Even in a medical career filled with progressively greater professional accomplishments, you may have been fired from a previous position. This fact needn’t dissuade you from trying to better yourself by finding a new job with another company. There remains a lot of turnover in the healthcare industry and most companies won’t disqualify a candidate for a misstep earlier in their career.

The important thing is to properly address a previous firing during the job interview. This post offers a few tips on how best to answer when asked about a dismissal in your work history.

Prepare and Practice your Answer before the Interview

Probably the most important tip is to be sure you prepare your answer to this question beforehand. About the worst thing you can do is fumble over your answer while seeming unsure on how to respond. This comes off as being less than honest, which may end up disqualifying your candidacy.

Answering in a forthright, honest manner is vital. Practice the question with a friend or even your recruiter to ensure your interview performance — especially when it comes to this question — is top notch.

An Honest Answer without Blaming Others is the Best Route

A truthful answer, when asked about a previous firing, is always the best approach. Speak about the incident in a straightforward way with a clear voice while making natural eye contact with the interviewer. Never lie or try to hide the real reason for your firing behind falsehoods and half-truths.

Don’t try to make excuses or blame others for the situation leading to your firing. This also puts you in a bad light which may adversely affect your chances at a job offer more than the firing itself. It is important to frame the issue in an objective manner.

Show you’ve grown because of your Firing

Take the opportunity to display how you’ve learned from being fired and that you’ve grown in your career as a result. This gives your potential new employer some reassurances you would be a good choice for a job offer. If this is your first round of interviews after being fired, describe how you won’t make a new company feel sorry for giving you a second chance.

If you need additional insight on how to handle a previous firing in a job search, talk to the experts at Pinnacle Workforce. As one of the country’s top medical staffing agencies, our recruiters know the healthcare industry inside and out and can help you and your career. Contact us at your earliest convenience.

Congratulations are in order for earning a job interview with one of the top medical companies in the area. Whether you are hoping for a position with a hospital, medical office, or some other healthcare company, your interview performance needs to be top notch. That doesn’t mean you can skimp on the post-interview follow-up, as it also plays an important role in your overall candidacy.

With earning a great job offer as your goal, here are three things you need to do when following-up after a medical interview. Good luck in your efforts!

Follow-up using a Friendly and Professional Email

When you get home after the interview, shoot off a quick email to the interviewer. Be sure to thank them for the opportunity to talk about the open position and how your skill set matches their needs. You don’t need to go overboard with selling yourself for the job — the interview itself is where that needed to happen — just focus on a quick and professional statement.

If you haven’t heard back after a week or so, consider sending another email with a polite request on the status of the interview process. This additional email should suffice, as you don’t want to be perceived as a pest.

Don’t forget to send a Thank You Note

Another follow-up note using venerable snail mail doesn’t have to seem old-fashioned in today’s hiring landscape. In fact, it is a nice touch that truly illustrates your interest in the open position. Use a business letter outline and professional stationery for the note; expressing your appreciation of the chance to become a valued employee of their firm.

Connect with the Interviewer on LinkedIn

As the preeminent social network for professionals, a LinkedIn account is a must when working in the healthcare industry. After the interview, send a connection request to the interviewer. Beforehand, give your profile a once over, making sure the information on it matches your résumé, as any discrepancies won’t bode well for your chances at a job offer.

Consider endorsing some of the interviewer’s skills to curry a measure of favor before the hiring decision is made, but don’t go overboard. Hopefully, following these three steps helps you earn that valued job offer.

If you need any assistance in finding work in the healthcare industry, talk to the experts at Pinnacle Workforce. As one of the country’s top medical staffing agencies, we can help take your career to the next level. Contact us to schedule some time with us as soon as possible!

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!

In many cases, professionals are judged by how well they react to adversity instead of their performance during the more halcyon times. This same rule applies to your personal life as well as your medical career. Anytime you begin to feel overwhelmed, it is important to take a deep breath and analyze the situation before taking any ill-considered action or even giving up.

Since simply flying off the handle when circumstances become too difficult is never a good tactic, here are a few ideas for responding smartly to those kinds of situations.

Let the Left Side of your Brain take Over

Acting in a rational manner is vital when confronted with a stressful situation. On the other hand, becoming too emotional could lead to a bad decision, which is a never a good thing when working in a hospital or medical office. Take a few moments to collect your thoughts and formulate a plan of action.

The left side of your brain is more logical compared to the right side. Don’t feel overwhelmed, and instead, rely on your training and experience to formulate a plan of action to properly handle the situation. Once again, deep breaths and positive thoughts help this process by lessening your stress level — it will all work out for the best.

