Tag Archives: healthcare

Transitioning From RN to NP

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Change is something you’ve learned to work well with as a registered nurse (RN). However, transitioning to a new role as nurse practitioner (NP) is a change big enough to challenge even the most seasoned nursing professionals. Below are some insider tips that will help you better prepare for and breeze through your transformation from RN to NP.

 

How to Prepare for the RN to NP Transition

From new obligations to a new professional network, so many aspects of your professional life are going to change on your journey to becoming an NP. To prepare ahead of time, take a look at some of the tasks you’ll be taking on:

 

  • Working within the scope of what patients can afford and what their insurance will cover
  • Diagnosing illnesses, creating treatment plans, educating patients
  • Delegating responsibilities to other employees
  • Creating a brand-new network of peers and growing your connections

 

How to Step Into Your New Career

Just like your first weeks and months as an RN, the beginning of your career as an NP will not be without challenges. If you’re feeling nervous, overwhelmed, or a little lost at any point in your transition, refer to the following tips:

 

  1. Overcome the fear of asking questions. Patient health and safety always comes first, so don’t be afraid to speak up if you have any hesitancy or confusion about a particular task or topic.
  2. Keep a record of the answers you receive when you do ask for advice. This will help you avoid needing to ask the same questions twice.
  3. Find a mentor. While you shouldn’t be afraid to ask your coworkers and fellow NPs about patient-related inquiries, having a go-to mentor can be helpful for your deeper career questions.
  4. Listen to podcasts. If you’re struggling to keep up with medical literature, podcasts are a go-to source of information that you can absorb while on the go.

 

How to Find the Right Healthcare Job Opportunities for You

Whether you’re currently transitioning from RN to NP or are thinking about making a major change in your career, the healthcare recruiters at HealthCare Support are here to assist you every step of the way. We’ll alert you with job opportunities that match your goals and keep you updated throughout the application and hiring process. To learn more on how we find jobs and help healthcare professionals like you find success, contact HealthCare Support today at 407-478-0332.

The Ins & Outs of a Medical Office Assistant

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What Does a Medical Office Assistant Do?

Regardless of location, size, or specialty, every medical office needs a medical office assistant — and most often, they need more than just one. Despite the already large and consistently growing need for medical office assistants, there’s still some confusion about what these professionals do on a day-to-day basis. Let’s take a closer look at the everyday role of a medical office assistant.

 

What Is a Medical Office Assistant?

The first person to greet a patient when they enter a medical facility, such as a clinic or private practice, is almost always a medical office assistant. Sometimes referred to as medical office specialists, medical administrative assistants, or patient coordinators, medical office assistants essentially perform the tasks needed to keep a healthcare center functioning effectively. Helping to deliver the best healthcare experience possible, these professionals may handle everything from administrative assignments to clinical ones.

 

What Does It Take to Become One?

Multitasking abilities, strong organizational skills, exceptional communication, and attention to detail are all essential to a succeeding as a medical office assistant. These professionals must be up to date on the latest record-keeping technologies and able to quickly and accurately input information. While many locations only require medical office assistants to have earned a high-school diploma, certain facilities may require them to obtain CMAA certifications or RMA registrations.

What Are Their Day-to-Day Responsibilities?

Medical office assistants wear multiple hats. While their responsibilities will vary depending on which type of medical center they work at, there are some job functions that remain the same just about everywhere.

 

Once a patient arrives, for example, medical office assistants may help by:

  • Helping them check in
  • Taking vitals
  • Measuring height and weight
  • Recording contact details and medical history information
  • Escorting them to the examination room

 

In between assisting patients, medical office assistants perform a range of tasks, such as:

  • Cleaning and sanitizing equipment
  • Cleaning and sanitizing examination areas
  • Scanning files and transcribing records
  • Scheduling appointments
  • Billing patients and accepting payments
  • Receiving and sorting inventory, mail, etc.
  • Responding to emails

 

Starting Your Career as a Medical Office Assistant

The role played by medical office assistants is critical to healthcare facilities small and large. If you’re interested in becoming one and connecting to the clinics, hospitals, or other medical offices with opportunities that match your professional goals, join the HealthCare Support talent network. Our healthcare recruiters will help you put together a professional resume, find relevant job postings, and ace interviews. To take the next step in your healthcare career, contact HealthCare Support today at 407-478-0332.

 

4 Tips for Finding and Hiring Top Healthcare Talent

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Finding and hiring top healthcare talent is your main priority — and your biggest challenge. Here are four tips to help you overcome healthcare recruiting hurdles and fill every opening at your facility with the right candidates.

Work on Your Job Descriptions

Job descriptions aren’t just a place to list the must-have qualifications you want to see in applicants. If you truly want to appeal to top talent, start looking at these descriptions as an opportunity to make your healthcare facility stand out. On top of detailing the experience, skills, and education a candidate must possess, explain some of the perks they’ll access when working for your medical center, such as:

  • Insurance benefits
  • Flexible scheduling
  • Paid time off
  • Retirement planning

Find the Right Place to Post Jobs

Pay careful attention to the job boards you use, because the places you post your job openings matter just as much as the effort you put into writing the descriptions for them. Along with the popular job search engines that any company can access, consider posting on websites exclusive to the healthcare industry. This will guarantee that your listings appear in front of even more clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals.

