Slowdown's Side Effect: More Nurses

Contrary to the rest of the U.S. job market, an economic downturn actually prompts new recruits and seasoned veterans to enter the field of nursing.  More nurses entering the workforce full-time means a temporary decrease in the nurse shortage and most likely a minor decrease in the demand for temporary nurses.

But industry experts don't expect this trend to last for long.  As what goes up must surely come down, the familiar trend will reverse once the economy speeds up again.  Full-time nurses will cut back on their hours and there will be an increased demand for temporary nurses to fill the vacant hospital positions.

We encourage you to read the Wall Street Journal article, Slowdown's Side Effect: More Nurses, to learn more about the counter-cyclical nursing profession.

Posted on 5/14/2008

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National Nurses Week 2008

May 6-12 is National Nurses Week, and the theme for 2008 is Nurses: Making a Difference Every Day. 

The American Nurses Association put together a media kit with tips and ideas to help temporary nurses celebrate the week, such as:

Hold a special celebration or reception to recognize a nurse or several nurses in your community. These nurses could be honored for heroic acts, years of service to the community, exemplary courage, or their commitment to the nursing profession over the years.

Promote a positive, realistic image of registered nurses by sponsoring health fairs, conducting preventive screenings in underserved areas, organizing a walk-a-thon, etc.

Place an article in your state or local newspaper(s) about National Nurses Week and the value of nurses.

Invite a politician -- local, state or federal -- to accompany a nurse or several nurses at their place of employment for a day or part of a day. Health care remains an issue of tremendous importance to voters. Politicians should be visible and accountable for their positions on health care. This is a win-win situation and it offers good media coverage potential.

Ask every nurse in America to wear an "RN Pin" and/or nurse's uniform during National Nurses Week. The official "RN Pin" is available by calling 1-800-445-0445 (credit card orders only).

 

Click here for more ideas on how to celebrate National Nurses Week 2008.

Q: How are you celebrating this important week in week with your employees?

Posted on 5/6/2008

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The Nurse Company Announces Launch of MyNurseBook

Is anyone familiar with The Nurse Company? 

It's the first company in the history of the nursing profession dedicated solely  global nurse shortage.  In a recent press release, The Nurse Company described themselves as "the word's leading nurse shortage management, market research, and advisory company with strategic relationships in 14 countries and territories."

The Nurse Company offers nurses the use of social media tools to develop collaborative communities and tools to nurses.  Some of their featured resources include:

MyNurseBook, connects nurses around the world interested in networking and sharing their opinions

MyNurseBoard, matching nurses with employers and employer with nurses

MyTrustRex, connecting health professionals and patients

MyNurseStore, online shopping for nurses

MyNurseSchool, online education for nurses (Coming Soon!)

Check it out and let us know what you think about the organization.  We welcome your comments.

Posted on 5/6/2008

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Southern Florida Hospitals Offers Big Incentives to Nurses

The nurse shortage is affecting everyone, and industry experts say that it will only get worse--Unless you are a nurse.  An article from MiamiHerald.com titled: Where are the nurses? describes how hospitals in southern Florida are offering BIG incentives in order to recruit and retain nurses during this shortage:

Baptist Health South Florida has been agressively recruiting nurses from the Phillipines, sponsors 10 students by partnering with the International University of Nursing in St. Kitts, and has paid out $11 million in nursing scholarships since 2002.  They also offer housing at below market prices to lure out-of-state nurses to come work at their facilities.

Mercy Hospital started offering nurses who are first-time homebuyers help with their downpayments, providing employees between $5000-10,000 in assistance.  In addition, Mercy subsidizes a whopping 80 percent of a Metro or Tri-Rail pass for its employees.

Memorial Hospital in the South Broward Hospital District offers a concierge services.  Employees can use the services to set up car washes, oil changes and repairs, dry cleaning, gift wrap, travel reservations, purchase giftcards or send someone to their house to wait for a repair man.  Memorial Hospital's employees pay for the services, but Memorial sets up a system for facilitating the ease of the service.

Tenet's West Boca Medical Center offers sign-on bonuses which start at $2,000 and retention bonuses from $3,000 to $10,000 as well as bonus incentive programs.

Click here to read more about what southern Florida hospitals are offering their nurses.

Q: Does your nurse staffing agency offer any incentives for the nurse to stay with you rather than to work at the facility directly?

 

Posted on 4/16/2008

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Locum Tenens Helps Avoid Career Burnout

VISTA Staffing Solutions came out with a survey in January 2008 which gathered physicians' opinions about the option of locum tenens.  Here are some of the surveys results:

• 70% of the respondents "agreed" or "strongly agreed" with the following statement, "Locum tenens can extend careers in medicine."
  
• 53% "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that locum tenens can help doctors avoid burnout by giving them a feasible way to work part-time, make a transition or secure locum tenens coverage for their own practices.
  