Don’t try and handle Everything by Yourself

When dealing with a medical emergency or any situation beyond your skill set, don’t feel like you need to solve the issue on your own. Remember, you are just one member of a talented healthcare team and one or more of your coworkers can offer insight and advice to help handle the problem. The worst thing you can do is panic while subsequently making a mistake without seeking input from others.

This is an example of a circumstance where you can’t let pride or fear keep you from asking for help from someone else. Patient care needs to be the overriding concern in the medical industry. It is important to keep this golden rule in mind whenever you feel you are unable to handle a situation properly. Seek help if you feel you are in over your head.

If you are looking for the means to supercharge your healthcare industry career, contact the experts at Pinnacle Workforce. As one of the nation’s leading medical staffing agencies, we provide the insight to take your professional life to its highest level. Contact our medical staffing professionals at your earliest convenience.

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.

While the medical industry is generally immune to economic downturns — with good jobs typically available all across the country — some states offer certain advantages as well as more robust employment opportunities. This situation applies to all professions within the field of healthcare, including nurses. Finding the right state to start or grow your nursing career simply takes some research and a desire to succeed.

What follows is a look at some of the most promising states for your nursing career. Good luck in your job search efforts!

Cost of Living and Quality of Life Are Important

Don’t forget to consider a location’s cost of living before deciding on relocating for a nursing position. While nursing salaries are higher in California, so are rent, groceries, and other expenses. Quality of life is also relevant, so if you enjoy going to the beach on a regular basis, a job in Vermont is probably not the best choice for you.

The Highest Nursing Salaries Are in These States

The five states with the highest salaries for nurses include: California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Alaska. Unfortunately, all those states also have high costs of living, especially the previously mentioned California in addition to Hawaii. However, the beachcombers among you probably wouldn’t have too much of a problem paying extra in monthly expenses given the local scenery.

When you factor cost of living along with the highest average nursing salary, Texas, Michigan, Nevada, Idaho, and New Mexico are the states where your pay goes the farthest. All these states have their own unique advantages, from the bright lights of Las Vegas to the beautiful mountain lifestyle of Boise, Idaho.

The Most Robust Nursing Employment Markets

Looking at states with the fewest number of nurses per population, the top five include: Utah, Hawaii, California, Alaska, and Nevada. While the cost of living is high in many of those locales, you won’t have much competition when looking for a job.

Factoring in cost of living, quality of life, availability of jobs, and salaries, the five best states for nurses are: Washington, Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Texas. Needless to say, you have many things to consider and a host of options all over the country when it comes to looking for a nursing job.

Working with a knowledgeable recruiter gives you the best shot if you are looking for a nursing position. As one of the nation’s top healthcare staffing agencies, Pinnacle Workforce employs the best recruiters in the business. Make it a point to contact us at your earliest convenience.

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.

Working in the healthcare industry takes a lot of physical and mental effort, especially when you are pulling 12-hour shifts. It is important to always stay alert and energetic, and sometimes an extra snack or two helps keep you going. On the other hand, minimizing the amount of junk food in your diet also plays a role in your overall well-being.

In short, if you need to snack to get through your workday, choose wisely. With that in mind, here are some healthy snacks to check out the next time you are working overtime.

Nuts Give You the Energy for Long Shifts

When losing energy during a 12-hour shift, consider eating a serving of peanuts, cashews, almonds, or anything else from the nut family. They contain a decent amount of protein, fiber, as well as other healthy minerals, such as potassium and magnesium. Lightly salted or even unsalted options are great when you are watching your sodium.

Don’t overdo it though, as nuts contain some fat and are relatively high in calories. Try to keep your serving to a handful at the most whenever you need a quick energy burst.

A Protein Bar Makes a Great Snack

Always keep a box of protein bars at your desk just in case you need more energy than a handful of peanuts provides. Do your research before heading to the store, as some bars are actually high in fat and contain a host of artificial ingredients.

As with any processed food, try to stick to protein bars that are organic and/or natural. Don’t worry, you can still find some that taste good as well as being healthy.

Don’t Forget the Fruit

A supply of fresh fruit is arguably the smartest call when it comes to healthy snacking during a long workday. Consider combining some apple slices with peanut butter for a balanced snack sure to help your mood. A banana is a great source of  potassium. Even snacking on some dried fruit is a better option than a bag of potato chips or pretzels.

When you need to snack at work, make sure to keep things healthy!

If you need any other advice for making the most of your career in healthcare, talk to the experts at Pinnacle Workforce. As one of the country’s top medical staffing agencies, we can help you help yourself. Schedule some time with us today!