Antitrust, Talent, and Trust: What the Aya–Cross Country Deal Collapse Really Means for Healthcare Staffing

aya healthcare acquires cross country healthcare what this means for healthcare staffing by BlueSky Staffing Software

The healthcare staffing industry is often described as cyclical, booms followed by corrections. But the collapse of the proposed acquisition by Aya Healthcare of Cross Country Healthcare, combined with renewed federal scrutiny of noncompete practices, signals something more structural: a shift in how regulators view labor markets, consolidation, and competition in healthcare staffing. Introduction: Beyond […]

Vendor Neutral VMS: How Hospitals Gain Control Over Staffing Spend

bluesky staffing software is a vendor neutral vms for hospitals

Vendor-neutral VMS puts hospitals in full control of their staffing spend and vendor relationships.

True neutrality means the hospital owns the VMS platform, not an MSP or staffing agency.

MSPs can limit transparency and vendor competition, increasing costs and reducing control.

Independent VMS drives cost savings, vendor fairness, and better quality candidates.

Real-world cases show why hospitals must prioritize direct VMS ownership for contingent labor management.

What MSP Fees Are Really Doing to the Healthcare Staffing Market

msp employee recruiter hr professional on laptop blog image for msp fees

There’s an old finance joke: ask a mathematician, “What’s two plus two?” you get 4. Ask an accountant, “What do you need it to be?” Numbers can tell very different stories depending on who’s adding them up. In healthcare staffing, MSP fees are a perfect example: they don’t just skim margin; they quietly reshape who […]

Healthcare Staffing During a Federal Government Shutdown

us government shutdown impacts healthcare staffing insights blog

Hospital staffing remains steady despite federal budget uncertainty, with agencies leaning on contract extensions, local coverage, and tighter rate control. Learn how healthcare staffing firms can navigate these trends using smarter workforce planning and technology.

Travel Nurses vs. Core Nurses: Do Work Environments and Staff Treatment Actually Differ?

Short answer: Not according to recent evidence, but both groups report that the work environment still needs improvement. Travel Nurses and Core Nurses: Work Environment Comparison A national study in The Journal of Nursing Administration (JONA) examined whether travel nurses and core (non-travel) nurses perceive their work environment and ethical climate differently. Conducted across seven U.S. health systems with 615 travel nurses and 1,586 […]

BlueSky Now Supports SignNow: A More Flexible, User-Friendly Signature Experience

bluesky staffing software integration with signnow electronic signature

BlueSky is excited to announce that our platform now supports SignNow as an integrated e-signature provider for healthcare staffing organizations. This update gives every BlueSky client additional flexibility and a modern, intuitive way to manage signature workflows alongside all the robust automation you already expect from BlueSky.

Aya Healthcare’s Acquisition of Cross Country Healthcare: What It Means for You

aya healthcare acquires cross country healthcare what this means for healthcare staffing by BlueSky Staffing Software

In December 2024, Aya Healthcare announced plans to go through with an acquisition of Cross Country Healthcare (Nasdaq: CCRN) in an all-cash deal valued at $615 million, or $18.61 per share. This represented a 67% premium over Cross Country’s pre-announcement closing price of $11.16. The announcement initially lifted CCRN’s stock price, but in the months […]

Why Temporary Nurse Staffing Is Here to Stay

While the travel nurse industry experienced significant declines—dropping by 37% in 2024 alone—it would be premature to assume the end of its relevance. In fact, several key factors point to a resilient and promising future for this sector. Despite recent contractions, projections indicate that the market will stabilize in 2025 at approximately $40 billion—more than […]

Trump, DOGE, and the Future of Healthcare Staffing

A key principle in analyzing business strategies is the time-tested adage: “Follow the money.” This approach is particularly relevant when examining the current landscape in Washington and its potential effects on the healthcare staffing sector. While it might seem unusual to link government actions to healthcare staffing, understanding the flow of funding within the industry […]

Why your staffing agency needs a software system built specifically for healthcare

In the ever-evolving landscape of staffing agencies, especially within healthcare, the pursuit of efficiency, compliance, and precision is constant. Every decision about technology adoption carries weight, potentially shaping both operational effectiveness and financial outcomes. With a plethora of software solutions on offer, the pivotal question emerges: Is healthcare-specific staffing software the right choice, or can […]

Is Your MSP Vendor Neutral? How to Find Out.

