Keeping the team at your medical office focused on providing quality patient care becomes a challenge when they are unhappy. Absenteeism and tardiness begins to increase which puts extra strain on your other employees just trying to put in a good day’s work. Additionally, it’s hard for a dissatisfied staff member to show the empathy necessary in the healthcare industry.

Knowing the signs that your staff is growing frustrated as soon as possible is important so you can deal with any issues before they become contagious. Here are three things to watch for to ensure your medical office continues to run smoothly.

Arriving Late and Leaving Early

If you are noticing more employees arriving a little late for their shift in addition to leaving a bit early, this is a possible sign of their unhappiness. Make it point to hold a private chat with the person to find out if their problem is in their personal life or possibly at the office. If the tardiness issue is office-wide, a meeting with the entire team is likely a good idea at this point.

Survey your staff to see if there are any things you and your management can do if the chronic lateness is due to office-related issues. Stress the importance of providing quality patient care when encouraging your team to be sure to arrive on time.

A Lack of Cooperation and Teamwork

Working together as a team is vital in any industry, but it is especially important in the world of healthcare. Be on the lookout for incidents where your employees display a lack of teamwork or conflict. Emphasize the importance of communication and collaboration to ensure your office operates on an efficient basis.

Failure to show Empathy

Empathy is arguably the most important trait for anyone working in the healthcare industry. When you see your staff not giving the right attention to their patients’ needs, it is a potential sign of professional unhappiness. Pay particular attention to any examples of your staff disparaging or making fun of those under their care.

Ultimately, keeping the communication channels open between you and your staff is vital when handling unhappiness at your medical office. Don’t let any problems evolve into something worse.

When you need additional insights on how to keep your medical office running efficiently, talk to the knowledgeable professionals at Pinnacle Workforce. As one of the country’s top healthcare staffing agencies, we also provide a robust supply of great candidates able to make a difference for your company. Meet with us at your earliest convenience.

Managers walk a fine line when it comes to giving their medical staff enough direction to keep the office running smoothly without stifling their own ideas and insights. Micromanaging your team could lead to a lowering of employee morale, with patient care possibly suffering as a result. It is important to realize your management tendencies as soon as possible to prevent any adverse impacts.

With an efficient healthcare office in mind, here are some ideas for noticing when you are micromanaging your medical staff.

An Inability to delegate Responsibility to your Team

If you find it hard to delegate tasks to your medical staff, this is an obvious sign you are micromanaging them. Remember, you employ talented and trained medical workers typically with significant professional experience. Make it a point to let them carry the weight at times, as it helps them grow in confidence while making your whole team better as a result.

When making out task lists for your office, don’t merely assign the boring duties to your direct reports. Give meaningful tasks to your senior staff members so their own managerial abilities begin to develop.

Not Letting your Team make their own Decisions

Delegating some decision-making duties to your team, while still requiring your approval before implementing their ideas is another sign of micromanagement. Sometimes, this fleeting amount of authority does more harm than good, as a disgruntled, talented medical professional may look elsewhere for a chance to grow their career. Give your employees the freedom to make their own decisions — with no final approval from you required.

Your Criticism is too Granular

Spending an inordinate amount of time each day going over your employees’ reports with a fine-tooth comb is another sign of too much management. Keep your criticisms from becoming too granular, like when worrying too much about spelling and grammar instead of the actual medical content on the reports.

Additionally, don’t hover over their workstations keeping an eye on their activities as it keeps them from staying focused on doing a good job. In many cases, they are too worried about making a mistake in front of you.

Knowing the signs of micromanagement is the first step in correcting them before they lead to a retention problem at your medical establishment. Hopefully these ideas offered some insight into your own managerial style.

When you need additional advice on building and managing a top-notch medical team, talk to the experts at Pinnacle Workforce. As one of the nation’s leading healthcare staffing agencies, we offer the great candidates and business insight to help your company’s prospects. Schedule some time with us as soon as possible.

Productive employees are engaged employees, which leads to a happier and more efficient workplace. In the medical industry, this typically results in patients receiving better care, which is ultimately your organization’s most overriding concern. Keeping your staff from becoming overworked and stressed out helps ensure the overall productivity of your medical office.

In short, making your employees’ lives easier is a good thing for your company and the patients you serve. Here are three tips towards fostering a productive atmosphere in your medical establishment.

Leverage Temporary Medical Workers to keep Stress Levels Low

Bringing in temporary medical workers to help out during busy times at your office is a smart tactic aimed at preventing your permanent employees from working too many hours.  Stress isn’t good for your staff’s well-being or the care of your patients. Temp workers offer other benefits; including closing any skills gap on your team, or allowing you to test the temp’s abilities before potentially offering them a permanent position.

Work closely with your medical staffing agency partner for access to quality candidates willing to work on a temporary basis. Your regular employees will thank you.