Nurture Your Company Culture

If your facility struggles with employee attrition, you’ll have a hard time not only finding top talent but also retaining it. To make your medical center stand out to well-qualified applicants, establish and nurture a company culture that they’d want to be a part of. You can start by surveying your current staff, getting an idea of where your facility excels and where it could improve, and implementing actionable changes as soon as possible.

Partner With a Healthcare Recruiter

Finding top healthcare talent is a multi-layer process. Without the time and resources available to put in extra effort every step of the way, your healthcare facility will have a much harder time attracting the best candidates. That’s why more and more medical centers are partnering with healthcare recruiters that know where to find the perfect fit — every time.

At HealthCare Support, we specialize in placing healthcare professionals in both clinical and non-clinical roles across all 50 states. From administrative openings to executive-level positions, our healthcare recruiters quickly and effectively find, screen, and recommend top talent. And once we find the perfect match to fill your position, we continue to monitor their progress and offer continual support. To learn more about our search process, contact HealthCare Support today at 407-478-0332.

Telemedicine: The New Face of Healthcare

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For a long time, the normal way to access healthcare required scheduling time off, commuting to a healthcare facility, and sitting in a waiting room. Now, thanks to telemedicine, patients can not only speak with healthcare professionals, but also access care, ask questions, and receive advice remotely. Telemedicine serves more purpose to more patients than ever, but just like traditional in-office healthcare, it, too, comes with unique advantages, opportunities, and challenges.

Quality Healthcare, Anywhere

While telehealth had been steadily rising over the past few years, the COVID-19 health crisis drove record numbers of patients to start leveraging remote healthcare services in 2020. Even after the threat of COVID-19 subsides, it’s predicted that a lot of patents will continue to consult physicians via phone or video chat because of benefits including:

  1. Quality care — An increasing number of patients using telehealth services are satisfied and continue to use such services as a mode of care.
  2. Lower costs — Remote visits with a physician can alleviate the expenses of commuting and missing work, and they can even help lower the number of costly ER visits.
  3. Greater access — Patients without personal modes of transportation or accessibility issues don’t have to travel to receive telehealth services.

Out-of-Office Healthcare Issues

Telehealth is a more convenient and cost-effective alternative for many, but it isn’t free of flaws. For example, not all healthcare insurance plans even cover telemedicine services, which can make it difficult for some patients to visit a physician remotely. In addition, without a physical examination, physicians may easily overlook troublesome symptoms that might be easy to identify in person.

Remote Job Opportunities

The benefits of telehealth are seemingly endless for patients. However, this remote mode of care also presents new opportunities for workers in the healthcare field. Many physicians and other clinical practitioners now offer telemedicine service in tandem with standard, in-office care options. And as telehealth becomes more prominent in existing clinical positions, it also establishes demand for brand-new ones. For example, a surge in telehealth-exclusive medical facilities has led to the creation of fully remote physician and nurse practitioner positions.

Start Your Career in Telemedicine

Whether you’re looking to branch out into new roles in telehealth or are trying to start your career in telemedicine, you’ll have access to interview prep and industry connections when you partner with the healthcare recruiters at HealthCare Support. Join our Talent Network and our team of recruiters will find openings to match your interests, desired location, experience, and education. To get started, contact us today at 407-478-0332.

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.

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

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.

6 Tips for Being a Leader in a Healthcare Workplace

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Healthcare recruiters are trained to place even the most timid applicants in the roles that bring out their true potential as leaders. However, there are some candidates that need extra guidance to instill the right amount of confidence, so we’ve narrowed down six of our top tips to transform any healthcare worker into a healthcare leader.

Trust Yourself

A strong leader doesn’t just apply their skills and clinical expertise; they also consider the moral implications of their decisions. This type of mentality is what prevents leaders from turning the other cheek when they see inappropriate behavior coming from other staff members, and it’s what drives them to go the extra mile for their patients and peers.

Keep Learning

Even the most prominent leaders don’t know everything. The strongest healthcare leaders are those who take time to continue their education to improve the quality of care and overall performance. So, if you want to continue being an effective source of information, you’ll need to stay updated on everything changing in your industry.

Actively Listen

Leaders must possess the ability to direct others, but they also need to have strong listening skills. Beyond hearing what patients and staff are communicating, leaders in the healthcare industry must actively listen to uncover true solutions and improve the systems around them.

Ask Questions

The people around you might follow the direction you give, but you’ll never know what they think unless you ask. Consider asking your team how they feel about your leadership and if they have any feedback to improve your leadership style. By conferring with your team, you might even uncover new strategies or systems that can improve the everyday functions in your workplace.