• 82% of the respondents said that locum tenens is an attractive option for doctors who are considering semi-retirement.
  
• 58% of the surveyed doctors indicated that locum tenens would be a good option for physicians seeking to make a professional transition.
  
• 47% said working as a locum tenens after completing his/her residency training was also an attractive option.
  
• Physicians aged 30-39 shared a strong preference to work partial or single days schedules, while doctors aged 40-49 preferred one-to-four week assignments, and physicians aged 50-59 agreed with the 40-49 age range in addition to an increasing interest in one-to-three month assignments.

Click here to read the press release: Locum Tenens Practice Option May Extend Careers in Medicine, Help Physicians Avoid Burnout.

Posted on 4/9/2008

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Important for Nurses to Review The Nurse Practice Act

Here's an interesting post we found on indonesiannursing.com about The Nurse Practice Act, commonly referred to as "The Act."

In it the author, Kevin Erickon, defines The Act as "a set of laws that govern specific aspects of the nursing profession..[it] claims to protect the public from an unsafe nurse by ensuring minimum levels of performance."  It's important for all nurses to stay up-to-date with the The Nurse Practice Act in their respective states so that they can be knowledgeable of the legal obligations associated with The Act.  Mr. Erickson goes on to say that most public libraries carry a copy of the stat statute book, but it's important to make sure that you have the most updated version and/or any new amendments.

Where The Nurse Practice Act gets a little tricky is when it comes to travel nurses.  Because a nurse is bound by the Act of the state in which she is licensed as well as the state in which he/she is employed.  So it is very possible for a travel nurse to be disciplined in multiple states if an incident were to occur.

Click here to read the entire post: The Nurse Practice Act - A Closer Look

Posted on 4/8/2008

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Are Baby Boomer Nurses Burning Out?

AMN Healthcare published the results of their 2008 Survey of Nurses 45 to 60 Years Old Based on 2007 Data, and the research points to baby boomers nurses could be facing career burnout.  Fifty-five percent of nurses actively involved in patient care are 45 years old or older, and 36 percent on 50 and older.

Of the 7,500 surveys mailed, 1,831 were returned with responses.  We have included some of the responses below:

52.6% are currently working in a permament hospital staff position.
51.1% have over 26 years of nursing experience.
45.8 % of the nurses surveyed said they are less satisfied with their job now then they were five years ago.
82.5% of the nurses surveyed identify the nurse shortage as the main source of the professional frustration.
41.5% of those surveyed said that nursing is less dynamic, rewarding, and robust than when he/she began their nursing career

Q: With the general aging baby boomer population looming, it's easy to see how crucial temporary nurse staffing agencies will become in solving this nurse shortage problem.  How would you solve it?

 

 

 

Posted on 3/17/2008

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VA Offers New Travel Nurse Program

It seems like everyone has something to say about the increasing nurse shortage, but there aren't many who have come up with a solution to the ever-present problem.  According to a press release issued on March 11, the Department of Veteran Affairs has a plan--Travel Nurse Corps.

Headquartered at the Phoenix VA Health Care System, "participating nurses may be temporarily assigned to distant medical centers and clinics to help nursing staffs that have vacancies, to reduce wait times or the reliance upon contractors, or to maintain high-skill services and procedures."

Click here to read the entire press release: VA's New 'Travel Nurse Program' Hits the Road

Q: What do you think about this new venture?  Should Travel Nurse Corps be viewed as competition to private travel nurse staffing agencies?

 

 

Posted on 3/13/2008

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Locum tenens continues double-digit growth in third quarter

The cat is out of the bag, as it seems that more staffing professionals are getting interested in locum tenens staffing.  In a briefing issued by Robin Hessinger of Staffing Industry Analysts reports "In the third quarter, two public healthcare staffing firms' locum tenens businesses saw growth of 15.5% and 21.2%, respectively...Locum tenens has been the best performing sub-segment of healthcare staffing, with unbroken double-digit growth from 2003 through 2006.  This compares with overall growth in healthcare staffing in the range of -8.5% to 7%." 

Q: It used to be that temp nurse staffing was the next big thing, then travel nuse staffing, followed by allied health.  What do you think lies ahead for locum tenens staffing?

Posted on 1/25/2008

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Major VMS Provider Declares Bankruptcy

This was an interesting article that appeared in the American Staffing Association's Staffing Week e-Newsletter concerning a prominent VMS filing for bankruptcy:

Ensemble Chimes Group (Chimes), a major provider of vendor management services, has ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy. This leaves staffing firms in doubt as to their ability to collect payment for services provided under their VMS agreements.

