Author Archives: Zach Kohlmeier

COVID-19 and the Future of Healthcare

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Healthcare organizations continuously adopt new technologies and modify practices on their own. But in spite of the industry’s initiatives, no medical facility could have predicted the impact of COVID-19 and what it would reveal about the current state of medicine. While it’s unclear when the pandemic will ultimately pass, let’s take a look at how it might influence healthcare in the near future and far down the line.

Patients Leveraging Telemedicine

Social distancing guidelines and stay-at-home mandates will eventually lift, but telemedicine is predicted to remain as an empowering healthcare tool — especially for patients in rural areas with limited healthcare access. Although telehealth technology existed long before the onset of COVID-19, it’s expected that patients will leverage this healthcare tool more than ever as a result of the pandemic. For primary care specifically, telemedicine can virtually eliminate the need for most in-person visits through remote doctor access and prescription refills.

Facilities Prioritizing Preparation

Pandemic preparedness can take many forms — each of which requires preemptive planning. To prepare for the possibility of another pandemic, every healthcare facility should first start by mobilizing a task force dedicated to organizing and allocating resources. These types of preparedness committees must include disaster coordinators along with select members from each facility department. Similarly, hospitals and private practices may improve their pandemic preparedness by forming or joining coalitions to widen the scope of planning.

Employers Accommodating Professionals  

Growing the healthcare workforce has long been a priority for individual practices and healthcare groups. However, COVID-19 presents many organizations with the challenge of instead maintaining their workforce. As clinical workers face a higher risk of infection, healthcare facilities face a higher rate of turnover. Therefore, during and after the pandemic, it’s predicted that healthcare facilities will begin to offer more flexible solutions, amenities, and benefits to retain and protect medical staff, such as:

  • Access to new childcare programs
  • Improved training processes and practices
  • Medical daycare for family members

Your Long-Term Healthcare Partner

Change is imminent in the healthcare industry, which is why the team of healthcare recruiters at HealthCare Support wants now more than ever to make a difference. Our experienced staff is dedicated to closing talent gaps and filling voids across hospital networks and individual organizations. To learn more about our services, contact us today at 407-478-0332.

The Day-to-Day Duties of a Pharmacy Technician

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If you’re thinking of becoming a pharmacy technician, you’ll certainly be curious as to what their day-to-day schedule looks like — because it’s what your day-to-day schedule will look like. To help you get a clear picture of what this career consists of, let’s walk through some of the responsibilities typical to pharmacy technicians roles be it in a retail pharmacy, mail order or other pharmacy settings.
Pharmacy Patients
Many pharmacy technicians are expected to provide face to face customer service to patients though some only communicate with patients over the phone and others have no direct communication with patients.  Beyond providing outstanding customer service to patients, many pharmacy technicians are tasked with uploading and processing medication requests and verifying coverage for customers. Before handing prescriptions off to patients, pharmacy technicians must confirm the recipient’s insurance information and personal information so they can accept payment and make adjustments to patient records whenever necessary. Because the costs of some prescriptions can still be high even after being discounted by an insurance company, pharmacy technicians may even help customers apply for manufacturer coupons.
Prescriptions
While physical prescription drop-offs still pass through the hands of some pharmacy technicians such as those in retail, hospital or long term care settings, most drug requests are processed electronically. Once an order has been processed, a pharmacy technician can begin dispensing the medication, which requires them to either retrieve a pre-packaged medication or hand-fill a prescription. This process involves multiple steps of verification to ensure that:
• The medication being dispensed matches the prescription
• The patient receives the appropriate dose and amount of medication
• The prescription label is accurate
• The medication is in stock
• The shipping information is correct for any mail order or specialty pharmacy orders
Third-Party Providers
For a number of prescriptions pharmacy technicians fill, there’s an insurance issue to resolve. On a weekly and sometimes daily basis, pharmacy technicians are placing or receiving calls from third-party providers. That’s because, after submitting a pharmacy claim to an insurance company, pharmacy technicians are often the first to know if the claim was denied for any reason. In some cases, the
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pharmacy technician can easily resolve claim issues by resubmitting it with corrected information or requesting that a patient consult their physician about the timing of their refill.
Join Our Healthcare Talent Network
Could you see yourself in the role of a pharmacy technician? If so, expand your career opportunities with HealthCare Support. Our team of healthcare recruiters can match you with the facilities and job openings that fit your background and future goals. To learn more about our services and gain access to countless healthcare job openings, contact us today at 407-478-0332.