What’s all the talk about supposed MSP ‘Vendor Neutrality’ in healthcare staffing?  Now that the contract labor spend is dropping for most hospitals around the country, many are taking a closer look at how their supply chain for temporary personnel is performing. Prudent executives realize the drop in contract labor today doesn’t preclude another crisis […]

Why are there fewer heathcare staffing agencies in the US today?

The landscape of healthcare staffing agencies in the U.S. has shifted significantly, with fewer agencies dominating the market. This trend can be attributed to several factors:   Rise of Managed Service Providers (MSPs): The emergence of MSPs in the healthcare industry has played a pivotal role. MSPs streamline the process by acting as intermediaries between […]

Post-pandemic Healthcare Contract Labor Blues: Stubborn Costs Vex Administrators

Post-pandemic era healthcare labor costs rose to crisis levels across the country. Much of these costs were fueled by the sudden surge in agency nursing labor costs. Supplemental labor became a growing percentage of total workforce expense. Since workforce comprises the greatest cost to healthcare institutions, this caused financial stress in systems around the country. […]

BlueSky Synergy Unveils Revolutionary BlueSky Network, Linking Agencies to Hospitals for Effortless Staffing Integration

BlueSky Medical Staffing Software today announced an innovative feature to its flagship platform. The BlueSky Network establishes a direct connection between participating staffing agencies and the hospitals they staff when both are connected to the BlueSky Network. Reducing duplicate work and speeding time-to-fill, both the agency and hospital will benefit from enhanced efficiency and accuracy […]

International Travel Nursing: The answer to your workforce woes?

With the nursing shortage showing no signs of slowing, many hospitals and health systems are casting a wider net, and that includes hiring international nurses. While that can be part of a balanced strategy, there are some things to consider before going all in.

The Nurse’s Dilemma: A Glimpse into the World of a Compassionate Nurse

Recently, while visiting a loved one in a palliative care unit at a local Nashville hospital, I had a conversation with a dedicated nurse that opened my eyes to the challenges faced by healthcare professionals. This nurse, passionate about helping those in need, candidly shared the stress that had begun to wear on her. As […]

Introducing The BlueSky Network: Streamlining Data Transfer between BlueSky Systems

In the dynamic landscape of healthcare staffing, the last decade has witnessed a remarkable transformation, largely propelled by the expansion and execution of the Managed Service Provider (MSP). This evolution has not only brought about unprecedented opportunities for staffing agencies but has also revolutionized the way healthcare institutions are connected to contract labor.

2023 Year in Review

As we bid farewell to 2023, it’s time to reflect on the incredible journey we’ve embarked upon at BlueSky. In the ever-evolving landscape of hospital staffing, this year has been nothing short of transformative. Join us as we take a look back at the milestones, innovations, and collaborative successes that defined our 2023…. and join […]

Are you responding with fear?

Traveling around through various associations and conferences, I hear the same refrain; “we’re going to eliminate travelers and contract labor”. That sound like music to the CFO’s ears, but is it be realistic? In some cases, a laser like focus on staffing models can have that impact. However, the $63B in temp staffing nationwide presents […]

A Sea Change is Coming

Managed Service Providers (MSP) utilizing Vendor Management Systems (VMS) or Workforce Management Systems have been a part of U.S. commerce for decades, starting with Ford Motor Company and moving across all market verticals.

Where are all the nurses?

As the pandemic has begun to wane, lingering questions remain. Not the least of which is how much worse staffing shortages became during this period, while the largest healthcare staffing firms enjoyed record breaking profits.