Schedule Staff Strategically based on their Sleep Schedules

It is important not to switch your employees between different shifts on a frequent basis. Take into consideration their regular sleeping patterns when making your work schedules. Try to match shifts with your team member’s preference, and stick to these schedules once they are established. Happier workers and better patient care will be the result.

Be Open to Employee Insights for Operational Improvement

Allowing your staff to contribute their own insights and ideas on your medical office operations is a great way to keep them engaged. Experienced medical professionals working on the frontlines of the industry offer a unique perspective that sometimes gets missed by management. Employees feel they have a stake in the game and their own performance will likely improve as a result.

Maintaining an open door policy welcoming employee opinions helps to start this process. Consider a more formal setup, like holding regular staff brainstorm sessions or an online message board where everyone is encouraged to contribute.

When you need additional insights on building and maintaining a top-notch medical office, talk to the experts at Pinnacle Workforce. One of the top staffing agencies in healthcare industry, we offer great the candidates perfect for both temporary and permanent assignments. Meet with us at your earliest convenience.

It is important to keep your staff in the loop regarding their performance and progress towards reaching any personal goals as well as those of your medical office. Giving employee reviews only on an annual basis isn’t sufficient for this purpose. Mid-year reviews provide another chance to give valuable feedback to ensure your team stays on the right track throughout the year.

Here are three tips for conducting mid-year reviews. Hopefully, they help your team meet or exceed your hopes for a top notch healthcare establishment. Let’s check them out.

Keep your Top Performers Engaged for the Entire Year

The shining stars in your office need to be constantly challenged to maintain their high-performance levels. When a mid-year review identifies someone who exceeded the goals you set for them, up the ante by giving them a variety of new stretch assignments to put them on a path to career advancement.

This helps keeps the employee in question properly engaged, so they won’t become bored and lose interest in their daily duties. When uninspired, they may look elsewhere for a more challenging position. This is a case where mid-year reviews help in employee retention.

Tailor Improvement Plans for any Problem Employees

On the other hand, mid-year performance reviews help to single out any staff members struggling to pull their weight in the office. This gives you a chance to develop a plan of action to get that employee on the right track before the end of the year. Try to set reachable goals for the next six months, so the worker gains confidence.

If you wait until an end of year review to help get workers back on track, it allows too much time for problems to fester, which may adversely impact employee morale in the office.

Use the Opportunity for a Meaningful Manager-Employee Conversation

Mid-year reviews provide a great opportunity to meet one-on-one with your entire staff. Encourage your employees to speak frankly about their own performance in addition to giving their opinions on the office as a whole. Make it a point to listen attentively to any new ideas to improve the efficiency of your operations.

In short, leverage the mid-year review to keep your medical office on a path towards continuous improvement.

When you need additional insights on teambuilding in the healthcare industry, talk to the experts at Pinnacle Workforce. As one of the nation’s leading medical staffing agencies, we offer the great candidates able to make valued contribution to your staff. Contact our staffing experts today.

Developing teamwork at the office plays a big role in optimizing your operational efficiency. This is especially important in the healthcare industry where patient care is the prime directive. Trying to keep a group of disparate personalities focused on a common goal can be difficult at times.

Summertime gives managers the chance to leverage the good weather for a variety of teambuilding exercises. With a smooth running medical office staff in mind, here are three activities to help your employees truly become a team.

Spend a Day Outdoors doing Activities requiring Teamwork

The summer season allows for a variety of outdoor tasks sure to help build camaraderie amongst your staff. If a body of water is convenient to your office, a lesson in operating a sailboat is one example of a fun activity requiring everyone to work together. Simply spending some time in the woods on a hiking trip lets everyone get a chance to recharge in a natural setting.

A variety of corporate or business retreats typically offers more formal team building exercises suitable for a medical office staff. Research any options nearby to see if something makes sense for your team. At the minimum, a picnic with everyone’s families is something simple to generate goodwill between your team members.

A Volunteer Outing is a Great Idea

A group outing spent volunteering at a local soup kitchen or even Habitat for Humanity is worthy of consideration. Empathy is vital in the medical industry, and an exercise like this develops teamwork while also helping individual employees build their empathic character. A little extra publicity for your medical office never hurts as well.

Professional Development Seminars and Motivational Speakers

Holding a professional development seminar for your medical office staff makes sense at any time of the year, and summertime is no exception. Scheduling a motivational speaker specializing in building teamwork is another great idea. Consider hosting the speaker at an outdoor event in a local park to combine team building with a day spent in nature.

Holding teambuilding exercises based on any one (or even all three!) of these suggestions will help get your staff working together better than ever before. Don’t let the summer pass without giving these ideas a shot!