How to Save Your Healthcare Facility From the Growing Talent Gap

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While there’s a constant influx of new talent entering the healthcare workforce, there’s an even larger outflow of existing talent leaving the industry. This poses a serious problem for medical facilities as they struggle to fill positions that are continuously opening within their practice. If your healthcare organization has a talent void to fill, take a look at the following practices that will help close the gap.

Carefully Fill Open Positions

Gaps can open up at every level, but the way you fill them will make a significant difference in the long run. For example, if a senior employee retires, you could either bring in an outside candidate to fill that role or promote an existing employee to fill it. If you decide to promote someone within your facility, you then have to consider who will fill the role left behind by that employee when they move up. To ensure that you hire a professional that can serve your facility and leave gaps filled long term, consider searching for younger talent. Younger employees have a longer professional timeline, which means they have more room to develop and grow within your organization.

Constantly Focus on Retention

A talent gap in your healthcare facility can force professionals in your understaffed workforce to work even harder than they already do. Until you’re able to put the right candidates in the right positions, you need to double down on employee retention practices. While employee satisfaction should always be a top priority, it becomes even more in-demand when your staff members are clocking in more hours, expelling more energy, and offering more effort. To prevent a gap from growing at your facility or stop your current one from widening, put stock in an employee retention program that includes bonuses like:

  • Wellness packages
  • Mentorship programs
  • Recognition perks
  • Team-building exercises
  • Performance reviews

Consistently Train Your Talent

Controlling the talent gap is easier when you’ve fully mobilized your staff. By placing more resources into training and empowering your employees, you can better prepare members of your own workforce to fill the most critical talent gaps. And by dedicating more time to continual staff training, you can better plan for the future needs of your facility, reduce the likelihood of under-staffing, and even prevent your organization from over-staffing.

Partner With a Recruiter That Knows Your Industry

At HealthCare Support, we’re dedicated to helping our partners fill any talent gaps in their facility. That’s why our team of experienced healthcare recruiters takes the time to understand the professional dynamic of your organization and the types of candidates that will make a perfect fit. Moreover, we’ll keep both your current and future needs in mind when selecting talent for you to interview. To learn more about how we can help you close the talent gap, contact us today at 407-478-0332.

Self-Care for HealthCare Workers During High Pressure Times

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At times of intense pressure and uncertainty, self-care is more important than ever, nevertheless it is in the fundamental nature of healthcare professionals to prioritize the needs of others before their own. They have a keen interest in the wellbeing of humanity and deep-rooted ethics that often lead them to fully overlook their own needs. While self-care for healthcare workers can be complex, it is essential in maintaining effective healthcare services especially in times of virus outbreaks like COVID-19.

It is not uncommon for healthcare workers to find themselves juggling competing needs of their patients, families and their own. When little time is left for self-care, stress and anxieties can creep in. Having a strategy in place to manage stressors in high pressure times can make the difference. Here are our suggestions:

Pace Yourself

Set attainable goals and break it up. Your goal for each hour may be different than your goal for the day. The relentless pace and mounting tension providers have been faced with since cases of COVID-19 first started erupting earlier in the year will take their toll on even the best of the workforce. Remember it is a marathon, not a sprint.

Take a Break

Recognize the signs of burnout and take self-care breaks when you see them. Typical signs of burnout include work-related hopelessness and feelings of inefficacy or defeat. Dedicating 10 minutes to an activity that can improve your state of mind such as a few mindful breathes, a phone call to a loved one or a short walk can turn your day around and make you better able to care for others.

Maintain Good Health Habits

When there is little time for self-care its common to see healthy habits circumvented by quick and less beneficial habits. Be mindful of this and give your best effort to maintain your health by bringing balanced meals to work, creating time for exercise, limiting alcohol consumption, and getting enough sleep.

Though these are good strategies for managing well-being, self-care means different things to everyone. Make it a mission to find coping mechanisms that work for you and dedicate the time that’s needed to them. Even though it is in the nature of healthcare professionals to give their all, every day- it benefits us all for them to take care of themselves first.

“You cannot pour from an empty cup. You must fill your cup first.” Norm Kelly

How to Seamlessly Execute a Virtual Interview

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In the age of coronavirus (a.k.a. COVID-19) many companies have altered their hiring and recruiting practices. At first the changes started with limiting physical contact to help stop the spread of the virus. Handshakes moved to elbow bumps and then facial masks became a popular interview accessory. Now virtual interviews via phone and video are rapidly becoming the norm.

