Most healthcare facilities have used per diem professionals to staff up to cover vacations or during cold and flu seasons or other busy times. Per diem clinical workers are a valuable resource for organizations facing a staffing shortage. In the coming years, organizations will face a critical shortage of nurses, doctors, and home care workers. Per diem is a way for healthcare organizations to fill the gap.
But there are also other flexible healthcare workers available, including travel healthcare professionals and full-time placements. What is the difference and which is better for your healthcare organization to consider?
Understanding Per Diem
Per diem healthcare professionals are employed on temporary assignments. These professionals step in with a hospital or healthcare facility to experience a temporary staffing need. Per diem staffers are paid “per day,” so they may work at several locations or facilities.
Per diem professionals are often skilled as floaters between departments, marketing them as highly experienced. Because they have been dropped into a variety of settings and situations they are also often very fast on their feet.
Typically these roles pay a higher hourly rate to make up for the lack of full-time benefits. but they still have a positive impact on the bottom line of hospitals and health systems. Most per diem roles do offer benefits, but typically these workers do receive health insurance through the agency that contracts them.
Understanding Traveling Clinical Staffers
Like per diem professionals, the traveling healthcare worker helps out in your facility for a limited amount of time. These traveling clinical teams typically work a scheduled assignment for a few weeks in one location. These traveling teams typically receive benefits from the staffing agency and not from the clinical facility where they’re working.
Travel medical staffing can encompass:
- Certified Nursing Assistants
- Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants
- Licensed Practical Nurses
- Occupational Therapists
- Physical Therapists
- Physical Therapist Assistants
- Registered Nurses
Permanent Placements
Healthcare staffing firms like MAS Medical also offer hospitals and other clinical facilities the chance to hire additional full-time staff. In these instances, the staffing agency itself serves in a kind of per diem role, helping healthcare organizations recruit more staff when their internal teams are overwhelmed.
Outsourcing healthcare recruiting brings tremendous value in the form of qualified workers at a time of historically low unemployment levels.
Finding the Right Fit for Your Team: MAS Medical
The retirement of the baby boomer generation has placed tremendous strain on our care delivery networks. Today, healthcare organizations struggle with staffing to cover maternity and sick leave or other scheduled and unscheduled absences in the clinical team. Soliciting a team of outsourced recruiting professionals can help your organization stay ahead of these challenges. Our team can provide you with additional help with:
- Sourcing candidates.
- Screening and interviewing.
- Salary negotiation.
- Ongoing support after candidate onboarding.
MAS Medical is an experienced healthcare staffing firm with a proven track record of success. We provide per diem, traveling, and permanent placements in the healthcare field. Talk to our team about how we can help.