VMS firms contract with staffing clients to manage the clients' use of staffing services. VMS firms typically use proprietary software systems to manage timekeeping, payroll, and billing functions of participating staffing firms. Clients pay the VMS firm for the staffing services provided, and the VMS firm in turn pays the staffing firms. Some VMS relationships pose higher risks for staffing firms than others. If VMS firm funds are commingled with client monies, as apparently was the case with Chimes, staffing firms will likely be treated as general creditors—and in some cases, payments made to staffing firms prior to the bankruptcy may have to be returned. Some VMS agreements offer greater protection to staffing firms by placing client funds in secured escrow accounts.

Chimes filed for bankruptcy Jan. 9 under Chapter 7 of the federal bankruptcy law, which means the company is seeking to liquidate its assets rather than reorganize. Chimes's parent company Axium International Inc., a major supplier of payroll services to the entertainment industry, filed a similar petition Jan. 8.

Chimes's bankruptcy means its staffing firms must stand in line with other creditors for any outstanding amounts owed under their VMS agreements. Collection may be problematic, because the bankruptcy petition indicates that Chimes has no assets available to pay unsecured creditors.

Another issue is whether clients can now deal with their staffing firms directly to avoid disruption of the clients' operations and to ensure that temporary employees can continue to work and be paid. This may depend on the terms of the clients' VMS agreements. Because Chimes has ceased operations and therefore effectively breached its agreement, the bankruptcy trustee may determine that clients are free to deal directly with their staffing firms. Affected staffing firms are urged to consult with their lawyers regarding their rights and obligations.

ASA has retained counsel to provide guidance on the legal issues involved and the steps the staffing industry can take to ensure that the bankruptcy court understands the unique issues relating to VMS agreements and their impact on staffing clients and temporary employees.

Ed Lenz

NOTE from PRN Funding: As VMS's continue to grow in popularity in the healthcare realm, it's important to keep this in mind.  You could be staffing in hospitals and nursing homes with impeccable credit, but if those facilities are using a VMS, it's the VMS who will pay you.  So if you are considering doing business with a facility who uses a vendor management system, be sure to look into the creditworthiness of the VMS. 

We invite you to read a fellow blogger's post on the subject here: For Whom the Chimes Toll.  In his post, Barry Asin mentions writes, "In the short term, there are over 40 large Chimes client organizations that are now in crisis mode as they attempt to sort out who is working on their site, how to get them paid this week and how to make sure they come back next week.  Chimes had an estimated $1.6 billion in staffing spend rolling through its system each year, and that suggests somewhere north of 20,000 temps and contractors each week wondering if their next paycheck will be good."

Posted on 1/14/2008

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TechGroup, Inc Announces its Joint Commission Certification

TechGroup Inc., a nationwide healthcare staffing company based in Spokane, WA recently announced that it is certified by the Joint Commission for the Health Care Staffing Services program.

Q: What do you think about becoming certified?  Do you think it would help your nurse staffing business beat out other medical staffing agencies who were not yet certified? 

Posted on 12/14/2007

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Registered nurses will see most jobs added

Posted on 12/5/2007

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AMN Healthcare offers free white papers

As an industry healthcare staffing industry leader, AMN Healthcare is now offering white papers on their web site designed to help other medical staffing companies address their healthcare staffing challenges more effectively and keep them abreast of key industry topics.  

All you have to do is fill out a form and download the white paper for free.  Currently, there are three white papers available on their web site:

Travelers on the Magnet Journey:
The Contribution of Travel Nurses in Preparing for and Maintaining ANCC Magnet™ Designation
The Magnet Recognition Program takes its name from the great success of healthcare organizations in attracting and retaining an exceptional nursing staff. Learn about the importance of the Magnet program and the role travel nurses can play in Magnet designation and promoting positive patient outcomes. 

Maximize Return on Travel Nursing Investment
Hiring the right nurses to accommodate fluctuating demand is challenging; staff surpluses mean unnecessary costs, while shortages can cause lost revenue opportunities and affect patient care. Learn how the Economic Staffing Forecaster can help you determine the most cost-effective mix of temporary and full-time nurses.

How to Hire Travel Nurses
Whether you need to cover a vacation, staff new beds or simply fill a vacant position, looking for the right nurse to fit your needs quickly and effectively can be a daunting task. Screening, interviewing and all the employment details take time and energy, so partnering with a travel nursing company you trust can make this process easier and ensure you find the right nurse.

Posted on 12/3/2007

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PRN Blog - The association of registered nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes

Many experts agree that the nurse-patient ratio is extremely important when it comes to improved patient outcomes.  There's a new review in December's edition of the journal Medical Care in which researchers evaluated 27 studies of patient outcomes in relation to the registered nurse-to-patient ratio. 

According to the review's findings, if hospitals added one more full-time registered nurse on staff to care for patients, the number of hospital-related deaths in the U.S. could decrease significantly.  The report goes on to say:

"When asked how hospital administrators can be better made aware of these possible rates of improved patient outcomes, lead review author Robert Kane, M.D., said, "The issue is not making them aware of the possibility, it's convincing them that it is in their best interests to act on it. From a business perspective, the savings in reduced lengths of stay would not offset the costs of the added staffing. The case would have to be made in terms of image and liability."

