Have You Considered 1099/Independent Contractor Status?

MSOC would like to inform our nurses and CNAs about the benefits associated with working as an independent contractor (1099 filing status). The following sections describe what you need to be eligible to work as an independent contractor, the benefits in doing so, the difference between an independent contractor and a regular employee, and a brief testimonial from one of our nurses who is an independent contractor.

Criteria- There are three main criteria that need to be satisfied to be considered for 1099 status and work as an independent contractor:

1. Do we determine your schedule?
   No. We give you options and you choose when and where you want to work.
2. Do you work for MSOC exclusively or for others as well?
   Many of you also work for hospitals or other agencies. If so this criteria is met as well.
3. Are you incorporated?
   In order to take advantage of the tax benefits you must be incorporated. Many RN's are not but could easily be if they knew how.
   

Benefits- If you spend money to run your business you can deduct it from your taxes. Here are some examples of things you can deduct as business expense:

• Cell phone
• Your home office if you use it as your primary office
• Your car or car mileage
• Your cost for meals and entertainment if your business was to meet clients at a restaurant and you discussed business
• License or education requirements for your "business"
• Laptop or computer equipments
• Office supplies
  
• Travel related to your business

Take this example: Say you travel 30 miles each way to a hospital and work 3 shifts per week and 48 weeks per year. Your tax deductions would add up to $5,054!

What's Different?

1. You must make quarterly tax payments based on the tax rates that apply to your income: http://www.moneychimp.com/features/tax_brackets.htm
2. In addition to your normal taxes you must pay self employment tax of 15.3%: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98846,00.html
3. You must register and incorporate your business. There are two options:

• Doing Business As (DBA) - This is the cheapest way to get started. Fees are less than $100. http://mycorporation.intuit.com/business-formations/dba.jsp
• Corporation (Inc, LLC) - This option removes the liability from you and places it on the corporation. Fees are approximately $350.

Testimonial

Lynn Mitchell is one of the nurses we work with that works as an independent contractor. Here is what Lynn has to say about working as a 1099:

"I've been incorporated for 6 years. Believe me, businesses get the tax breaks and many other benefits that individuals don't. I have many business credit accounts, lines of credit, special offers, etc. I even bought a new car in the business name. With all the deductions available my taxes have been oh so low it's wonderful. This is a win-win situation."

Editing your Specialties and Preferred Hospitals

In this issue, we will discuss how to edit your preferences by logging onto MSOC’s website at www.medstaffoncall.com and the benefits in doing so.

As mentioned in the previous issue, keeping your calendar updated is extremely important and invaluable to you getting shifts. Of equal importance is ensuring that the specialties you would like to work in and the hospitals you would like to work at are designated as ‘preferred’ in your profile. The reason for this is that our technology not only looks at your calendar but also at your preferences before matching you for shifts. For instance, if you say that you can work all day on Fridays but don’t select any specialties or hospitals to be preferred, you won’t get auto-booked for shifts on Fridays. However, if you put that you prefer to work ER at Norwegian American and Advocate Trinity, you will get auto-booked for ER shifts on Fridays at either of these hospitals.

Now that you know the importance of editing your specialties and hospitals, we have created a video that walks you through this process in detail:

Keeping your Calendar Updated

The importance of keeping your calendar updated on www.medstaffoncall.com cannot be overstated. As an MSOC nurse, you have the power to set and maintain your own schedule at any time. MSOC nurses take charge of their availability, posting preferred availability on their calendars and accepting shifts on their cell phones. This freedom to choose the hours you work and the hospitals you work at comes with responsibility. Since MSOC’s technology connects you directly to hospitals, it is crucial that your calendar is up-to-date because you will be booked by the hospitals you selected as your preferred hospitals in your preferred specialty. There are several advantages for you to post your preferred availability. Let’s compare a nurse who posts preferred availability (Nurse A) and one who would rather accept shifts on his/her cell phone (Nurse B):

Nurse A has an up-to-date calendar. Immediately after hospitals post their staffing needs, MSOC’s technology searches for nurses who have preferences that match with the shift’s date, time, specialty, and hospital. If Nurse A’s preferences match then Nurse A will be submitted for the shift. The whole process is complete in seconds. Nurse B waits to accept shifts via text message. The hospital posts a shift, and the nurse receives a text message. Nurse B then decides whether or not he/she can work this shift. Nurse B confirms by sending a text message.

As you can see, Nurse A gets preferred shifts immediately whereas Nurse B must go through a few steps in order to accept shifts. While Nurse B is deciding whether or not to work, the shift may have already been filled by another agency. Nurse A is first in line for his/her preferred shifts and doesn’t have to worry about losing out on shifts by not responding quickly enough.

