
Cold and flu season is often a hectic time for many hospitals and healthcare facilities, and those who haven’t planned accordingly are more likely to experience staffing shortages in care. These are the kind of deficits that not only inconvenience patients but can also inflict damage on the reputation, revenue, and long-term viability of hospitals and care facilities.
“The National Institutes of Health estimates colds and flu absences from work and school cost the economy more than $30 billion annually,” says Donna Marbury for Medical Economics. She then goes on to say “The pressure on medical practices to provide quick, efficient, and effective treatment is stronger than ever.”
Cold and flu season not only brings care facilities a massive influx of patients to deal with, but it also frequently causes staff shortages when the workers in your facility get sick.
Locums Workers Can Help Staffing Shortages During Cold & Flu Season
Locum tenens, a phrase when translated from Latin, means “to hold a place.” Locum tenens is used for staffing temporary or fill-in workers and was created initially for just this sort of situation. Locum tenens workers help ensure that care remains continuous during periods when regular staff are temporarily unavailable (or find themselves overwhelmed). With the influx of patients coming into care facilities during cold and flu season, the need for relief for staff is at an all-time high, and this is where locum tenens workers come into play.
Locum staffing has evolved dramatically over the past few decades, to the point where locum tenens workers aren’t strictly physicians but have grown. Now it includes dentists, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse anesthetists, and other advanced practitioners (i.e., nurse practitioners and physician assistants) all of these workers offer a tremendous amount of help when it comes to alleviating care shortages during busy times. Even though most locums workers can be available with little notice, the best approach to locums staffing is to have a plan in place ahead of time. Creating a partnership with a staffing company such as MedCare Staffing can help to ensure that the types of locum workers your facility will need are available when and where you need them the most.
“Consider tapping a temp agency early in the cold & flu season to identify candidates who can fill in early mornings, evenings, and weekends,” Marbury writes.
Including a few locum workers in your long-term staffing strategy has many other advantages. Although some experts have advised that locum doctors and practitioners are to be used as a last-ditch solution to a staffing shortage, there are many benefits to bringing these workers to your team before they are needed to help prevent burnout.
We can help with staffing issues! Contact MedCare Staffing today to discuss your locum needs with a recruitment specialist. You can also submit a request directly on our website!
Who are we? MedCare Staffing is a small, veteran-owned, family-oriented team. We start every day with gratitude because we LOVE what we do! We are a team on a mission to make a positive difference in the lives of our clients and providers.
What we do: We place Physicians & Advanced Practitioners in Locum Tenens, Contract Positions and Permanent Jobs
To contact MedCare Staffing call 888.474.3380 or visit or website by clicking here!