Many organizations that hire locum tenens professionals are anxious to fill vacancies quickly so their staffing levels and operations are unaffected. However, the effective onboarding of locum tenens hires is critical for the success of these workers within your organization. It’s important to remember most locum tenens professionals will enter your facility with very minimal knowledge about your departmental operations or procedures. It’s your responsibility to educate all new locum tenens hires about what they can expect on the job.
Follow these key tips for implementing a comprehensive onboarding program for your new locum tenens hires:
Introduce new hires to mentors. No matter how experienced and confident they appear, locum tenens hires are naturally a little nervous when starting a new assignment. You can alleviate their anxiousness by implementing a mentorship program to ensure they experience a smooth transition into their new roles. Mentors can provide an ongoing support system for locum tenens workers throughout their entire assignments, being a source of guidance and comfort. In general, mentorship is also very impactful in helping your new hires establish bonds with your full-time employees, which helps minimize conflicts and build morale within your organization.
Arrange a facility tour. An onboarding program – especially one for locum tenens hires – should always include a thorough tour of your facility. This does not have to be a lengthy tour, but should serve to acclimate your locum tenens workers to their new work environment, helping them get a sense of their surroundings. You should also use this time to provide equipment trainings, as well as formal instruction on your electronic healthcare records (EHR) system, coding and documentation practices.
Assign each new hire with a reliable, experienced contact person. No new hire likes to feel left in the dark when starting a new assignment. Consider connecting each of your new locum tenens workers to a member of your permanent staff who can answer questions and serve as knowledgeable resource throughout their assignments. This is a terrific way to provide on-the-job training to new hires, allowing them to have questions answered and issues addressed quickly as they arise. During your onboarding program, be sure to introduce each new hire to their respective contact person to get things off on the right start.
You can’t expect your locum tenens employees to succeed without the necessary tools and support. Remember, the time and effort you put into your locum tenens onboarding can directly affect your new hires’ performance – which in turn impacts the quality of patient care delivered by your team. As you continue to hire new locum tenens workers, make your onboarding program a top priority.
Is your organization in need of top-notch locum tenens talent?
Look no further than MPLT Healthcare (formerly MedPartners Locum Tenens) and let our committed team help you build the most optimal locum tenens workforce!
