ASSIGNMENT LOCATIONSOne of the benefits to becoming a healthcare traveler is having the flexibility to experience new locations and practice settings on a regular basis. The majority of the healthcare providers responding to our survey stated that (when choosing a travel assignment location preference) it’s not important to be in a metropolitan area. In fact, over 85% of providers with travel experience and 68% of providers with no travel experience confirmed they do not prefer to be a metro location.
This feedback is favorable for smaller market communities that have been hardest hit by the healthcare provider shortage.
THE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE
When asked what aspects of traveling had the greatest impact on the overall travel experience, 52% of both experienced travelers and non-experienced travelers ranked a smooth transition to a new assignment atop their list. In addition, facilities that are traveler friendly ranked second-highest in importance among experienced travelers. This data supports the significance of a traveler’s first few weeks with a facility. Creating a smooth transition into a new assignment is impacted by first impressions, full-time staff acceptance of a temporary worker, and worksite culture.
The largest discrepancies between experienced travelers and non-experienced travelers can be found in many of the services that experienced providers come to expect from supplemental staffing agencies. For instance, the importance of cleanliness of housing upon move in, availability of their recruiter, and accuracy of payroll.
Having a retirement savings plan garnered the lowest response of all. Possible reasons include lack of importance to a group that primarily tends to be younger in age or a shift in mindset around financial planning that allows for more flexibility in compensation during the current harsh economic times.
COMPENSATION
Finally, providers were asked to weigh compensation against the overall travel experience. The vast majority of respondents stated that compensation is of equal importance with the overall experience.
Only 13.5% of experienced travelers and 4% of non-experienced travelers ranked compensation as more important than the overall travel experience, challenging the common perception that travelers are primarily motivated by money.
So is making a profit the most important issue to healthcare facilities, or can this be a challenged perception as well?
IMPORTANCE OF PATIENT CARE
Patient care actually topped the list of concerns when facilities are understaffed, with over 75% of those who took the survey. Surprisingly, budget-financial performance was a distant third on the list of concerns, with less than 6.1% of respondents ranking this as a top concern when understaffed.
Executive and department leadership both answered almost identically to the question and listed patient care atop their list of concerns, even over their own staff morale. This viewpoint provides a basis for the use of supplemental staffing agencies when permanent personnel are unable to provide coverage.
WORKING WITH AGENCIES
When healthcare facilities were asked what has the greatest impact on the overall experience in working with supplemental staffing - quality of candidates, availability of the candidates and price were the top three answers.
Experience of the provider ranked a distant fourth in the survey. This supports the notion that facilities are finding value in the utilization of less experienced healthcare professionals. Respondents seem willing to trade years of experience for younger, more passionate healthcare providers with the most recent training.
COST VS. QUALITY OF PROVIDER
Finally, when healthcare leadership were asked about the importance of cost versus quality of providers, all responded that cost is either of equal importance as the quality of provider, or cost is not as important as the overall quality of the provider.
None of the respondents said that cost is more important than the overall quality of the provider.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Meredith Bryan is a senior recruiter and Stefanie Nolen is a marketer with Delta Flex Travelers, both are members of The Delta Companies Thought Leadership Council. Delta Flex Travelers (www.flextravelers.com) employs temporary healthcare professionals for The Delta Companies (www.TDCpeople.com). The Delta Companies is a recognized leader in healthcare staffing since 1997, offering permanent and temporary staffing solutions nationwide for physicians and healthcare professionals through five companies: Delta Physician Placement, Delta Healthcare Placement, Delta Locum Tenens, Delta Flex Travelers and Liquid Medical Recruiting.