Click here to read the article that was posted on www.news-medical.net.

Posted on 11/29/2007

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Temp Nurse Staffing: Always Pay Payroll Taxes

PRN Funding's president, Phil Cohen, has given unsolicited advice and presentations on the importance of nurse staffing companies paying their payroll taxes.  Even going so far as to point out that payroll and taxes are a nurse staffing business owners two biggest obligations, and they are obligations that will NEVER go away. 

Another fellow factoring blogger warns about the complications of not paying payroll taxes in the post: Payroll Taxes Must be Paid.  The blogger states specifically: "Unpaid payroll taxes are a liability that goes beyond the corporation and sticks directly to the business owner personally."

The bottom line, don't mess around with not paying your payroll taxes because when the IRS finds out, and they will find out eventually, your temporary nurse staffing business and you, personally, will pay.

Posted on 11/8/2007

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Noted presentation at 2007 Healthcare Staffing Summit

Although there a lot of intesting presentations at this year's Healthcare Staffing Summit, one in particular stood out to PRN Funding's president, Philip Cohen.  He asked that we share some details of Verne C. Harnish's presentation for our blog readers.

Harnish is the CEO of Gazelles Inc., which is an outsourced corporate university for midsized firms.  He's also the founder of the Young Entrepreneurs' Organization and the Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs among many other accolades.  Click here to read more about Verne C. Harnish's bio.

His presentation revolved around four simple questions that any business owner should be asking their clients on a weekly basis:

1. How are you doing?
2. What's going on in your industry/neighborhood?
3. What do you hear about our competitors?
4. How are we doing?

The answers to these questions will help you get to you know clients more on a personal level so that you can adapt and serve their needs in a more professional manner.  Philip Cohen thought this was a great concept to share with our business owner blog readers.

Posted on 10/31/2007

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Five Trends to Watch in the Medical Staffing Industry

At this year's Healthcare Staffing Summit, Barry Asin (EVP & Chief Analyst of Staffing Industry Analysts Inc.) shared five trends to watch in the healthcare staffing marketplace for the upcoming year.  We've decided to share his points with our readers:

1. There's a limited supply of practitioners, but there's a modest increase in the number of nurses.  New grads, male nurses, foreign-born nurses and older workers who are interested in a career change.
2. There's ongoing growth and demand.  Since 1992, there has been a 50 percent increase in healthcare employment. 
3. There's a healthy competitive environment.  In 2006, 21 medical staffing agencies were over the $50 million mark, and 13 were over the $100 million mark, and the top ten firms owned 40 percent of the market.  There is a lot of growth in specialty industries such as radiology, pharmacy, CRNA and international recruiting, but nursing is still the largest.
4. Regulations / government intervention is portrayed in a positive light because it helps with nurse-patient ratios, overtime restrictions, licensing, immigration reform and visa shortages.
5. Technology trends are both good and bad.  About 12 percent of facilities have adopted a VMS and another 44 percent plan to adopt them in the future.  This is a slow train coming for the industry as a whole.  It's only a matter of time before everyone's using a VMS.  The internet has helped keep recruiting costs down with the rise in company web sites, job boards and the social networking.

In general Barry said that the public medical staffing company results were positive in the second quarter, and the trends are remaining very strong.  Net income and gross margins continue to grow.

Barry also mentioned that a good opportunity for medical staffing agencies is to look into non-healthcare-related positions within a hospital, which are usually filled by temporaty workers.    Examples of some of these position include: janitors and cafeteria workers.

Posted on 10/29/2007

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Thoughts on the 2007 Healthcare Staffing Summit

PRN Funding's present had the opportunity to attend Staffing Industry Analyst's 2007 Healthcare Staffing Summit in Chicago last month.  Written below are a couple of thoughts he wanted to communicate with PRN Funding's blog readers:

• With over 500 attendees, this was by far the largest Healthcare Staffing summit of all time.
• The majority of attendees were involved with the per diem and travel side of nurse staffing.
• As locum tenens and allied health staffing continues within the industry of healthcare staffing, these companies were well represented at the conference as well.  In fact, some of the presentations were geared specifically for these industries.
• The depth and breadth of the speakers were impressive.
• Overall, the conference was very well attended and very well-run.  It was a real learning experience for everyone.

We look forward to attending the 2008 show in San Francisco!

Posted on 10/29/2007

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ASAPro Professional Development Center

Posted on 10/2/2007

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Nurse shortage and need for immigrant nurses

Greg Siskind is the Founder of Siskind, Susser, Bland, P.C. – Immigration Lawyers, which is one of top ten largest immigration practices in United States.  In his the Greg Siskind blog, Greg added a post discussing how the current immigration system is adding to the United States' nurse shortage.  He writes: "Low green card quotas have also left the U.S. with an undersupply of nurses that threatens patient care."  He also offers a short-term solution, encouraging the U.S. government to ease the limit on foreign nurses allowed entry into the United States.