Stay Positive

No matter how exhausted, annoyed, or upset they are, leaders are still the model for the team around them. If you want to step up into leadership, lead by example and show your coworkers that high-quality care takes priority no matter how many hours you are into a shift. As a leader, you should always strive to guide your coworkers by being a positive figure throughout every minute of your shift.

Find the Right Position

In the healthcare world, some people work best in specific areas, and finding these specific areas is essential to maximizing your capability as a leader. It might take time, but focus on landing the role in which you function best. To easily uncover the right position for your background, skills, and goals, partner with a healthcare recruiter.

The best leaders can function at maximum capacity when they’re in the right position, but finding that position isn’t always easy. With thousands of positions open at a time, it can be incredibly hard to narrow down your search. Fortunately, the healthcare recruiters at HealthCare Support can find the right positions and completely prepare you for the interview and onboarding process. If you’re interested in joining our candidate pool to find your niche in leadership, call 407-478-0332 today.

5 Phrases You May Be Using Incorrectly

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It’s no secret that proper grammar should be used in the workplace. Good grammar not only makes you appear more professional, but it also ensures your ideas and messages are conveyed with clarity. Poor grammar can do just the opposite and lead others to make assumptions on your intelligence. A common way business professionals are dropping the grammar ball is with using incorrect idioms and phrases. Here are 5 that even prominent celebs are screwing up.

For all intensive purposes vs. For all intents and purposes

Originating from English law in the early 1500s the correct phrase, “for all intents and purposes” was used to say “officially” or “effectively.”

Shoe-in vs. Shoo-in

Most don’t have a clue they are using this wrong and imagine a shoe crossing the threshold of a door, opening a new opportunity. While the meaning is somewhat accurate the correct phrase is “shoo-in.” Just as you would shoo a bug out of your car window, to shoo means to move something with urgency.

I could care less vs. I couldn’t care less

If you really think this one through you can catch the double negative which has most people saying it wrong. The correct phrase, “I couldn’t care less” says there is no less caring you could possibly do, that is how little you care. Those who say “I could care less” are simply saying its of some importance to them and it is possible for them to care less about it.

Nip in the butt vs. Nip in the bud

A common phrase heard within management when a problem has occurred is, “nip in the bud,” however some have started using “nip in the butt.” While the latter is rather funny, the first is correct. “Nip in the bud” refers to a flower’s bud and cutting the issues straight at the source.

Down the pipe vs. Down the pike

Around here, we ask our clients if there’s any work coming “down the pike” as in turnpike and meaning in the future. This phrase is commonly mistaken for “down the pipe” which is understood given another commonly used phrase, “in the pipeline.”

Incorporating phrases or idioms into your day to day speech may make you feel more polished in the workplace, but you’ll want to make sure you are using them correctly so you’re not the butt of the joke.

Putting Together a Perfect Healthcare Resume

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You’ve been sending your resume to tens of hundreds of job openings but haven’t heard back. You know you have enough professional experience, but aren’t sure why healthcare employers won’t reach out for an interview.

Your situation isn’t rare, but it is avoidable. Unfortunately, employers reject even the most qualified candidates because of simple resume mistakes, so here are some concrete tips that will guide you from first draft to final interview.

Writing Your Resume

Attention to detail is important in healthcare, and if you have any grammatical, spelling, or formatting errors on your resume, it reflects poorly on your potential performance. Here’s a to-do list that will strengthen your resume for every application.

  • Select an easy-to-read font like Garamond, Arial, Helvetica, or Calibri
  • Make sure all previous job descriptions are listed in past tense and current positions are in the present tense
  • Include your contact information (full name, phone number, email address, and current city)
  • List accomplishments that showcase your skills and what the employer has to benefit from.
  • Include additional details that can help the hiring manager understand you experience, skills and capacities, and the educational and work experiences that have led to you to where you are today.
  • Don’t forget to detail all active certifications and awards.

Additionally, your resume should always take up an entire page, but a recruiters and hiring manager’s time is valuable and 3+ page resumes are far too big.

Proofreading Your Resume

Checking for errors might seem like the simplest part of putting together a resume, but this step can trip up a lot of candidates. Some proofreading tips for your healthcare resume include:

  • Printing your resume to get a better view
  • Marking up your errors with a red pen
  • Proofreading your resume hours or days after you’ve finished writing it
  • Reading the details of your resume aloud
  • Asking friends, family, or others to read your resume

You can never spend enough time proofreading your resume. In fact, every time you make any changes, updates, or revisions for a different application, you should start the proofreading process over again.

Preparing for the Interview

When preparing for an interview, print multiple copies of your resume. There may be more than one person interviewing you, and it’s always good to have extra copies in case of an emergency. Similarly, find a professional folder to store your resumes or any other important interview documents in. This type of detail adds another layer of professionalism to your non-verbal presentation.

Work with a Healthcare Recruiter

If you want to get your resume in tip-top shape for each position you apply to, have it professionally critiqued by a healthcare recruiter. At HealthCare Support, we can help you prepare your resume and provide mock-interviews to refine the details. For more information or to learn more about how to perfect your resume, contact us today at 407-478-0332.