If You Can’t Beat Them, Be Them

Healthcare is home to ~9% of the total market share of the U.S. temporary staffing industry. Over the past few years, the role of managed services providers (MSP) has gained majority share of this system of temporary personnel delivery. What was once a pure technology solution, this model has become a tool for the largest […]

The “Hidden Tax” of Travel Nursing Contracts

If your hospital system is using travel nurses, it is very likely you are using technology called “VMS” or (Vendor Management Solution). The entities that use this technology are called “MSPs”, (Managed Service Providers). Although these tools have been used for decades in non-clinical settings, they didn’t appear in great numbers until the early 2000’s. […]

4 Tips for Hospitals and Facilities to Attract Healthcare Grads in 2022

We touched on the topic of how to attract healthcare grads back in 2019, and given all of the change that’s happened in the industry since then, it’s only fitting that we provide some updated tips for attracting the right talent in 2022.  It’s a well-known fact that in today’s market, nurses and healthcare professionals […]

From the Web: Staffing Software Provider Innovates, Provides Much Needed Help in Healthcare Staffing, Scheduling for Tough 2021 Holiday Season

The holidays are notoriously difficult on medical facilities. And this holiday season should be no exception with the pandemic still lingering. As noted by Kelly Gooch of Becker’s Hospital Review, there are many unprecedented challenges in healthcare staffing that have made it more and more difficult to provide the care that patients need. Here are a few […]

And the winner is………

This week Americans exercised their constitutional right to vote on everything from local offices and amendments to the President of the United States. The results of the Presidential race ensure that the Affordable healthcare plan will continue to roll through its regulatory and nation-wide implementation deadlines. States that have gambled on a total repeal of […]

5 Great Gift Ideas for the Nurses in Your Life – 2021

Nurses are the unsung heroes of the medical industry. And darn it, they deserve gifts. But it can be difficult to figure out what to get them when the time is right. What is a thoughtful gift that nurses can actually use and still be meaningful to them?

Six Knockout Factors in Finding Quality Healthcare Staffing Placement

It is no secret in my house that the TV show, “Royal Pains,” is one of my favorites.  The show is about a small concierge medical practice, run by two very different brothers in the Hamptons.   Although the quirky show has some hard-to-believe plot lines, it does bring light to some real issues in the […]

What can we learn from Michael Phelps in Healthcare Staffing?

Healthcare Staffing: A Matter of Inches Many who watched this last weeks Olympics competition witnessed the completion of swimmer Michael Phelps’ cumulative record of 18 Gold medals and 22 total.  As replays showed his gold medal races over the last three Olympics, it was clear that many of the gold medals were won as a […]

Will a Romney Presidency “Make My Day” For Healthcare Staffing Firms?

National pundits have been all over the board about the unique and unprecedented appearance of Clint Eastwood at the final night of the Republican National Convention. Despite the typical talking heads analysis of the evening, one particular phrase by candidate Romney will have a direct impact on the staffing industry. His promise to do whatever […]

CVS Sparks Health Information Debate

Business owners across the country are facing the reality that health insurance costs are rising exponentially year over year and healthcare staffing agencies are not immune.   In fact healthcare staffing agencies are somewhat more affected because their business is hiring people.  Companies are forced to be creative and think outside of the box regarding their […]

Facts Reveal the Cause of Nursing Shortages in Alabama

What’s behind Alabama’s nursing shortage? BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – There’s concern from hospitals across our state that we’re not only dealing with a surge in COVID patients but also a shortage of nurses.

Healthcare Staffing: A Guide to ATS and VMS

We’re always releasing content and insights to help our audience understand the market fully. Previously, we’ve released guides for agencies to understand VMS systems, but wanted to update and release a more comprehensive overview. Below you will find information that helps define and categorize ATS and VMS systems to bolster your decision making for your […]

Benefits of Staffing Software for Travel Nursing

It’s now well established that staffing software aids healthcare companies and nurse recruiters for a myriad of reasons. However, certain specialties within medical staffing may find technological solutions particularly beneficial. The high-stress world of “travel nursing” is one of these.

Benefits to Healthcare Staffing Software for Credential Management

Healthcare staffing software has come a long way in recent years, with innovations ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) to email marketing integrations. Sometimes, though, the most fundamental of features are those that aid in credential management. Compliance with credentialing expectations must be an absolute imperative for any healthcare recruiting agency.

