- June 5, 2017
- ByKim Lewis
In the ED, and most other hospital departments, a solid team of providers is essential for departmental success. Recruiting top-quality providers is not only the key to building a solid team, but also maintaining it. Lack of a solid provider group not only hurts the department, but the hospital as a whole. Below are a few reasons why recruiting and retaining providers should always be a top priority.
Scheduling and Cost
Being down to one provider can have a huge impact on patient experience and outcomes, especially during high census times. A solid team of full-time and part-time providers can fill the schedule to meet departmental needs during high and low census times. An evenly distributed schedule also helps combat provider burnout which is commonly found among ED providers.
A significant cost savings is easily recognized by the hospital when a full provider team is properly retained. This is because holes in the schedule do not need to be filled with a third-party provider group which most of the time is coupled with a higher compensation rate.
At ApolloMD, one of the main ways we save partner facilities cost is by utilizing our internal STRIKE Travel Team. These providers are all employed by ApolloMD and replace the need for an outside locums tenens group to come and fill the department’s open shifts.
Workflow & Communication
Nailing down the perfect processes and workflow to fit the needs of the department and hospital can be difficult without a solid team of providers. With an established group, there is often consistency in clinical workflow and processes. The team is able to nail down what works best for everyone, resulting in better patient experience and satisfaction metrics.
The ED team at UNC Lenoir Healthcare provides a great example of the benefits of establishing a consistent provider team. Recruiting and retaining a solid provider group was one of their main focuses before perfecting the processes and workflow. Once a team was set into place, systemized workflow processes and procedures were much easier to establish and maintain. Download the full white paper to learn more about UNC Lenoir’s success.
Morale
Sharing the same goals, outlook and clinical standards is something a provider highly considers when choosing the perfect job. A provider wants to work with a team whose goals, practice standards and dedication to the job align. With a well established group of providers, this is common practice. On teams with constant turnover and no outlet for communication, this can be lacking.
ApolloMD NOW, a single sign-on portal, allows providers to access everything from schedules to Quality Corner educational tools and resources, as well as providing a community to communicate with peers from their hospital and corporate teams. This portal helps boost communication, comradery and morale.
Stabilizing the provider teams at our partner facilities wouldn’t be possible without the ApolloMD Physician Recruitment Team. This team of professionals recruits both physicians and APCs nationwide to join our emergency medicine, hospital medicine, anesthesiology, radiology and STRIKE teams. Having an in-house physician recruitment team takes stress away from the hospital and the provider. The recruitment team works with the operations and credentialing team to guide the provider through the entire hiring and onboarding process.
In honor of National Healthcare Recruiters Day, we want to thank all of our physician recruitment team members. They have gone above and beyond to ensure ApolloMD has the best providers in the country.
To find out more about the benefits of partnering with ApolloMD, speak with an expert and check out this article featuring physician job search tips.