Creative solutions needed to combat staffing shortages
KOLOA, Hawaii — Practice owners should broaden their methods of finding new employees to combat staffing shortages, according to a presentation here.
“Any technician that wants to be working is currently working,” Jane T. Shuman, MSM, COT, COE, OCS, CMSS, OSC, said at Hawaiian Eye 2023.
Shuman encouraged practice owners to branch out from where they would normally look for new hires by exploring industries such as hospitality. By becoming familiar with employees of restaurants, coffee shops and hotels over a period of time, practice owners may find ideal candidates for their open positions, as long as they are willing to make time to train new employees.
“You cannot train someone to be nice to your patients or to care about them as people, but you can train skills and comprehension of what they’re doing,” Shuman said.
Students should also be considered for positions. Practices can use local programs and create externship opportunities to help them connect with the right person for the job.
Another important part of preventing staffing issues is retaining employees.
“What I have started doing, because I didn’t always do this, is give them a pat on the back,” Renee Bovelle, MD, said in a related panel discussion. “So, if they worked on a difficult patient, say, ‘Hey, good job. It’s really good that you caught this.’ I think giving positive reinforcement is important.”
According to Shuman, fostering a positive work environment and empowering workers can help a practice keep its employees in the long term “because happy people really are more productive people.”
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Shuman JT. Staffing shortage: Creative solutions. Presented at: Hawaiian Eye 2023; Jan. 14-20, 2023; Koloa, Hawaii.
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