Click here to read his entire post: WSJ writes on dangers of nursing shortage and need for immigrant nurses.

Posted on 9/19/2007

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Nursing crunch may be hard to fix

Theo Francis wrote a post The Wall Street Journal's Health Blog about the nurse shortage and some of its causes.  Although the outlook looks bleak, he mentioned a unique source of new nurses--Career-changers.  Crediting the Boston Globe, Francis explains how the healthcare system can cope with the nursing shortage by "tapping mid-career professionals who go to nursing school for a change of pace or after taking early retirement." 

Click here to read the entire post with reader comments: Nursing crunch may be hard to fix.

Posted on 9/19/2007

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Area hospitals filling vacant nursing jobs

A survey conducted by the Dallas-Fort Hospital Council reported that the vacancy rate for RNs local to the state of Texas is now 8.8 percent, which is down from 10 percent in 2005 and from 9 percent two years before that.  The survey gives credit to flexible training programs and international recruiting for helping with the nurse staffing crunch in Texas. 

Although this is good news for Metroplex hospitals, healthcare providers are still facing nurse shortages across the nation.  In fact, the American Hospital Association estimates 116,000 registered-nurse jobs are unfilled nationwide.  Another tactic not mentioned, which has worked well in other medical facilities with nurse shortages is to utilize temporary nurse staffing agencies to help fill vacancies. 

Click here to read the entire article: Area hospitals filling vacant nursing jobs.

Posted on 9/18/2007

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Protect Your Healthcare Staffing Firm Against Client Bankruptcy

This article appeared in the September 17 issue of the American Staffing Association's Staffing Week E-newsletter.  Although aimed at all staffing agencies, medical staffing companies could be affected even more by client bankruptcy because the majority of America's hospitals are already operating in the red.  The bottom line is to continuously monitor your clients' credit terms and their payment trends.

With the U.S. economy showing some weakness in areas such as home construction and mortgage financing, staffing firms might begin to worry about the financial strength of their clients. Economic downturns can lead to business failures that put companies that provide services in troubled sectors of the economy—such as staffing firms—at increased risk.

Staffing company owners often wonder whether their firms have any basis for claiming priority status for unpaid client invoices when a client is in bankruptcy. Unfortunately, unless the claim is secured in some way, the answer generally is no.

Because employee wage claims enjoy priority status in bankruptcy, staffing firms commonly ask whether unpaid client invoices can be treated as a claim for unpaid wages. In most cases, however, the staffing firm has already paid its employees when the client's claim in bankruptcy is filed, so courts treat such claims as for unpaid vendor invoices, not wages.

Some years ago, ASA considered seeking an amendment to the federal bankruptcy law to grant priority status to staffing firm claims. The association was advised by bankruptcy experts that this would not be feasible. ASA was told that, since 1898, Congress has granted preferences to just two industries—farming and fishing—and then only in very limited circumstances and with a low dollar cap (currently $5,400) on the amount of the claim entitled to priority status.

The bankruptcy experts concluded that there was virtually no chance of success in getting preferential treatment for the staffing industry. It was unlikely that Congress could be persuaded that staffing firms are uniquely different from other business services or are suffering significantly greater hardship. Moreover, any relief granted would be very limited in terms of dollar amount. Given the remote chances of success, and the limited relief even if the effort was successful, ASA decided not to pursue an amendment.

Because of the "supplier beware" legal environment created by the bankruptcy laws, it is always a good business practice, regardless of the state of the economy, for staffing firms to be careful about extending credit to clients and to closely monitor their receivables.

Ed Lenz

Posted on 9/17/2007

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2007 ASA Seminar Preview: Negotiate a Competive Advantage and Grow Your Bottom Line

PRN Funding, LLC will be exhibiting at the 2007 American Staffing Association (ASA) Conference in San Antonio, Texas in booth 324.  We're excited to see some of our old friends and greet the many new faces that will be in attendance.  We're also just as excited to learn about business trends in the overall staffing industry, particularly the medical staffing industry.  We received a brief preview of a seminar that we thought would be of particular interest to our current clients in an email from ASA last week entitled: .

Negotiate a Competitive Advantage and Grow Your Bottom Line

All of life is a negotiation. Are you a world class negotiator or just so-so?

For the most part, staffing industry growth slowed this year. So if the pie isn't getting bigger, you need to grow your slice of it. Learning how to negotiate on value instead of price will help keep you ahead of the competition.

Many workshops at Staffing World 2007, Oct. 9–12 in San Antonio, will help you succeed in the year ahead. One of the most important will be Negotiation Boot Camp: How To Make Better Deals, with Ed Brodow.

