This is Part 2 of our five-part series on scaling healthcare practices with tips from 13 medical experts. You can check out the first installment, Scale Without Compromise, for background on the expected growth of the healthcare industry in the next decade and how healthcare professionals are preparing.
In the last article, we discussed the projected growth of the medical industry compared to all occupations in the U.S. and the impact on job shortages expected by 2033. As the industry works to combat burnout in a post-pandemic era, solving the problem of staffing shortages at practices is a major focus.
As the healthcare industry rebounds from the pandemic and adjusts to a new economic climate, practitioners are taking different approaches to ensure their practices are avoiding the staffing shortages that have impacted so many others.
There was one thing our experts agreed on: Staffing shortages don’t have to be the norm. There are many ways to mitigate them or rebound if you find your practice struggling to find the right talent.
Hiring part-time practitioners
Solutions to staffing shortages can be approached in many ways, one of which is hiring part-time physicians and practitioners. According to Medscape, the popularity of part-time healthcare workers is increasing.
“To fill the gaps created by staffing shortages, our part-time nurse practitioners handle preliminary assessments and routine follow-ups. This frees me up to concentrate on more complex surgeries and procedures,” explained Dr. Matthew Casavant, founding physician of South Lake OB/GYN in Clermont, Florida.
“Bringing on part-time practitioners enabled me to optimize surgical schedules effectively, making the best use of everyone’s expertise.”
Dr. Matthew Casavant, founding physician of South Lake OB/GYN
Dr. Casevant’s work focuses on advanced minimally invasive surgery, and he is the first certified robotic surgeon at South Lake Hospital. “Bringing on part-time practitioners enabled me to optimize surgical schedules effectively, making the best use of everyone’s expertise,” he told us.
Getting creative with recruitment
An abundance of open roles, combined with the slow financial recovery from the pandemic, has led many healthcare leaders to get creative in securing top talent.
“We collaborate with local nursing and medical schools to create a pipeline of new graduates,” said Phoenix-based Dr. Sean Ormond, the owner of Atlas Pain Specialists and a dual board-certified anesthesiologist and interventional pain management physician.
“Developing apprenticeship programs allows for on-the-job training and education for future hires.”
Dr. Sean Ormond, pain management physician and owner of Atlas Pain Specialists
“Developing apprenticeship programs allows for on-the-job training and education for future hires,” he explained.
Many of the physicians and medical leaders we spoke to recognized that staffing agencies can be helpful but are rather costly for small practices.
Dr. Leslie Sanders, Program Director for the AToN Center, a drug and alcohol rehab center, held similar beliefs. While she will use staffing agencies in urgent situations, she strives for an always-on approach to recruiting.
“I consider staffing agencies to be a short-term fix and leave it as a last resort due to cost,” said Dr. Sanders. “At the AToN Center, we have a candidate referral system and focus on building our team’s skill sets. By maintaining an internal pool of candidates, we make recruitment an all-around activity instead of a need-to-hire protocol during peak periods.”
Employee engagement and enablement
With nearly two-thirds of doctors experiencing at least one symptom of burnout, keeping employees satisfied at work is of the utmost importance.
“After onboarding staff, we give new employees an orientation that clearly defines our organization’s procedures, protocols, and culture. Follow-through is key here. Leaving a new hire to their own after orientation leads to poor performance and satisfaction later,” explained Dr. Sanders.
“After onboarding staff, we give new employees an orientation that clearly defines our organization’s procedures, protocols, and culture. Follow-through is key here. Leaving a new hire to their own after orientation leads to poor performance and satisfaction later.”
Dr. Leslie Sanders, Program Director for the AToN Center
“New hires should have months of follow-up training to establish best practices. One approach we rely heavily on is mentoring systems where new hires are paired with experienced in-house professionals to provide the support and guidance the new hires need,” she said.
What tools and tech are medical professionals using for virtual care?
Our panel of experts in the mental health and nursing space discuss how they are providing better virtual care and growing their practices as a result.
Use technology to replace administrative tasks
A strong team is your best chance at growing and best serving your patients. Our experts agreed that taking administrative burdens off their plates greatly reduces staff burnout and overall staffing shortages.
Dr. Thomas Jeneby, CEO and Cosmetic Surgeon at the Plastic and Cosmetic Center of South Texas, has streamlined administrative tasks at his practice by implementing advanced patient management software.
“By automating scheduling, patient communications, and record-keeping, we ensured that our reduced staff could work more efficiently without compromising service quality.”
Dr. Thomas Jeneby, CEO and Cosmetic Surgeon at the Plastic and Cosmetic Center of South Texas
“It has reduced the clerical burden on our staff, allowing them to focus more on direct patient care. By automating scheduling, patient communications, and record-keeping, we ensured that our reduced staff could work more efficiently without compromising service quality,” he said.
Bryan Walker, MSN, APRN, PMHNP – BC, found ways to reduce the repetitive typing that comes with administrative note-taking by using TextExpander.
“TextExpander allows me to create detailed instructions that do not have to be recreated for each patient. Whether it is prescribing instructions or safety plans, I can easily [use TextExpander] to add [these details] to the body of a note and save time.”
Bryan Walker, MSN, APRN, PMHNP – BC, private board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner
The board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner told us, “TextExpander allows me to create detailed instructions that do not have to be recreated for each patient. Whether it is prescribing instructions or safety plans, I can easily [use TextExpander] to add [these details] to the body of a note and save time.”
Summary: How to avoid staffing shortages at your practice
- Hire part-time nurse practitioners to handle preliminary assessments and routine follow-ups
- Collaborate with local nursing and medical schools to create apprenticeship programs through a pipeline of new graduates
- Build a candidate referral system and an internal talent pool
- Develop a mentorship program for new hires during onboarding
- Implementing patient management software that automates administrative tasks like scheduling and record-keeping
- Reduce repetitive typing with text expansion tools or macros
Up next?
Our next installment will highlight the need to manage surge capacity effectively through proven strategies and technology partners. It will be linked here when it becomes available.
If you want more insights from medical leaders at the forefront of technology, check out the recordings from our Telehealth Summit: Optimizing Virtual Care in 2024.
What will you do with an extra 3 days per year?
The average healthcare worker saves 79 hours per year with TextExpander. That’s over 3 extra days per year not spent on typing and administrative tasks.
