National Healthcare Recruiter Recognition Day
On National Healthcare Recruiter Recognition Day, we honor the invaluable contributions of healthcare recruiters who shape this industry. At American Medical Staffing, our passionate team connects talented clinicians with rewarding opportunities. In this blog, we highlight the impact of recruiters on clinicians’ lives and the transformation they bring to the workforce. The Power of Caring Nurses: “As a patient, I learned how having nurses that care and truly love what they do can be a game changer during the healing process. Being able to find good positions for nurses is just as important, and I really like to be able to be the matchmaker by helping nurses find the career path that will help them continue to love their job and also have the work-life balance they deserve.” – Yvonne, Recruiting Manager, Home Health Division Yvonne’s words beautifully capture the essence of nursing and the impact it has on patients. Caring nurses make a profound difference, and we connect them with positions that maintain their passion while promoting work-life balance. You can schedule a call with Yvonne here. The Role of Healthcare Recruiters: Recruiters facilitate connections between clinicians and facilities aligned with their goals and values. With a deep understanding of healthcare professions and organizational needs, they bridge the talent-opportunity gap, creating successful matches. Empowering Clinicians and Fostering Work-Life Balance: At AMS, we believe that clinicians deserve more than just a job. They deserve a fulfilling career that supports their personal and professional growth. Our dedicated team of recruiters is committed to helping nurses find positions that provide not only job satisfaction but also a healthy work-life balance. We understand that nurses who feel supported in their roles are more likely to excel and deliver exceptional patient care. Transforming Careers, One Match at a Time: Through their expertise and extensive network, healthcare recruiters have the power to transform careers. They play a crucial role in identifying clinicians’ unique skills, experiences, and aspirations and connecting them with opportunities that align with their career goals. By facilitating these matches, recruiters contribute to the growth and development of the healthcare workforce, ensuring that clinicians have the opportunity to thrive in their profession. On National Healthcare Recruiter Recognition Day, we extend gratitude to recruiters empowering clinicians and transforming careers. At American Medical Staffing, we remain committed to our mission of connecting exceptional clinicians with outstanding career opportunities. Together, we can continue to shape the future of healthcare, one successful match at a time.
Your Meals & Lodging Allowance Questions… Answered!
We get a lot of questions about the criteria you must meet in order to be compensated as a “Traveler,” i.e., receive a daily meal and lodging allowance (MLA). So we thought we would put together a resource of Q&A’s Q – Why do healthcare professionals want to become a traveler? A – To better manage their career, to gain variety, to ensure more flexibility, to be their ‘own boss’, and to expand their skill sets. Being able to come and go and not deal with office politics and/or staff meetings is also a nice perk. Q – What do healthcare professionals need to know about travel pay? A – Travel pay can be truly amazing; people just need to know all the ins and outs for it to be most advantageous to them! Travelers generally get paid a taxable amount per hour worked and MLA which stands for Meals and Lodging Allowances. The MLA is non-taxable monies. Q – What are some key qualifiers for someone that wants to become a traveler? A – A traveler is someone who does not commute to and from work, has a permanent tax home, and is duplicating expenses while on assignment. Q – Can travelers get MLA if they are simply over 50 miles from home? A – No, there is no such thing as an IRS ‘miles’ rule. So, this is not a deciding factor. Bottom line, you must be commuting, duplicating expenses, and have a permanent tax home. At AMS, we air on the conservative side and require our healthcare professionals to be a minimum of 50 miles from home generally. Q – What is a permanent tax home? A – This is the location of your regular home or place of employment. For most people, this is the metropolitan or commutable area where they normally work. People would also incur living expenses while working on an assignment away from home. Q – Why do other agencies tell potential hires that they only need to be 50 miles away from home to receive MLA? A – Other agencies may not fully understand the tax rules. Talk to your tax advisor to understand more about tax-free allowances so as to avoid getting audited by the IRS. Q – Can a traveler stay in one general area for as long as desired? A – A candidate must move locations after a year or look at a different pay option. This is an IRS rule. To be clear, a traveler can stay in the area; however, their new pay package needs to be all taxable income. Q – If someone wants to go home and reset their MLA clock to continue in the same general area as before, how long does that take? A – Generally, the IRS advises someone to be gone for a minimum of 7 months. Q – If a traveler wants to travel for years and years, what is a realistic timeframe that they would need to return home annually to continue using the same permanent tax home? A – The IRS says generally 30 days per year will suffice. Q – If a healthcare professional has on-call written into their contract but is closer to home than 50 miles, are they eligible for MLA? A – Yes, if the commute will take them longer to get to the facility than their on-call requirement, it is reasonable that they will have to duplicate expenses for the days that they are on-call. If you have any additional questions that you would like answered on the subject of MLA, finding a travel assignment, (or anything else related to being a Healthcare professional) please send an email to marketing@americanmedicalstaffing.com and we will be happy to assist.