When your clients are using clever new tactics for negotiating fees, margins, and indemnity clauses, do you have the confidence and diplomatic skills to get what you want while still leaving them with a sense of satisfaction? Register for Staffing World 2007 today and learn these critical skills.

Brodow, chief executive officer of Ed Brodow Seminars, best-selling author, and one of the nation's most acclaimed and innovative experts on the art of negotiation, will share proven strategies used by successful negotiators for making deals and getting what you want out of life. You'll learn how to negotiate staffing contracts and communicate more effectively with clients, suppliers, colleagues, and employees.

Brodow will discuss negotiating techniques he has developed for clients such as Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Starbucks, Philip Morris, the Hartford, Johnson & Johnson, Hyatt, Revlon, Kimberly-Clark, and the Department of Defense.

Brodow is one of many top-notch experts who will be impressing Staffing World attendees. He is a nationally recognized television personality, and has appeared on PBS, Fox News, Inside Edition, Fortune Business Report (New York), and KRON-TV4 (San Francisco). His two-hour PBS negotiating special garnered rave reviews and his ideas have been showcased in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Men's Health, Cosmopolitan, Professional Speaker, Smart Money, Readers Digest, and Selling Power. "Ed Brodow is the king of negotiators," says Harvey Pitt, former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Q: Will you be attending the 2007 ASA Conference in San Antonio? 

Posted on 8/20/2007

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National Nurses in Business Association 2007 Conference

NNBA 18th Annual Conference Details: October 20-21, Charlotte, NC

 

Four simultaneous pre-conference workshops: Oct. 19, Charlotte, NC

 

Early registration: Must be received one month before the conference (Sept.19).

$199 NNBA member

$300 Non-member

$99 Bring-a-friend: Each NNBA member attending may bring one friend for $99.

Note: Pre-conference sessions are not included in general registration

See pre-conference workshops

 

Caution: Membership is verified. Non-member purchases at the member price will not be processed until additional payment is received. (click here to purchase membership for $99 )

 

Late registration: Received within one month of conference Non-member $350 NNBA member $249 Bring-a-friend $149: Each NNBA member attending may bring one friend for $149.

 

October 19, 2007, four pre-conference seminars

See the four pre-conference workshops

 

October 20 and 21, 2007, two-day annual conference

Click here to see the conference agenda and speaker schedule

Special events:

* Nurses in Business Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

* Evening networking reception Saturday October 20, 2007

 

Reserve your hotel room NOW. Group rate ends Sept. 18.

The group rate is $89 for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (October 18, 19, and 20).

The rooms are limited and on a first come, first serve basis. When the rooms run out, the non-group rate can be as high as $230 depending on the demand.

 

Click here to reserve your room at the Sheraton Airport Hotel

3315 Scott Futrell Drive

Charlotte, North Carolina 28208

Phone: (800) 325-3535 or (704) 392-1200

 

Continuing education: The conference is approved for 12 hours of nursing continuing education. To receive the continuing education credit, there is an additional $15 charge that you will pay directly to the CE provider. Pick up a request form at the conference. The provider (recognized nationally) will mail you a certificate, maintain your records for five years, and replace certificates at no cost to you.

 

Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, BRN Provider number CEP-3285, for stated contact hours credit. CE credit is accepted in all states and for many national certifications; call 1-800-743-4006 for CE information.

Refunds: Full refund less $30 processing fee if notified SEVEN DAYS BEFORE the conference. No refunds or credits given after the conference.

 

Changes: Schedule and speakers subject to change. The NNBA reserves the right to cancel this conference. In the event of cancellation, all registration fees will be refunded in full. Please check with NNBA prior to booking your flights in case of changes.

Money back guarantee - If you are not satisfied, notify us at first break and we will refund your registration fee, no questions asked.

 

Posted on 8/7/2007

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Journal of Nursing Administration To Publish Nurse Staffing Study

In the July 30 edition of ASA's Staffing Week E-newsletter, contributing editors reported that the highly antitipated temporary nurse staffing research of Dr. Linda Aiken will be published in the July-August issue of the Journal of Nursing Administration.  Read below to get the full scoop on Dr. Aiken's work and her findings...

 

"Imagine your whole work force dogged by a rumor—a persistent shadow that follows your temporary staff and your business. Health care staffing companies have lived with that shadow for years: the perception that temporary nurses provide lower quality of care than permanent nurses. In 2003, the Institute of Medicine, a nonprofit organization, went so far as to declare temporary nurses "a threat to patient safety."

 

To counter this perception, ASA contracted with the University of Pennsylvania to examine the relationship between the use of temporary staff and patient outcomes (including quality of life, length of stay, and health status). Linda Aiken, Ph.D., RN, director of the university's Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, led the study. Nineteen health care staffing firms joined ASA in sponsoring it.

