The warm weather season is finally here! Have you obtained temporary staffing for holiday coverage?
Aside from a few rainy days and the occasional cold spell, it’s been bright and sunny enough for employees to start planning their summer vacations. If you’re a Healthcare manager, this means it’s time to start considering how you will cover their shifts.
Healthcare is a field where demand remains steady all year round, especially when it comes to Medical Imaging. Even during the height of summer, the Medical Imaging techs on your team stay busy with diagnostic imaging procedures like X-rays, MRI scans, and CT scans, to name a few. When they take their much-deserved time off, the reduction in staffing can put pressure on everyone else, leading to costly overtime and increased waitlists for exams.
The solution may be to hire a Medical Imaging tech to assist with patient load when your staff goes on vacation. At ProMed HR Solutions, we assist hospitals, clinics, and related facilities with their healthcare holiday staffing needs. This blog shares some tips for ensuring that your facility maintains the personnel needed to stay on schedule this summer.
Identify Your Temporary Staffing for Holiday Coverage Requirements
It’s important to plan backup coverage for all of your working shifts. Although unexpected surges in demand can always happen, last summer’s schedule can give you a good idea of how many hands you’ll need on board this year. Review staffing levels for June, July, and August 2021, and then see how much time has been booked off. Do you need someone for a month? Two months? Maybe the entire summer to cover different staff vacations?
Determine how many Medical Imaging techs will be taking time off for vacation and for how long. If July is a popular choice, you may need more than one temporary replacement that month to keep service flow from being interrupted. Once you have a good idea of what your temporary staffing for holiday coverage needs are going to be, you can start looking for the right professionals.
Find the Right Healthcare Holiday Staffing Agency
When you want to hire a Medical Imaging tech on a contract basis (also known as a locum tenens arrangement), your next step should be to look for a staffing agency that serves the healthcare industry exclusively. The best locum tenens staffing agencies will adhere to the industry-wide standards for ethics and professionalism.
At ProMed HR Solutions, we have pre-vetted professionals who can provide temporary staffing for holiday coverage. They can care for your patients and support your team during staff holidays and periods of increased demand. In addition to covering scheduled vacations, our Medical Imaging techs can support your facility this summer by:
- Substituting for any employees who need to take time off due to illness. Unlike new hires, who may need some extra training and orientation, travel Medical Imaging techs are experienced in entering new workplaces, mastering the systems and processes quickly, and getting right to work on helping the department and patients.
- Helping with any backlog you may have accumulated when COVID-19 restrictions were in place. Some patients are still facing an extended wait for certain services, and a travel Medical Imaging tech can help you manage it without risking burnout among your staff.
- Making a better work-life balance available to your staff during times of increased patient load. Working extended hours in healthcare can be taxing, and having someone on hand to get the additional work done means that your employees get the balanced schedule they need and value. In this respect, temporary staffing for holiday coverage can increase morale/
- Increasing your service offering. If you don’t have a Sonographer on staff but demand is high, a travel Sonographer can serve your patients until you engage someone full-time. This also increases facility revenue: when you have a Medical Imaging tech with a niche skillset, area residents will come to your facility instead of traveling to get the services they need.
- Keeping your standards high. When you’re short-staffed, your remaining team members may rush to get their work done on time. Not only can a travel Medical Imaging tech help you stay on track and minimize patient wait times, but they help ensure that your standard of care stays at its usual high level.
- Keeping your costs lower. Hiring a locum Medical Imaging technologist is a much more cost-effective option than hiring a permanent employee, as you might expect. They do not require a fixed salary or some of the training and benefits that come with hiring a permanent employee – this flexibility is especially crucial if you are hiring purely to cover vacations or provide support during a busy period.
- Providing a competitive advantage. If you have had trouble obtaining Medical Imaging technologists with a particular skill set, a locum tenens can help. Bringing on a temporary professional to fill a skills gap now can assist your facility in getting ahead of the competition.
The schools are going to be out soon, the weather is warming up, and medical staff everywhere are contemplating summer vacations. This can be one of the trickiest times of the year for hospitals and clinics to get temporary staffing for holiday coverage, but travel Medical Imaging techs can help you avoid the difficulties involved in both planned and unplanned absences. They also adapt quickly to new environments, allowing your facility to keep running at maximum efficiency this summer.
We Have Medical Imaging Techs Available! Talk to Us About Your Temporary Staffing for Holiday Coverage Needs.
If your Medical Imaging technologists are booking their summer vacations, you can ensure service continuity by arranging for temporary staffing for holiday coverage now.
ProMed HR Solutions assists hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities in filling their short or long-term staffing gaps. Our skilled team includes Medical Imaging techs who can assist you in all modalities.
We will work with you to make sure your facility is always staffed during busy seasons, holidays, or while you search for the right permanent hire. When you need to hire a Medical Imaging tech, call 1-833-776-6336 to learn about our solutions.