When you need additional insight on developing a top-notch medical team, talk to the experts at Pinnacle Workforce. As one of the country’s leading healthcare staffing agencies, we offer great candidates able to add value to your staff. Schedule a meeting with us at your earliest convenience.

As the Spring weather continues to improve, thoughts increasingly turn to Summer and vacation time. At this time of the year, keeping a full staff becomes a challenge for managers in many industries, and the world of healthcare is no different. Maintaining a proper level of patient care remains the highest priority.

With that in mind, here are a few ideas for maintaining your medical office or hospital staffing levels during the summertime when everyone’s thoughts turn to vacation and the beach. Let’s take a closer look.

Require an Early Deadline for Vacation Requests

Make sure you require an early deadline from your employees for submitting vacation requests. This rule should apply throughout the year, but it is especially important for both summertime and the end of the year Holiday season. Consider a deadline of at least one month before the actual period in question for any time off longer than two days.

Instituting this policy gives you enough lead time to stagger your shift schedule to ensure the quality of patient care doesn’t degrade. If necessary, consider moving employees onto different shifts on a temporary basis to better handle the load.

Cross Train your Medical Employees

Consider cross-training your medical team so they are more familiar with tasks not normally part of their daily routine. Try to accomplish this during the parts of the year when few employees are out on vacation. Focus on techniques and technologies used by only a small portion of your team.

Ensure there are trained back-ups for any significant function at your firm — the same rule applies for clerical duties. This allows your medical office to maintain a high level of service when multiple workers are taking time off simultaneously.

Consider adding Temporary Employees

Adding some temporary medical employees is another great way to ensure your office maintains a high-efficiency level during the summer holiday season. Talk with your medical staffing agency partner for a list of well-qualified candidates interested in a temporary position. This also provides a great way to test out a candidate before potentially offering them a permanent position.

When searching for healthcare employment agency partner, look no further than Pinnacle Workforce. As one of the country’s leading medical staffing agencies, we provide fully-vetted candidates interested in either temporary or permanent work. Make it a point to contact us at your earliest convenience.

The pace of technology innovation continues unabated in the medical industry. Over the past few years, hospitals and medical offices are increasingly leveraging mobile apps to improve efficiency and ultimately provide better patient care. Taking the time to familiarize yourself with some of the leading medical apps is a smart thing for your nursing career.

Here are some of the top mobile apps currently helping nurses do a better job. Consider downloading one or all of them to your Android smartphone or tablet.

Staying Organized with Google Calendar

While Google Calendar isn’t a medical app per se, it offers nurses the means to organize both their work and personal lives. It helps you keep track of your scheduled shifts, and its reminder feature ensures you won’t miss any important events. Best of all, this Android app is free at the Google Play store.

A Dictionary of Nursing Terms in your Pocket

Medical Terminologies provides you with a collection of definitions used in the healthcare industry. This dictionary data is stored on your mobile device, so you won’t need a wireless connection to access the information. The app is free, but additional definitions are available as an in-app purchase.

WebMD’s Mobile App

Medscape is a free mobile app offered by WebMD. This app is a must, covering the latest in healthcare news and drug information, along with a host of accredited CE courses. It might become the most popular medical app on your smartphone.

A Calendar App specifically for Nurses

If Google Calendar doesn’t meet your needs, consider downloading Nurse’s Aid. This free app provides short-term scheduling features, and is perfect for keeping you organized throughout your daily shift.

Helping you Study for the NCLEX-RN Exam

If the NCLEX-RN exam is on your schedule, consider purchasing the NCLEX RN Mastery app. Don’t let its $29.99 price scare you away, as the app’s collection of practice questions and timed quizzes helps ensure you pass the exam. Maybe you can be reimbursed for the app cost?

The Nurse’s Drug Handbook at your Fingertips

Essentially a mobile version of the paper edition, the Nurse’s Drug Handbook app puts all that valuable pharmaceutical information on your smartphone or tablet. Its $24.99 yearly price is steep, but the easy search functionality saves you time when it matters.

Many of these same apps are available for the iOS platform, so search the iTunes App Store if you are an iPhone or iPad owner.

If you need additional insights on developing your nursing career, talk to the experts at Pinnacle Workforce. One of the top medical staffing agencies in the country, we can help you grow as a professional. Contact us today!

Any business is only as good as its employees, and this time-honored saying definitely holds true in the medical industry. Providing quality patient care and ultimately enjoying success becomes more difficult without a great team at your medical office. Your organization needs to find, hire, and retain the top talent to truly succeed.

Building a winning team in the medical industry takes a plan and some effort. Let’s take a closer look at some ideas to get you started.

Make your Medical Company the Place Everyone wants to Work

Developing a positive and nurturing company culture plays a big role when trying to attract superior talent in the medical industry. Ensure your employees maintain a work/life balance by offering generous time-off and other perks. Reward them with good salaries, tuition reimbursement, and quality insurance.