Not everyone is familiar with this type of interview process and though you may not need to route your commute, allow time for parking or find the perfect shoes to go with your outfit, you’ll still need to dedicate an ample amount of time preparing for your interview. Like any interview, you’ll need to understand the responsibilities of the position, make connections showcasing your experience, research the company and the hiring manager and prepare a list of questions you can ask.

For a successful virtual interview, you must be able to communicate your value well. Practice ahead of time with a faux interview. Set up your device, making certain everything that will appear in the background of your video is orderly and begin recording yourself answering typical interview questions. Next, review the recording and pay close attention to your mannerisms, eye contact and the speed of which you are speaking. Also practice alternative ways of answering questions that you may have stumbled over or taken too long answer.

Be sure to do a trial run of the conferencing software before the scheduled interview as well! Whether you’re a virtual interviewing veteran or a first timer it’s a smart step to take to eliminate technical hiccups. Skype, Zoom, GoToMeeting and Facetime are the most common video conferencing platforms used by our clients today. For most of these platforms, you’ll receive an email from our team with a link that will allow you to join the meeting. Test this link ahead of time and you’ll be prompted to download any necessary software to run the meeting when it’s time. For a phone screen or Facetime, be sure you are clear on if you will be initiating the call or if they will. Most managers are flexible to conduct phone screens in the absence of self-facing camera technology that is prevalent on phones, tablets and computers today.

Before you start your virtual interview make sure your device is sufficiently charged and find a quiet area. Separate yourself from pets, children or roommates who may create noise or distractions and silence your devices and computer notifications. Join the meeting ahead of time and don’t let technology get the best of you – make sure you let your personality shine through. Engage with the interviewer, be it by smiling or nodding it’s important to make a connection. You may need to be a little more animated to show your enthusiasm.  If you are having a phone interview and do not have the luxury of conveying your excitement visually through body language, get up out of your seat and smile through the phone. Think positive thoughts and let your confidence permeate the line.

While virtual interviews can be a substantial switch from what you (and the hiring manager) are used to, it’s currently one of the few effective ways to move candidates through the hiring process while respecting current health and safety concerns. Following these tips will allow you to execute your interview well while not only answering why you’re are the man for the job, but also showing your agility, flexibility and empathy towards our current situation.

Resources:

  1. How to join a Skype meeting using a link
  2. How to join a Zoom meeting
  3. How to join a GoToMeeting meeting

Top Challenges for Pharmacists When Caring for Adolescents

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When treating patients of all ages, genders, and medical histories, pharmacists must consider the best practices on a case-by-case basis. However, adolescent patients often have additional clinical challenges — and even restrictions — that may be a bit harder to prepare for and address as a pharmacist. Here’s a look at some of the top challenges pharmacists face when caring for adolescent patients.

Consent and Confidentiality

Adequate training on the topics of adolescent consent and confidentiality are invaluable to pharmacists with teenage patients, as it will better inform the decision to prescribe or recommend medications. Furthermore, when treating teenage patients, it’s imperative that pharmacists are aware of ways in which the rules of confidentiality may vary among young patients and have a thorough understanding of HIPAA regulations as they pertain to adolescents in particular.

Patient Questions and Concerns

Pharmacists have an opportunity to educate adolescents on medical alternatives that can be pivotal to their health and wellness. However, when answering questions directly from teenage patients or from their parents, pharmacists must understand how to clearly communicate the risks and benefits of such options. And if a patient’s parent is potentially making it difficult for the teen to speak up or ask questions, pharmacists must know when to employ their authority and request privacy, if optional.

Prescriptions and Authority

While the degree of authority that pharmacists have with regards to prescribing medications is growing, it isn’t unlimited. Therefore, pharmacists must be aware of the prescribing restrictions they face on a state-by-state basis. Furthermore, when prescribing medications to adolescents, pharmacists must be especially aware of the necessary dosage adjustments. Considering a medication’s recommended dosage for age, weight, and other factors, pharmacists must employ their best judgement and clinical expertise when amending prescriptions for teenage patients.

Overcome Healthcare Challenges With HealthCare Support

To best prepare for the challenges that face pharmacists, partner with a healthcare recruiter at HealthCare Support. Once you join our talent network, you’ll not only have access to tools designed to help you through the job search and application process, but also ongoing contact with our recruiters. This way, you’ll always be able to get in touch with a professional who can answer your questions or guide you to the best resource for assistance. If you’re interested in joining our talent network, call us today at 407-478-0332.

 

4 Ways to Increase Productivity of Your Healthcare Team

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Employee productivity is the cornerstone of a healthy healthcare facility. That’s why it’s important that your employees have adequate time to get through their daily tasks and that they make the most of every minute on the clock especially in times like now when our country is depending on our healthcare workers to care for those infected with the novel coronavirus. If your healthcare team needs a little help getting back into gear, take a look at these four ways to increase productivity.