8 Things to Consider When Choosing Healthcare Staffing Software

Staffing companies are often confronted with tedious tasks and logistic issues which cost them time and money.  More and more staffing companies are turning to a software solution that will reduce the excessive costs of these overheads and streamline their processes.  There are many companies who claim to be the best solution.  Deciding between those […]

Attention Start-ups – Not all Staffing Software is Created Equal

So far 2013 has been great for healthcare staffing and if January is any indication on the growth potential it is going be an awesome year. Every day I hear about more startups entering the healthcare staffing market. Many of these start-ups come from different verticals within staffing, but almost never have healthcare specific staffing […]

Introducing … BlueSky Lite!

Are you tired of using paper for credentialing? Would you like a seamless transition to an electronic system? Is your agency perilously close to outgrowing the use of spreadsheets in credentialing?

The Secret to Surviving the “Nurse Shortage”

A recent study by Nursing Solutions, Inc. found that the turnover rate for bedside RNs was higher in 2014 than in any of the past five years. Their study indicated an improving economy parallels the increase in turnover for RNs.

Three Tips to Automate Healthcare Staffing Credentialing

Automated Healthcare Credentialing is Key to You Staffing Agency’s Success We all know by now that the Affordable Healthcare Act is a game changer for healthcare and it is not any different for a healthcare staffing agency.  Healthcare credentialing is the most time consuming and costly process in staffing but also mitigates the biggest risk […]

Three Deadly Sins of Healthcare Staffing Credentialing

As a healthcare staffing agency, great credentialing of candidates is one the most valuable services you can provide clients.  It is too often viewed as a necessary evil rather than an insight into the workforce and a hedge against future liability. After several years as a software implementation specialist for BlueSky,  I have witnessed three major […]

Refining Your Credentialing Processes

In the world of sports, people talk about “offense” and “defense.” Offense is often the most glamorous part of the game. However, smart coaches know that strong defense is equally critical to winning. Similarly, healthcare recruiting experts understand that successful nurse staffing companies must rely on more than just savvy marketing and sales campaigns.

Using a Nurse Scheduler to Manage Overtime and Reduce Turnover

Have a Nurse Scheduling Strategy Have you thought about the impacts of a nurse scheduler system can have on your business?  As a healthcare staffing agency, using a dedicated nurse scheduler system can not only simplify your life but save you critical time.  Operating a nurse scheduler is a company strategy that if you allow […]

Healthcare Industry Highlights: Executive Order on Economic Competition

Economic Momentum as Country Recovers from COVID Today, the President is building on economic momentum by signing an Executive Order to promote competition in the American economy, which will lower prices for families, increase wages for workers, and promote innovation and even faster economic growth.

Health Care Staff Scheduling and Common Challenges

With a non-stop flow of patients and a squad of medical professionals rushing around to help them, hospitals and health care centers can be hectic places. In the midst of all this organized chaos it’s challenging for staff to keep up with constantly shifting schedules or clocking in and out.

Benefits for Healthcare Schedulers with BlueSky Staffing Software

Healthcare recruiting success requires tenacity, accuracy, and speed-to-market. While moving quickly relates to all aspects of the business, from placing job ads to credentialing, it is particularly relevant during the scheduling phase. Healthcare recruiting agencies bring value to their clients by quickly filling job orders, pure-and-simple.

Optimizing Medical Staff Scheduling Is Achievable

Staff scheduling for major hospital systems and healthcare organizations can be a frustratingly complex endeavor. If not done properly, it leads to short-staffing, a disgruntled workforce and even high employee turnover.

How Are Healthcare Leaders Managing The COVID Crisis?

When the pandemic hit, healthcare organizations were thrown into reaction mode, with many long-term projects being shelved indefinitely.  However, health leaders were able to take some steps which not only addressed some of their current needs but set the stage for future growth.

2021 Trends and Insights for the Healthcare Staffing Industry

We don’t have to tell you that 2020/2021 has been a lot different than the prior years, for the healthcare staffing industry. As members of the American Staffing Association, we wanted to expand on recent discussions and insights that companies just like yours have been mulling over.

Successful Virtual Onboarding Using Your Applicant Tracking Software

Healthcare staffing is facing new challenges and opportunities as the 2021 year continues. For many of us in the healthcare staffing industry though, remote onboarding has been part of the process for years. Throughout the changes our industry faces it is exceptionally important to keep the first part of your recruitment (and retention) workflows optimized.