New Year's Resolution

MSOC would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Each passing year provides people with a chance to start fresh and make resolutions. In the healthcare industry, you are constantly working with people under stressful circumstances and it can be difficult to keep your cool. Nonetheless, it is important for healthcare professionals to maintain a good reputation so that they can be invited to return to the hospitals they would like to work. As a provider of nurses and CNAs to hospitals, MSOC realizes how important it is to have quality medical staff on our team. Sadly, in 2008, we had to let 4 MSOC nurses go because their actions didn’t fit with the MSOC Community’s commitment to quality. Late calls and no-shows to shifts are two things our community cannot tolerate. Hospitals also take a tough stance on no-shows and late calls – they automatically mark those nurses as DNR (Do Not Return) for their facility. In fact, after each shift you work, the hospital’s staffing personnel grades you based on the charge nurse’s feedback. Based on the scores you receive, you may become a preferred nurse for that hospital (with a high score) and be requested back time and time again. Your reputation is with you at all times and carries from hospital to hospital. Unfortunately, once your reputation is tarnished, it is difficult to get it back.

What are some good ways to improve your reputation? Be reliable- never be late for your shift. Be friendly and helpful- treat everyone around you equally and with respect. Be professional- dress for success-neat and clean. Following these tips and using common sense will earn you the highest rates in all of Chicago, exactly what the highest quality nurses in Chicago deserve.

Preferred Availability: It Really Pays!

The reason for posting preferred availability isn’t obvious. To get straight to the point, when you post preferred availability, you greatly increase your chances of working. MSOC competes with several other agencies to get our quality nurses the shifts they want. MSOC’s technology allows us to auto-book you for the shifts you really want -- no other agency can compete with the efficiency of our technology and get you the shift faster.

However, in order for you to take advantage of MSOC’s technology, you must post preferred availability. Every second counts when a hospital posts a shift and dozens of agencies compete for the shift. Some hospitals post their needs early in the morning when most people are sleeping. Luckily, our technology never sleeps and, as the saying goes, the early bird gets the worm - in our case, the nurse who posts preferred availability gets the shift!

In fact, we’ve calculated that you’re 10 times more likely to get a shift when posting preferred availability than the nurse that waits to accept by text message when it is offered. This shouldn’t come as a big surprise because the nurses who post preferred availability get their shift milliseconds after hospitals post their needs. So make sure you’re the one who wins in the competition for the highest-paying shifts by posting your preferred availability with MSOC! For more information about auto booking call or email. We are always here to help.

Why are You Receiving Less Shifts?

During this time of the year, hospitals require fewer agency nurses for a number of reasons. As the end of the year approaches, hospitals are exhausting their budgets, so they can’t afford to bring in as many agency nurses. Instead, they fill needs with their own staff. Also, many hospitals don’t allow their staff nurses to take vacation during the holiday season. Therefore they call upon agency nurses less and less.

Another reason why the demand for nurses isn’t as high in November and December is that doctors schedule less surgeries. Similarly, patients don’t wish to have surgery during the holiday season. Planned surgery is usually delayed until the New Year.

This trend of hospitals requiring fewer staff toward the end of every year has especially been felt this year because of the difficult economic times. Patient volume is lagging because pricey procedures, such as knee or hip replacements, are simply out of reach for patients in this economy.

What can MSOC nurses do to increase their chances of getting a shift? By posting preferred availability and being more flexible with shifts. The odds of a nurse who can work days, nights and weekends getting a shift are much higher than a nurse who can only work weekends. It’s important to be flexible, especially from now until the end of the year.

Maintaining Preferences

The topic of the previous issue was the importance of maintaining your preferred availability, which would get you the shifts you want faster. In this issue, we discuss why you should also maintain your preferences for hospitals and specialties. Doing so can earn you our high-paying shifts even faster.

Now that MSOC has partnered with the Advocates, you have the opportunity to work at one of the 9 hospitals in a chain of respected health care providers. However, why would you drive all the way to Advocate Good Shepherd when you live closer to Advocate Christ? Or why would receive a text message for a shift at Advocate South Suburban when you live in the North side of Chicago? At MSOC, we like our nurses to be flexible but that doesn’t mean you have to work at all 15 of our hospitals. Instead, log onto MSOC‘s website and pick 3-5 hospitals where you would like to work. That way, we won’t bother you with dozens of text messages with shifts from hospitals where you have no intention working at.

The same thing goes for maintaining your preferences for specialties. We’re getting nearly 100 shifts a day from our hospitals but if you’re a Tele nurse, you should only be getting Tele shifts. Remember, to edit your preferences, after logging onto medstaffoncall.com, click on the tab furthest to the right titled ‘Edit Preferences’. If you need help with this, you can always reach Christine at 888-270-8374.