AMS Clinician Spotlight – Creating Extraordinary Experiences, Every Day
It is so professionally rewarding to receive such glowing reports and kudos about our Clinicians! We will highlight some of them here: Anthony, RN “I am writing to tell you about the most wonderful experience we had with Anthony yesterday. Anthony made a wonderful rapport with this patient from the beginning of the day. I went into the patient’s room mid-morning and they were absolutely beaming and telling me how Anthony helped them build a pillow fort. I saw in the corner of the room a sheet tied to an IV pole, a chair, and a suitcase. The patient had blankets and pillows lining the floor. They told me how nice it was that they had a safe and quiet space that was all theirs. He was amazing with all of our patients and fit right in with the team.” He would be a huge asset to any unit! Janice, CNA I wanted to share a positive thought regarding one of our agency sitters, Janice. Janice was assigned to be with ED 6 yesterday who is one of our nonverbal autistic boys. This young man can be a challenge, as he does not know limits or his body mass and is difficult to redirect without security. Janice, never once, showed frustration. She spent 12 hours with him yesterday, 12 caring and compassionate hours. She continued to advocate for him as well as his mother who spent much of the day trying to soothe her son. It was such a delight to watch her. I wanted to share this with you as we often hear the negative and not always the positive. Janice made our day more manageable due to being his companion. Thank you” Survival, RN “There was a recent event caught by a Nurse on U46 (Amazing catch, Survival!) where a Swisslog Medication Packet contained the incorrect amount of medication. There should have been 10mg in the packet, but there was actually 40mg. This could have led to a serious safety event. An important point for nurses to be aware of is that these Swisslog packets should NEVER contain more than one tablet or capsule. If the patient’s dose requires more than one tablet, the Pharmacy will send multiple packets. The presence of more than one tablet in a packet ALWAYS represents an error.”
An Important Announcement
Dear Nursing Colleagues, I trust you are staying well during these unprecedented times. COVID has certainly had an influence on our profession in many ways. This past year has been full of change and uncertainty; however, the constant is the dedication and commitment to caring for our patients and each other. I would like to thank you for your loyalty to our organization. Twenty years ago, I was one of the original founders of Chesapeake Medical Staffing. I was an agency nurse just like you and I knew then that agency nurses were a critical part of the healthcare delivery system. Knowing that continuous improvement is imperative for the highest quality patient care, we set out to hire only the highest quality clinicians to deliver that caliber of care. Over the years, we have earned a reputation of being a quality organization only hiring the very best talent. We were the first agency in Maryland to earn the Joint Commission’s gold seal of quality as a health staffing firm. Our passion to deliver extraordinary experiences for healthcare professionals and the facilities we serve has been at the heart of our ethos and mission since day one. In 2018, we became part of the American Medical Staffing network, which remains an industry leader, proactively anticipating change and implementing staffing solutions. And so, it is with great anticipation and excitement that we are announcing a new partnership. In May 2021, we initiated the merger of FlexRN Nurse Staffing Agency into our staffing network family. FlexRN is a nurse staffing company with incredibly similar origins as it was also established 20 years ago by a nurse. Over the last two decades, FlexRN has grown into a premier provider of healthcare personnel, focused on providing staffing services coast-to-coast in a range of specialties. “We have known and respected the [Chesapeake Medical Staffing] team for many years,” said Diana Wylie, former President and Chief Nursing Officer for FlexRN. “We share a common passion for taking care of our clients and our nurses and I am enthusiastic about the future of our new entity.” Our partnership will strengthen our ability to provide a broad range of service models, much expanded geographical access, and increased investment in talent engagement and retention. “Combining the FlexRN business with our existing [Chesapeake Medical Staffing] business will expand the scope and diversity of our staffing solutions to satisfy the needs of a broader range of clients.” American Medical Staffing President, Missy Blankenship This decision to partner with another amazing staffing company was done with all our nurses in mind so that we can offer the best-in-class service and enhancements that we feel all of you deserve. In celebration of our award-winning, Joint Commission-certified, staffing companies coming together we will be creating additional articles, content, and opportunities to meet our merged teams. Throughout this transition, if you have additional questions, we are here to assist you. Don’t hesitate to so please call or email us with your questions. Change and growth are inevitable. As we continue to face the challenges ahead, I ask each of you to be kind to yourself, and one another. “Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.” Albert Schweitzer Respectfully yours, Terri