Author: pdrake@fidelityoncall.com

Healthcare Burnout: Advice from Liz Pollack Part 3

As part of our series on healthcare burnout, certified executive and personal life coach, Liz Pollack, shares techniques on how to deal with difficult people in the workplace.

Click to download the Conflict Inventory resource from Liz

We want to thank Liz Pollack for not only sharing this resource but also for
her expertise as we work through this video series.

Liz is a Certified Executive and Personal Life Coach, Grief Counselor, and Pet Loss Grief Counselor. She can help you learn to cope in many ways – work, home, grief, relationships, etc.

She is available at 309.370.4492 or email: legup@mtco.com

Healthcare Burnout: Advice from Liz Pollack Part 2

In our ongoing series on burnout, Liz Pollock talks about the two types of fatigue that healthcare workers often experience: General fatigue, and fatigue of compassion. Listen to learn more about each one so you can recognize the signs.

Liz is a Certified Executive and Personal Life Coach, Grief Counselor, and Pet Loss Grief Counselor. She can help you learn to cope in many ways – work, home, grief, relationships, etc.

She is available at 309.370.4492 or email: legup@mtco.com

To access the assessment mentioned in this video, click here.

Healthcare Burnout: Advice from Liz Pollack Part 1

In this episode, Liz shares her definition of healthcare burnout from a professional perspective, the causes, signs of burnout, and why nurses are more prone to it.

Click to download the “Am I Burned Out” self-assessment from Liz

We want to thank Liz Pollack for not only sharing this self-assessment but also for her expertise as we work through this video series. Take time to answer the questions. If you already know that you are suffering and need help, one of the recommendations is to seek professional help.

Liz is a Certified Executive and Personal Life Coach, Grief Counselor, and Pet Loss
Grief Counselor. She can help you learn to cope in many ways – work, home, grief, relationships, etc.

She is available at 309.370.4492 or email: legup@mtco.com

The Benefits of Working as a Travel Healthcare Provider

Money makes the world go around. No doubt. Those incredible crisis pay packages were something we never imagined would happen. But one thing about travel healthcare is to always expect the unexpected. That is another reason so many high-quality professionals seek travel assignments to avoid the same routine day in and day out. Same people, same providers, same environment. Why not change your scenery every 8-12 weeks?

While those historic pay packages are probably gone, the compensation for a travel healthcare provider usually far outweighs the pay for a staff healthcare person. Along with that pay are the perks that come in so much higher on the list of top qualities veteran healthcare travelers look for in a company.

To be a successful healthcare traveler, you must ensure you work for a financially healthy travel agency. A company that has longevity in the industry and a successful track record of paying their employees. Additionally, what do the agencies’ clients say about them?

    • Is direct deposit available?
    • How simple is the payroll system? Is there a consistent pay schedule?
    • Are compensation packages outlined in a contract?
    • Does the agency have long-term established relationships with hospitals in the State you wish to work in?

Once you have ensured the travel agency is a quality reputable business, what about other perks the company offers?

      • What type of health insurance plan do they offer?
      • Is there dental insurance?
      • Vision options, short term disability, Life Insurance?
      • Is there a retirement savings plan?
      • Is there a continual education reimbursement?
      • Is there a new employee orientation process that outlines the company’s expectations, policies, and procedures?

Finally, how streamlined is the process from application to employment offer? Having a successful personal recruiter can make or break your experience and longevity in this industry that has been around over forty years.

      • Is your recruiter available and transparent?
      • Is the Agency available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is there an on-call team available?
      • Are you able to express your goals and feel heard about those expectations?
      • How streamlined is the hiring process and onboarding process?
      • Most importantly, are you able to switch recruiters and remain in the same organization if there is not a connection between the two of you?

Travel Healthcare has been around for decades and is clearly here to stay for the foreseeable future. One year minimum of experience can potentially get you started on a twenty-plus-year career. You can stay close to home or travel as far as the roads or airlines can take you.

The personal and professional growth you can experience and gain from this industry is a rare opportunity, as not too many careers have such experiences to offer. Whether you travel for one or two contracts a year or year after year, the flexibility the industry has to offer is hands down second to none.

Back to Basics for Travelers

With Fidelity On Call, all of our travel nurses receive a contract that spells out everything that will happen during their assignment – rate of pay, days off, facility assignment, floor assignment and so much more.

Here are some of the basics you agree to:

1) Attendance

Travel nurses are the back up team. Facilities are already short staffed and when travelers are utilized, our attendance is paramount to the success of patient care at that facility.

-If you accept a travel contract, you are held accountable for the verbal and written agreement of working the shift and hours agreed to. Any personal time off must have been preapproved and in writing in the contract. Should something arise during the course of the contract, traveler should be communicating with their recruiter on the best course of action to take.

-If you have an emergency or illness that prohibits you from being able to work a scheduled shift, you would contact your recruiter. You would also alert the hospital that you are unable to make it.

-Any shifts you call off for must be made up as quickly as possible. That make up shift will not be paid as overtime. Make up shifts are paid at the contracted rate as regular hours.

2) Schedules

As a travel nurse, we ask you to send in your schedule to your recruiter once you receive it from the facility. Any changes that happen throughout the schedule provided us also need to be reported. This tracking is to help check and balance payroll and to help ensure we do not make errors on your payroll. Having your schedule also helps us figure out when to contact you if we need to reach you – helps to NOT Wake you up if you are a night shift worker.

3) Communication

They say communication is half the battle. Never truer words spoken. Communication in travel healthcare is paramount to ensure success for you as a traveler and also our success with you. If someone from the office team reaches out to you, please ensure you communicate back with that person as quickly as you are able to do so. Perhaps the calls are inquiries regarding payroll, schedule, compliance etc. All communication is important. Not responding leads to more work on both of our parts.

We appreciate our nurses who are dedicated to fulfilling every commitment of their contract. If you have questions on anything stated above, please contact your recruiter.