Publicize your great company culture both online and in print publications. Offer a bonus to your current employees for referrals of great candidates. Sponsor local charity events and encourage your staff to take part. These all play a role in making your company the place to be for medical professionals.

Visit Local Nursing Schools

Finding great talent as their careers are just beginning also is a factor in building a top-notch medical team. Maintain a presence at the nursing schools in your area. You benefit from publicizing your company at the school, while you also gain access to the brightest minds early in their medical career.

The Latest Technology and Interesting Work

Don’t skimp when it comes to giving your staff access to state of the art technology. This helps to ensure you retain your best talent. A good supply of interesting project work focused on improving patient care also contributes to a high rate of retention.

A Partnership with Medical Staffing Agency

Partnering with a top notch local staffing agency in the healthcare industry is another important part of building the best possible team at your office. The best employment agencies maintain a robust supply of quality candidates, so your firm doesn’t get bogged down in a time-consuming hiring process. You are able to focus on providing superior patient care while knowing your employment needs are being handled by industry experts who understand your company’s vision.

When searching for a staffing agency partner, look no further than Pinnacle Workforce. As one of the nation’s leading medical employment agencies, we can help build an all-star medical unit at your office. Meet with us at your earliest convenience and contact our staffing experts today.

Being a manager in the healthcare industry can be stressful at times. One of the most difficult questions facing many medical team leaders is how to react when a nurse makes a poor decision. Being too lenient might lead to more mistakes by the nurse in question, while the opposite approach could hamper their professional development.

Ultimately, you need to analyze every situation separately before deciding on the best plan of action. Engendering an open culture where mistakes are discussed also helps prevent future incidents.

Every Situation is Different

If one of your staff makes a mistake, go over the details surrounding the incident as well as the professional history of the nurse. The severity of the mistake, the professional experience of the nurse, and whether or not they’ve had issues in the past all contribute to your final decision. The most important thing is to take the time to formulate a proper response, instead of reacting too quickly.

Every situation is different, and the best managers know how to properly tailor any discipline — if warranted — to the employee at fault. Newer nurses need to be treated with kid gloves, as opposed to a veteran medical professional who should know better. In both cases, using the mistake as a learning experience offers the best hope for the overall development of your nursing staff.

Mistakes Need to Be Discussed Openly

One of the risks of punishing nurses too severely for medical mistakes is it leads them to not being open about disclosing other similar issues in the future. This ultimately hampers their professional development and potentially leads to a degradation in patient care. Only by discussing mistakes are they able to be prevented over time.

Hospitals and medical offices need to put in place a system where open discussion improves the skills of their entire nursing staff. More engaged medical professionals and better patient care are the ultimate results.

In short, treat each mistake on its own, while developing a culture of openness to prevent further issues from hampering the overall quality of your medical office.

If you need additional insight on developing a top-notch healthcare team, talk to the experts at Pinnacle Workforce. One of the nation’s leading medical staffing agencies, we provide great candidates able to make a difference for you. Meet with us at your earliest convenience.

Serving in a managerial role can cause stress no matter the industry, but the problem exacerbates itself in the world of healthcare. Trying to handle your staff becomes more challenging when you consider the different personalities of your employees. Frankly, there is usually no time for office tension in a workplace where patient care needs to be the overriding concern.

With a harmonious medical office in mind, here is a closer look at some ideas for managing a staff made up of differing personalities.

Take the Time to Get to Know Every Employee

Take them to lunch and learn what makes them tick, as well as any other personality traits that may impact their work performance and relationships with their co-workers. When you get back to your office, be sure to write down your impressions so you are able to refer to them when necessary.

Tailor Your Managerial Approach for Each Individual

Once you get a feel for your team members’ personalities, make it a point to tailor your managerial style to each individual. For example, don’t read the riot act to an employee who is more sensitive than others. Your workers with more of a no-nonsense personality are probably better equipped to handle pointed criticism.

Having said that, it is obvious some issues involving the entire office require using a more common approach. When dealing with individuals, however, going the cookie-cutter route simply isn’t effective most of the time.

Spend Extra Time With Shy Members of Your Staff

Your more introverted staff members may need a little coaxing to come out of their shell, especially if your office is dominated by Type-A personalities. Remember these shy workers are a potential source of good ideas beyond merely being a contributor to the team. Don’t forego an opportunity to pick their brains for additional ideas and insights to help improve your office operations — sometimes the shy workers are the most observant!

Hopefully these tips offered a measure of insight to improve your own managerial abilities.

When you need additional insight on building a winning team at your medical office, talk to the experts at Pinnacle Workforce. As one of the top healthcare staffing agencies in the country, we offer vetted candidates able to make a positive impact on your team. Schedule some time with us at your earliest convenience.