When clinician turnover happens in your healthcare organization, it is very tempting to fill the position as quickly as possible. A vacancy can add strain to an already overtaxed pool and result in a lapse in inpatient care.
However, clinician staffing involves more than just looking at resumes. With advanced planning, you can attract and hire the ideal candidate, making it more likely that he or she will remain in their role long-term. Here are six things to define before attempting to hire your next clinician.
1. The Goals and Expectations of the Position
Before you can attract top talent, you must be clear about your organization’s goals and the role you expect the clinician to achieve them. Define your expectations for the position as thoroughly as possible and make sure candidates understand them. Identify long- and short-term objectives, as you want someone interested in growing with the organization.
The right clinician for the job will benefit the healthcare system and enhance patient care.
2. Any Special Skills Required for the Job
If the position requires specialized skills, be upfront about it. A clinician who is not trained to handle the tasks you need to be done won't be happy in the role, and you will have expended time and effort only to have to begin your search anew. A well-defined job description helps you attract the best candidates for the role and leaves no questions unanswered.
Ensure candidates have a clear understanding of what the job entails while you have a system in place for credentialing.
3. Internal and External Challenges
Are there challenges the clinician will face either internally or externally? Explain them in detail so they can be proactive in addressing the issues. This may change the criteria you will use to determine if someone is a good fit for the job, but it will ensure that potential hires know what to expect.
Unforeseen challenges that are not expressed can negatively affect your hiring initiatives in the future.
4. Your Vision of the Ideal Candidate
For recruitment to be successful, there should be common goals among all parties involved. You, the hiring manager, and the search team may all have different visions of the ideal candidate for the position. Reconcile those differences before advertising the position to find someone who can fill the role adequately. The person hired for the vacancy should meet the requirements for quality patient care while also fitting in with your organization’s culture.
5. The Selection Process
You will increase the odds of finding the right clinician for your practice if you plan to evaluate the applicants. Be prepared to conduct interviews by telephone and in person. You should review the applicants' curricula vitae (CVs) and check their credentials. Hold a post-interview analysis of each qualified candidate before moving on to negotiations and contract signing.
6. Make Sure Your Internal Planning is Complete Before You Begin the Hiring Process
Before you can expect to hire a clinician, you must be ready to offer a comprehensive compensation package. Decide on the terms of the contract and settle any uncertainties about the position within the organization beforehand. You must be able to protect your bottom line without jeopardizing continuity of care. If you want to attract a talented clinician, you must know beforehand what you plan to offer.
If You Need Help with Hiring, Get It
Hiring the ideal clinician takes time and patience. To offer continual quality care when someone vacates a position, you may feel the need to move as fast as possible. Unfortunately, haste may lead to onboarding someone who is not right for the role.
Getting assistance with the process can shorten the time it takes to find someone and prevent gaps in care. VISTA offers multiple options to fulfill your healthcare system's needs with a focus on efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
VISTA Select
VISTA Select is our exclusive Management System Provider (MSP) featuring a customizable client dashboard with real-time reporting metrics. The system allows:
-
- Visualization of your staffing status and needs
- Standardization, management, and tracking of your bill rate
- Insight into opportunities for shrinking costs
- Consolidation of invoicing
- Viewing of vendor scorecards
- Tracking of metrics
- Access to your secure records
With VISTA Select, valuable data is collected to reveal staffing solutions for your organization. Our team will then work with you to develop a strategy that will further improve your operations. Advanced analytics provide workforce solutions to design and implement staffing solutions.
Workforce Optimization Review
VISTA's Workforce Optimization Review is a customized financial tool that brings transparency to costs. Our team collects all your relevant data and turns it into an easily digestible executive summary with recommendations on optimizing staffing levels and cutting labor costs.
The three-step process involves:
-
- Collecting data related to invoicing, financials, hiring statistics, and contracting.
- Conducting on-site interviews with executives, department heads, and key staff to gain a deeper understanding of your organization's structure and processes.
- Analyzing and presenting data to executive leaders along with recommendations for sustainable organizational improvements.
When your healthcare system has proper staffing levels in place, you can continue to offer uninterrupted high-quality patient care to the patients you serve.
Partner With VISTA
To find the perfect candidate, partnering with VISTA is an easy solution. Through VISTA Select and our Workforce Optimization Review, your organization can concentrate on offering excellent patient care while we handle all the logistics of managing your operation and workforce.
Contact VISTA today to get started working with your trusted, transparent, and accountable partner.