Train Your Team on New Technology

Carving some time out to teach your healthcare team about new technology can work wonders for your facility’s productivity. For example, instead of having to print reports, spreadsheets, and schedules, your team can use a communications app that quickly streamlines the process. And if you want to learn what your employees think about the productivity of your facility, you can use such apps to distribute surveys and ask for feedback. Alongside a communications app, consider using project management software for administrative tasks or similar operations that you would like to improve. It is also important to cross-train employees as much as possible. Department efficiency is just as important as individual employee efficiency and during uncertain times like now, it is important to plan ahead with Plan B and Plan C should certain team members be unable to perform their typical roles.

Recognize Productivity with Rewards

When you want to see improvements in specific parts of your healthcare facility, incentives are a smart and effective tool to use. Of course, bonuses and other monetary rewards are a great way to encourage your healthcare team to step it up. But they aren’t the only way. If you don’t have quite enough room in your budget to offer up monthly, quarterly, or yearly bonuses to the most productive employees, consider recognizing them with other rewards, including:

  • Small gift cards for popular retailers like Amazon or Walmart
  • Employee of the Month awards & photo recognition
  • Shout outs on your facility’s social media pages and intranet
  • Gift baskets or goodie bags

Improve Your Employee Evaluations

If data is telling you that productivity is low, it might be because your employees aren’t aware of what they need to improve. By setting expectations through performance reviews and scheduled evaluations, you can encourage your staff to work harder, meet their goals, and have an impressive performance history. Furthermore, you can use employee evaluations to let your staff know when they aren’t meeting goals and redirect their attention with tips and tricks to do so.

Get Help from a Healthcare Recruiter

Having a productive healthcare facility requires effort from an employer just as much as the employees. That’s why it’s essential to not only do your part and equip your staff with the tools for success, but also ensure that your workforce is filled with the best. If you want to improve productivity on your healthcare team, put together the best group of workers with the recruiters at HealthCare Support. Our healthcare recruiter team will search for the right candidates, screen them until we find the best fits for your facility, and track their progress with our scorecard rating practice. To learn more, call us today at 407-478-0332.

4 Ways to Avoid Burnout as a Healthcare Professional

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Burnout can happen to employees in any field, but it’s increasingly common among the hardworking professionals in the healthcare industry. If you feel burnout approaching or want to do your best to avoid it at all costs, take a look at these four tips.

  1. Listen to Your Mind and Body

Suppressing your symptoms of burnout isn’t the right way to manage them. That’s why it’s important to not only be aware of burnout, but to also identify it as early as possible. From there, you can start to question the root cause and come up with potential solutions. Some of the most common symptoms of burnout include:

  • Low motivation — Motivation is critical in the healthcare industry. If you are struggling to focus or are feeling little motivation to excel in your position, you might be dealing with burnout.
  • Excess fatigue — If you feel mentally and physically exhausted at work despite how much sleep you’re getting, burnout might be the cause.
  • Negative attitude — Burnout can easily affect your attitude toward your job and your industry, making you question the outlook of your career.
  • Detachment — Even the most social employees can feel disengaged and start to detach themselves after feeling bouts of burnout.

  1. Focus on Self-Care

Making the most of your time at home can improve your performance and attitude toward your time at work. To prevent burnout from blowing out of proportion, spend your days off doing what you love most. Taking time to revisit your old hobbies or find brand-new ones will help you de-stress and better separate your personal and professional life. If it helps you to have a future activity to look forward to, consider booking activities like a spa day or personal training session, in advance.

  1. Use Your Vacation Time

Taking a break from your job can help you refocus, refresh, and regain the momentum you had when you first started. And you don’t have to invest in an international adventure to get the vacation you need. Simply stepping away from your duties for an extended weekend or weeklong getaway can work wonders for fatigue and low motivation. If your vacation isn’t enough to stunt your symptoms, however, it might be the right time to start looking for a change in workplaces.

  1. Look for a New Opportunity

If you feel undervalued, overworked, or out of love with your current job, consider looking for a new opportunity — and partner with a healthcare recruiter that can help you find the right one. Here at HealthCare Support, our team of healthcare recruiters will use your personal and professional information to uncover the most relevant positions available.

From there, we’ll equip you with the tools to nail the interview and negotiation process. And with quality assurance calls and consistent contact, we’ll stay connected for continual career support. To get started and join our talent network, call us today at 407-478-0332.

