Healthcare organizations today often partner with locum tenens agencies to fill open positions. Doing so allows them to optimize healthcare staffing. What benefits come with partnering with an agency? What should an organization look for when choosing this partner?
Why Partner With a Locums Agency?
A healthcare organization might struggle with hiring a qualified provider. Patient care might suffer when it cannot find the right person to fill an open position. The organization could lose patients and the accompanying revenue or find workers struggling with burnout because they are asked to do too much. Locums fill open positions until the right candidate is found.
The organization has a larger pool of candidates to choose from, and the agency has vetted these candidates, so it won’t need to complete this step. The organization won’t need to spend the money required to recruit employees and can focus on caring for patients. Overall care quality improves when a locum tenens agency is used to fill open positions.
Healthcare organizations might also hire locum tenens to fill these positions. Allowing a person to come in temporarily to see if they are a good fit benefits both parties. The healthcare organization can see the provider in action and whether they fit into the company culture. The worker ensures the organization fits their needs correctly and feels comfortable taking the job permanently. Many overlook this benefit when discussing the role of locum tenens in healthcare.
Understaffing is another reason many healthcare organizations benefit from partnering with locum tenens agencies today. Burnout is only one concern when healthcare workers assume extra roles due to staffing shortages. The risk of human errors increases, and productivity declines. Workers may leave the industry because their stress overshadows the rewards they get from helping patients.
A locum tenens agency ensures these problems don’t arise and that healthcare partners have the workers they need. Working with an agency saves a healthcare organization time, money, and more. However, the organization must choose the right agency for its needs.
Finding the Right Agency
When comparing locum agencies, ask peers for referrals. Physician recruiter groups are an excellent place to start the search. However, don’t partner with multiple agencies. While others may provide several names, sticking with a few agencies is best. One thing to consider is the potential pool of available providers. For example, an organization looking for a fetal medicine specialist may need to work with multiple agencies because there are fewer providers in this field.
Ensure the agency vets all candidates. Sadly, quality control is lacking in the industry, so it falls on the agency’s clients to ensure it is doing due diligence. A reputable agency will share the process it uses when vetting candidates. This agency needs a robust support infrastructure to assist providers with licensing and credentialing. The agency should also negotiate contracts on behalf of its clients.
Always choose a partner with similar values who understands the organization’s culture and needs. Finding this partner takes time and effort. However, when the right agency is found, the healthcare organization will have a robust pool of locums to choose from when needed. Open positions within the organization are less of a concern, so the focus can return to providing outstanding patient care. Everyone wins when this is the case.
