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.

Preferred Availability- Why is it so important?

When you first log onto MSOC’s website to post your availability, you will notice that, by default, you are always available. With default availability, you receive text messages when shifts that you qualify for become available.  You may accept those shifts by text message or on the website.  You also have the option to post preferred availability and unavailability. Unavailability blocks certain times of the day when you don’t wish to work (it appears red on your calendar). This way, MSOC won’t bother you with shifts during those hours. Preferred availability (green on your calendar) allows our nurses to choose the time they prefer to work so that they can be auto-booked for shifts that match their preference.  But why is it so important for you to post your preferred availability into MSOC’s system?

The reason for posting preferred availability might not seem clear. Why not just leave your availability as open (the default option) and accept the shifts on your phone? In actuality, by posting preferred availability, you greatly increase your chances of working.  MSOC competes with several other agencies to get our quality nurses shifts. 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 can get you the shift faster.  However, in order for you to take advantage of MSOC’s technology, you should post preferred availability. With preferred availability, our nurses get the shifts they want faster than anyone else.

Preferred availability is one of the main reasons why MSOC is able to pay nurses such high rates. MSOC bridges the gap between hospitals and nurses, cutting out the middle man and improving the quality of staffing for everyone involved. In the end, our savings translate into higher earnings for YOU.

Hospital Update- November

We are happy to announce MSOC is partnering with Advocate Health Care.  Advocate has 9 locations in the Chicago area including:

Advocate Bethany Hospital, Chicago

Advocate Christ Medical Center, Oak Lawn

Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, Downers Grove

Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, Barrington

Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Chicago

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge

Advocate South Suburban Hospital, Hazel Crest

Advocate Trinity Hospital, Chicago

Condell Medical Center, Libertyville

 

Advocate Health Care offers monthly orientations for you to work at any of their 9 hospitals. 

 

St James Hospital Chicago Heights & Olympia Fields

Orientation November 3^rd & 4^th

Provena St. Joseph’s Hospital in Elgin, IL

Orientation Wednesday November 19^th

Provena Mercy Hospital in Aurora, IL

Orientation Monday Novmber 24^th

Call 888-270-8374 or Email info@medstaffoncall.com  today to get registered to attend one of the upcoming hospital orientations.