 

Aiken and her team concluded that nurses employed by staffing companies are as well or better qualified than permanent nurses employed by hospitals and that the higher use of temporary nurses does not lead to safety and quality problems for patients or nurses.

 

The results come as no surprise to members of the ASA health care section. "The nurses we provide are a tremendous asset to hospitals that need to have adequate coverage for nursing care," says David Savitsky of ATC Healthcare Services, chairman of the section’s policy council.

 

While Aiken's research continues, the findings of her team thus far will be reported in the July–August issue of the Journal of Nursing Administration, which goes to 6,000 nurse executives and their associates in hospitals and other health care settings.

 

-Lindsay Estes" 

 

With the current nurse shortage looming in today's healthcare facilities, Dr. Linda Aiken's findings will show just how valuable temp nurses are to the survival and success of the American healthcare system. 

 

Posted on 7/30/2007

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Health care staffing firms needed to fill gaps from dissatisfied workers

One in five health care workers will leave their job this year, according to a CareerBuilder.com survey.  Some other interesting statistics from the survey are as follows:

In regards to health care workers in 2006,

- 17% were dissatisfied with their jobs

- 57% said better pay and/or career advancement opportunities are the main reasons for wanting to leave

- 36% were dissatisfied with their pay

- 26% did not receive a raise

- 71% did not earn a bonus

- 23% felt they deserved a promotion and did not receive one

- 29% are not satisfied with the training and development options of their current employer

This situation presents a huge opportunity for temporary health care staffing agencies to step up and offer appropriate incentives for workers to join ranks and help fill vacancies. 

Posted on 7/16/2007

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ASA offers new certification program to health staffing members

We saw this in the American Staffing Association’s (ASA) Staffing Week members e-newsletter, and thought we should share the information:

 

Learn the Laws That Affect Your Business

To help medical staffing professionals understand the complexities, ASA recently released a new state component to its certification programs, enabling staffing professionals and others to study the laws of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

 

ASA offers two certification programs for individuals, both of which include the new state employment law component. The Certified Staffing Professional™ program reviews the myriad employment laws and rules that affect the staffing industry. The Technical Services Certified™ program reviews the many employment laws specifically relevant to technical, information technology, and scientific staffing.

 

Getting certified is easy.

 

1. Prepare for the exam by purchasing the study materials:

      * Employment Law for Staffing Professionals

      * Co-Employment: Employer Liability Issues in Third-Party Staffing  Arrangements

      * Federal employment law workbook

      * State employment law workbook

 

2. Study at your own pace, and when you're ready, take and pass the online exam.

 

3. After you have passed the exam, display your credentials on your business

cards and stationery, and maintain your designation through continuing education. For more information, visit the ASA Web site.

Posted on 7/16/2007

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Locum tenens professionals bring healthcare behind bars

Associate editor of LocumLife, Karen Tull, wrote an interesting article about a unique working environment that is gaining popularity among locum tenens--working in correctional institutions. 

In her article, Correctional Medicine: Locum tenens professionals bring healthcare behind bars, Tull tells the story of two doctors who have been working in the field of correctional medicine, highlighting the career's requirements and lifestyles.  Among the perks of correctional medicine contracts are the potential for faster credentialing, the ability to use any state license to practice in a federal facility, competitive pay rates and quick turnaround on receivables. 

With competition starting to heat up in the locum tenens marketplace, contracting with jails and prisons seems to be a niche worth pursuing, especially because these facilities tend to be great payers. 

Posted on 7/5/2007

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ASA annouced health care track at annual conference

The American Staffing Association (ASA) boasts eight different learning tracks for this year's conference in San Antonio, TX, and health care is one of them.  To date, there are three specific health care staffing learning workshops available:

Recruiting That Works: Aggressive and Out-of-the-Box
Tom Zinda, director of recruitment and employment branding, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare
Wednesday, October 10 3–5 p.m.
Tom Zinda, director of recruitment for one of the Midwest's largest health care providers, will share case studies demonstrating how he has successfully recruited market-sensitive candidates, sped up the hiring process, and improved the quality of employees for his company. And he'll help health care staffing company owners set up similar strategies for your company.

Proper Credentialing in the Health Care Industry: Implementation to Impact
Panel moderated by David Savitsky, chief executive officer, ATC Healthcare Services Inc.
Thursday, October 11 1:45–3:00 p.m.
Join David Savitsky and a panel of health care and staffing professionals as they explore the best practices you should put in place to ensure your records and your employees' credentials are kept in order.  Seasoned professionals and those seeking to start a niche business will learn efficient and effective ways to keep records, track employee recertification requirements and renewal dates, and follow technical practices such as drug testing and background checks.