Five Ways Staffing Agencies Can Improve the Candidate Experience

Job candidates are the lifeblood of any staffing agency. However, due to rapid advances in technology, the way candidates approach the hiring process has changed. Long gone are the days when paper applications, multiple in-person interviews and lengthy staffing processes were considered the norm. Today’s candidates have come to expect a more seamless experience, comprised […]

3 Rules of Thumb For Moving to a New Workforce Management Software

Health care providers are increasingly turning to workforce management systems, and the growth seen in this marketplace provides the evidence. According to industry researchers, the health care workforce management systems market will experience a more than 13.8 percent compound annual growth rate through 2019, surpassing a value of $1.4 billion.

3 Features of YouSignHere medical staffing agencies cannot live without

It is no secret that You Sign Here, an electronic signature system, and BlueSky Medical Staffing Software are tightly integrated.  In fact, You Sign Here was developed by one of our owners in response to support issues we had with other e-Signature platforms. But over the years we have worked hard to make the You […]

Have a Little BlueSky Madness

College basketball fans wait every year for the tradition and anticipation of March Madness.  If you are student at one of these devout basketball schools, it is even more exciting to be a part of annual basketball ritual. 

Announcing BlueSky University

You may have heard us talk about the training material we have been rewriting over the last 6 months.  This is one of those projects that has taken the entire team to make it happen. 

Changes to Community Training

The three year anniversary of BlueSky Community Training is quickly approaching.  Can you believe it has been that long?  I can’t!

Stop manual entry!

Do you enter a lot of caregivers into your medical staffing software manually from a list of resumes? It feels like a monotonous task which should be able to be automated.  Staffing and Recruiting companies have enough on their plates with finding great caregivers, interviewing them and placing them in the right positions without having […]

Valentine’s Day Trivia!

Today is a day that men and those who are single typically dread – it’s Valentine’s day! So if you’re single, sitting at your cubicle hating the sight of every bouquet being carried past your desk or if you’re someone who thinks today is just another day and doesn’t care to get involved in all […]

Staffing recruitment made easy with apps like Jobbee!

Let’s face it, finding a job is not always the easiest thing to do. You spend countless hours online or going business-to-business dropping off hundreds of resumes to maybe get one phone call. Once you receive the call you have to prepare for an interview, and then play a waiting game on whether or not […]

You Gotta Get Up

Sunday night I watched the Oscars with the other BILLION people across the world. I am one of those people who have a love-hate relationship with the Oscars. I love the red carpet fashion, watching my favorite stars win well-deserved awards and seeing how bad the host can mess up. As much as I love […]

Gracefully Changing Leadership

Today is the first full day since Pope Benedict retired.  Even though I am not Catholic, I thought it was very moving and thoughtful how gracefully he has moved on into his new position. This move into a private life was a shock to many, as a Pope has not retired in over 600 years, […]

Contract Labor: Two little curse words for hospitals

Two little words, “Contract Labor” are almost considered curse words to hospital systems.    You are probably even scared to utter them publically.   Many hospitals are concerned about MSPs and contract labor entering the ever-changing healthcare arena. But in this day and age of the Affordable Care Act we are all trying to navigate […]

Things to look for when finding an Spouse… I mean MSP

Contract labor is a fact of life for many hospital systems, especially as the Affordable Care Act transcends among us, and bed count rises exponentially.  Using a managed service provider is one of the many ways acute care facilities and hospital systems are managing appropriate staffing levels.

Don’t be Stuck in the Stone Age with your Staffing Software

As the Director of Sales for BlueSky, I hear many story’s about other providers and of course the 100 reasons why customers hate their current healthcare staffing software.  One of the biggest and newest complaints is certain company’s that are not staying current with new technology. WHAT?  How can you stay in business, as a […]

Healthcare recruiting during the Ebola outbreak

What is being called by the World Health Organization (WHO as, “The Most Severe Health Emergency in Modern Times,” the Ebola outbreak, is definitely putting the damper on healthcare recruiting and staffing. According to the latest WHO figures, the Ebola epidemic has killed more than 4,000 people worldwide.  And as of Sunday, there is a healthcare worker […]

Ebola Education Module Integrated with BlueSky

Education is power during the Ebola Outbreak Last week I wrote a blog entitled, “Healthcare recruiting during the Ebola outbreak,” and asked, “how are you handling this health emergency?”  Just a few days later, our strategic partners at Prophecy Healthcare launched an Ebola Education Module, called “Ebola: Communicable Disease Preparedness,” to all of their clients […]

5 Halloween Costumes for Healthcare Staffing

Now, you probably have your work Halloween party coming up this week and want to make sure you have something appropriate but different, right?  Well the BlueSky team brainstormed and came up with a great list of costumes specifically for healthcare staffing. Check them out!  