Soft Skills to Look for When Hiring at Your Healthcare Facility

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Out of the many qualities that make a great healthcare candidate — quality education, relevant experience, and strong letters of recommendation — soft skills are perhaps the most overlooked. While these can’t be measured, graded, or certified like other skills, soft skills are essential indicators of how well a candidate will fit in your facility and excel in their position.

Whether you have some current open positions to fill or are looking for ways to improve the operations of your facility in the future, these are the soft skills to look for in potential employees.

What Are Soft Skills?

Hard skills are the trained techniques and knowledge that candidates accumulate over the course of their schooling, internships, and entry-level jobs. Soft skills, however, are the personal characteristics that candidates can also apply to their job, including professionalism, critical thinking, and creativity. While hard skills are specific to the individual duties of each professional, soft skills are useful to employees in any position, and they help to determine the way that an applicant will interact with members, patients, and associates of your facility.

Which Soft Skills to Look for in Applicants

You need to know that the next person you hire can perform, but you also need to know that they can successfully collaborate with your other employees, adapt to the ever-changing needs of your patients, and manage their time accordingly. Therefore, the top soft skills to look for when screening candidates include:

  • Communication — Whether it’s with a patient, third-party provider, or member of the same department, your employees must always clearly and professionally communicate.
  • Adaptability — Every patient, treatment plan, and medical claim are different from the last, which is why healthcare professionals must be able to adapt as needed.
  • Patience — Hiccups and holdups happen all the time in healthcare, which is why your future employees must be patient enough to provide excellent service at all times.
  • Time management — In the healthcare industry, workloads change on a daily basis. Therefore, it’s imperative that your staff can prioritize their daily and weekly tasks accordingly.
  • Teamwork — Being able to effectively collaborate within and outside of their own department is critical to the success of any healthcare employee.

Where to Find the Right Candidates for the Job

If you want to find candidates with not only the right soft skills, but also the right experience, education, and technical expertise for the job, partner with HealthCare Support. Our team of healthcare recruiters will find top talent for your open positions based on a range of factors. We’ll also use personalized skills assessment testing, screen each candidate with a multi-level system, and measure their performance with quality assurance calls. When you’re ready track down the best talent, call us today at 407-478-0332.

5 Tips to Help Nurses Prepare for the Night-shift

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There are plenty of registered nurses that prefer to work the night-shift, but not all nurses are night owls. Fortunately, any nurse can adjust to a new clock-in time with a few hidden tricks and the right sleep training. To help you make the switch, here are some of the top transitional changes to make ahead of schedule.

Put Stock in Shift Changes

Because you won’t be able to communicate as much with your sleeping patients, you’ll need to rely on the previous shift for essential updates. Knowing even the most minor updates on your patients will encourage you to keep an eye out for subtle changes and prevent critical situations.

Pick the Right Pick-Me-Ups

Energy drinks and premade performance beverages might seem like a convenient choice for the night-shift, but these unhealthy options aren’t good for the long term. Instead of picking up a sugary supplement, reach for healthier forms of energy found in caffeinated teas or a coffee drink you can stir up yourself. If you have an aversion to caffeine, you can still boost your energy by prioritizing activity during your shift or trying an LED light therapy lamp to stimulate your brain.

Stay Hydrated and Satiated

Hydration is essential for day- and night-shift nurses — especially when consuming caffeine. If you have trouble remembering to run to the water fountain, bring your own reusable bottle to keep at your station. While paying attention to your water intake, pay attention to your food intake as well, because choosing the right food options can play a huge part in your night on the clock. You can make healthy eating just as convenient as the vending machine by meal prepping at the beginning of each week.

Set Aside Enough Sleep Time

While adjusting to the night-shift, you’ll need to rearrange your sleeping habits so you can get seven to nine hours of sleep in before the start of your shift. It might be tempting to try and reset your rhythm by pulling an all-nighter beforehand, but this can end up making it harder to get your sleep on track in the long term. Instead, try modifying your environment to be as sleep-friendly as possible by:

  • reminding your family that your sleep is important
  • setting up thick curtains to keep light out
  • wearing an eye mask or ear plugs
  • avoiding caffeine before bed
  • limiting phone and other screen usage before bed

Work With a Healthcare Recruiter

No matter how new you are to nursing, the right healthcare recruiter can help you find a position that fits your wants and needs. In fact, the team of healthcare recruiters at HealthCare Support will help you find the perfect fit for and lend you all the guidance needed to navigate your new role as a night-shift nurse. To join our talent network and take the next steps in your healthcare career, call us today at 407-478-0332.