind of like that old guy on 60 minutes who talks about things like “why don’t people use tie clips anymore?” and other riveting commentary.

Then I started to do some research on the web as to why there isn’t a standard credentialing packet that everyone could use (some states like WV use a Standard Packet but most states do not). I was thinking I could quote articles and give facts, but I quickly realized that the research I was trying to do was even more tedious then the credentialing packet itself. With FCVS, NCQA, and JHACO, it gets really hard to navigate. So instead, I am just going to keep asking “why?” from a common sense perspective.

Questions that keep coming up:

1. How can I know virtually everything about a person because of today’s social media but not verify a physician’s credentials at a click of a button?
2. Why are hospitals still sending out “hard copy” faxes to other hospitals to verify a physician has actually worked there? Can’t this be done online or through some other method?
3.  Why can’t we keep a national computer system that says Dr K worked at ABC hospital from 97-99? That way we don’t have to bug the poor medical staff person at hospital ABC about Dr K working there 12 years ago.
4. Why can’t a physician’s Insurance History all be housed in one place?

Have there been strides made in this area? Yes. Veridoc for example can verify licensure in another state with a simple Credit Card payment and quick online form. Then the applicable licensing board gets online verification that the Physician’s license is Active and in “good standing” in another state (thereby eliminating the need to send a request, fax/FedEx a form, and god knows whatever else). Brilliant right? Simple right? Well why don’t we apply this concept to other parts of credentialing? It just makes so much sense to do so!

Bottom line, I can “google” how to make Tiramisu and get 500 different recipes but not look up a physician and have a verified document for credentialing. It just seems so silly.

So how do I end this rant? Another question? No. Instead I make a plea. I beg. Can somebody who doesn’t suffer from ADHD like me and actually has more power & intelligence please do something. Please! Come on technology!

P.S. – Dad, you’re the best. Love you.

 

Jeremy Bernard is a Physician Recruiter at All-Star Recruiting and specializes in Permanent and Locum Tenens Placement in Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine, and Neurology. Contact him at jbernard@allstarrecruiting.com or at 800-928-0229 ext. 115.

Press Release Launched, ASR now offering new services to current/prospective clients….

All Star Recruiting Launches New Website and New Services to Doctors and Hospitals

With the launch of the new website and official creation of a new division within the company, All Star recruiting is prepared to meet the demands of today’s hospitals and doctors. ASR started testing the waters in temporary placement in response to feedback from hospitals they were already working with for permanent placements and it’s become a growing segment of their business. The launch of their new website and the recent additions to their staff represent a renewed commitment not only to the new Locum Tenens division but also to an already impressive resume in the physicians and allied recruiting field.

Coconut Creek, FL (PRWEB) September 20, 2011

After eight years of successful permanent placement services for physicians and nurses, All Star Recruiting (ASR) will now offer Locum Tenens placement. Even though the announcement of the new division is recent news to most, the highly regarded medical staffing firm actually started the emerging aspect of their business in January of this year. ASR started testing the waters in temporary placement in response to feedback from hospitals they were already working with for permanent placements and it’s become a growing segment of their business. The launch of their new website and the recent additions to their staff represent a renewed commitment not only to the new Locum Tenens division but also to an already impressive resume in the physicians and allied recruiting field.

In speaking with Keith Shattuck, CEO at All Star Recruiting; “We have one of the highest fill and success rates in the industry for Permanent Healthcare Recruitment so we wanted to be able to have the ability to translate that over to the ‘locums world’. We feel many healthcare entities are being overcharged for these services and many companies in our industry don’t care about the financial impact these fees can have. That is why teaching our clients how to bill for the services our Physicians provide is so crucial…we understand hospitals and groups are going through tough financial times and we want to accommodate them in any way we can.”

The history of Locum Tenens placement dates back to the early 1970’s and was originally conceived as a way to lure good doctors to under-served rural areas. The appeal for physicians was that in exchange for relocating to more rural communities it would allow for more time off and schedule flexibility. The landscape of the healthcare system has changed dramatically since the early 1970’s and hospitals now require a steady stream of physicians to fill gaps in physician coverage and specialties in both rural and metropolitan locations. Today, the Locum Tenens recruiting and placement services represents more than 40 different firms supporting a $2 billion dollar a year industry. All Star Recruiting has been in business since 2003 and makes over 200 physicians and advance practice placements per year as part of their core business. The term Locum Tenens is Latin for “to hold the place of, or substitute for”. While the pure definition is about temporary positions, often times these roles become permanent placements or a new direction for physicians and advanced care providers to have more flexibility in their careers.

Another area of expansion and rapid growth that is also meeting today’s demands of hospitals and practices for ASR is the Allied division of the company which specializes in placements for Physician Assistants (PA), Nurse Practitioners (NP), and Certified Nurse Mid-Wives (CNM). These positions represent cost effective moves of efficiencies for hospitals and practices alike. As an example, physicians utilizing a PA or NP are able to handle more patients without a hospital or practice having to hire another doctor. Nurse Practitioners are also able to write prescriptions and work in primary care facilities, which also save hospitals money.

It’s been a gratifying experience for All Star Recruiting over the last few years as they have seen their business and reputation growing and moving in a positive direction. The move to create a division within the company to accommodate the needs of hospitals and changes in the industry has been a natural evolution. We spoke to Matt Young, Executive VP and Director of Operations, “We felt with the tremendous strides that our organization has made over the years that we should launch a marketing/branding campaign to both celebrate those strides along with formally announcing our new offerings to our clients. All-Star has a phenomenal reputation in the industry, and we plan on strengthening those relationships we have built over the past eight years to truly become a “total solution” for our clients. This means continuing to fill permanent physician/nursing openings, as well as staff for their Locum Tenens needs.”

Whether it’s temporary medical staffing needs or permanent placement it’s clear the health care industry is a dynamic and challenging landscape which All Star Recruiting seems to be keeping pace with. If you are a physician or hospital looking for a permanent position or Locum Tenens and are interested in working with ASR please visit their new website at http://www.allstarrecruiting.com or call 800-928-0229.

Welcome to our new Website & Blog…!

All,

On behalf of all of our employees and our marketing department at ASR, we are pleased to launch our new website and blog. Check back with us often as we will be discussing many different facets of healthcare recruitment, trends in the marketplace, and company updates. We also will have some of our recruiters and healthcare providers “chime in” from time to time with updates. Relevant articles from across the web will also be posted and shared.

We at All-Star Recruiting have developed a phenominal reputation over the years, and we wanted to use this new tool to communicate with our providers and our clients in a more “informal” way. We hope you enjoy reading our posts as much as we will enjoy writing and sharing them.

Check back with us often and looking forward to hearing from you!

Matt Young