Immigration Changes: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
Helen Konrad, Esq., partner, McCandlish Holton PC
Friday, October 12 10:30–11:45 a.m.
Also in technical, IT, and scientific and industrial learning tracks
Helen Konrad, Esq., will lead temporary medical staffing participants in discussions of common immigration documents, questions you can and cannot ask at the recruitment and job offer stages, storing I-9 forms, what to do when you are faced with improper documents, a sensible line-by-line analysis of the I-9 form, and what-if scenarios that could occur during the I-9 process. Learn about the potential changes to the employer verification process pending in Congress and what they could mean to your medical staffing company.

Posted on 7/5/2007

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How immigration reform will affect the nursing shortage

Each year there are about 12,000 to15,000 foreign nurses accepted into the USA through the current immigration system, and if the new proposal is approved, hospital recruiters worry that it will become even more difficult to fill the 118,000 nurse deficit.

 

Under the new bill, hospitals would no longer be able to seek out nurses with specific expertise, and American-bound nurses would no longer have to be screened by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS).

 

Click here to read the article: Hospitals fear the loss of control finding nurses.

 

 

Posted on 6/19/2007

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Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA) to stop using preset rates

We saw this write-up in the June 4, 2007 edition of the American Staffing Association (ASA) Week e-newsletter and thought that it raised some interesting concerns/questions:

 

In a settlement announced last month, the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA) agreed to stop using preset rates for determining what its member hospitals will pay nurse staffing firms. The U.S. Department of Justice said the practice unlawfully prevented the firms from offering their services to higher-bidding hospitals.

 

A statement from the Justice Department's antitrust division said that the hospitals' rate-setting practice was illegally and unfairly depressing the wages paid to registry nurses, saving the hospitals up to $12.7 million a year at the nurses' expense. The antitrust division statement asserted that the settlement would restore competition in the market for temporary nursing services in Arizona.

 

According to the lawsuit, AzHHA used advertising materials that estimated that the bill rates its members paid to nurse staffing companies were as much as 12% lower than they would have been if hospitals contracted directly with the staffing firms. Consequently, nurses working for the staffing firms that contracted with the hospital association made less money than nurses not hired through the AzHHA Registry, a group purchasing organization for temporary nursing services.

 

The proposed settlement deal would prohibit AzHHA member hospitals from exchanging information with other members about what each pays. As long as each hospital gets to directly negotiate rates with nurse staffing companies, the settlement allows the association to maintain its central registry for hiring nurses and to set standards for training, background checks, and insurance. The settlement must be approved by a federal judge.

-Anne Duffy

 

Q: If this settlement goes through, how do you think it will affect other group purchasing initiaives?

 

Posted on 6/12/2007

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Nursing Shortage Inspires Legislation: Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act of 2007

In the beginning of May, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Pete Stark, D-CA, introduced the Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act of 2007 (H.R. 2122), which will limit the amount of mandatory overtime a nurse may be required to work.

"Mandatory overtime exhausts nurses mentally and physically, placing patients’ lives at risk and driving nurses out of the profession,” said Stark. "We limit the time that truck drivers and pilots can work to protect public safety. Safe nursing is in the public interest as well."

It's good to know that legislation is being passed to improve on the conditions of overworked nurses and overall nurse shortages in the United States.  Temp medical staffing agencies offer another alternative to combatting nurse burnout rates.  By delivering fresh employees to cover overtime and vacation shifts, everyone wins, including the patient.

 

Posted on 5/28/2007

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Nurses OK contracts at 13 hospitals

Here's an interesting article that we found about nurses unionizing in 13 metro-area hospitals in Minneapolis and St. Paul, MO.  The group of 10,750 registered nurses (RNs) approved new three-year contracts that provide 11 percent raises, preserve their health plans, and establish committees to address issues of safety and nurse staffing levels. 

Click here to read the entire article in the Star Tribune: Nurses OK contracts at 13 hospitals.

Posted on 5/21/2007

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Nurses picket hospital, hospital blames nurses

Nurses employed by the Boston Medical Center (BMC) picketed outside of the healthcare facility allegding violations of their employment contract with the hospital.  The nurses cited below-minimum staffing requirements, overtime pay deficiencies and vacation pay problems. The nurses picketed the hospital last week. Nurses also said that the BMC hospital management threatened to discipline nurses who took part in the protest.

Although this is an unfortunate situation for both Boston Medical Center hospital and the nurses involved with this protest, there are still patients that need care.  This dilemma presents an immediate opportunity for a savvy temp nurse staffing business owner to get his/her foot in the door.  Click here to read the entire article: Nurses picket the hospital, hospital blames nurses.

 

 

Posted on 5/18/2007

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Happy National Nurses Week from PRN Funding!

PRN Funding would like to wish all of our temp nurse staffing clients a very Happy National Nurses Week.  For a full history of this celebratory week, which begins May 6 and concludes May 13 (Florence Nightingale’s birthday), visit the American Nursing Association’s web site. 

 

Q: How do you celebrate National Nurses Week?

Posted on 5/7/2007

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