What we can learn from LinkedIn’s Reorg: Bigger isn’t always Better

With the holidays approaching, we will hear the saying, “Good things come in small packages.”  For women, this usually means visions of diamonds and jewelry and for guys they are fantasizing of a key to the sports car they’ve always wanted. I recently read an article in Venture Beat about how LinkedIn reorganized their prized […]

7 items not to miss when choosing a healthcare staffing software

There are questions that should be asked during every sales demo for healthcare staffing software and these questions are missed almost every time I do a demo. There are some basic questions that I think NEED TO BE ASKED that people just DON’T ASK.  Shhhh… It’s my secret So listen up if you are searching […]

7 Apps Travel Nurses Can Use for Scanning Timesheets

Managing payroll for hundreds of healthcare professionals all over the country can be a huge headache.  This is especially the case if you are waiting for a nurse to reach a fax machine to send in a paper timesheet or the quality of the picture of the timesheet is not good enough to decipher a […]

Why margins are so important in healthcare staffing

Many healthcare staffing company owners tend to focus on the rounded number for gross margins in their business. There are important reasons for firms of any size to carefully examine and “chase the basis points”.  A basis point is one hundredth of one percent, and to many, may seem too minor to track. After all, why […]

How Leading Staffing Agencies Can Quickly Fill 1,000’s of Job Orders

In the staffing industry time is of the essence and having the right technology can make or break a company. EZ Job Filler, a new breakthrough technology in medical staffing, allows agencies to fill VMS job assignments even faster. BlueSky Medical Staffing Software has partnered with EZ Job Filler to automate the process of importing […]

See You At Staffing World 2016?

Conferences are such a great way to see our clients face-to-face and keep a very real pulse on our industry.  ASA’s Staffing World is just a little over one week away and the BlueSky team is excited to see some new and familiar faces.  Hopefully, we also get a little time to enjoy beautiful San […]

New BlueSky Updates!

At BlueSky, we have more enhancements to announce that will save our clients time and increase their productivity. They will also help to further establish BlueSky MSS as THE source for cutting-edge technology in the medical staffing software sphere.

World Autism Day!

It affects 1 in 88 children (1 out of 54 boys), it’s the fastest-growing developmental disability in the U.S., receives 5% less of research funding of many less prevalent diseases in children, and can cost a family $60,000 a year on average…it’s Autism.

New year, new goals

With the new year comes new years resolutions. The problem with those resolutions is many will set them but never achieve them. That is the hardest part about achieving any goal – the part that bridges where you are to where you want to be.

Is LinkedIn the “forgotten” clique in the school of social media?

There is no denying that social media has taken over our lives. How many times have you heard someone say, “I saw this on Facebook”, “I’ve got to Instagram that!”, “Did you see ‘so-and-so’s’ tweet on Twitter?!”. There are so many different forms of social media to choose from that you can join and connect […]

3 SEO Myths for Healthcare Staffing Agencies

A few months ago I was talking to a client that was investing in a brand new website and question came up, “Where are the most important areas I should be spending my time and money when creating a new website?”  And I realized they were about to make the same mistake that many healthcare […]

3 Tips for integrating Electronic Signature in Healthcare Staffing

If you haven’t heard BlueSky is integrated with a new eSignature software called YouSignHere. With the integration of YouSignHere into BlueSky you can send and sign documents from anywhere helping you do business faster and more efficiently.  BlueSky can merge information from a travel contract such as pay-rates, housing details and it never has to […]

Celebrate World Down Syndrome Awareness Day!

Today may appear to be just another day to most people. It’s a Thursday, Friday is around the corner and weekend festivities are on your mind. Its the 21st of March and you’re sitting at work reading this blog instead of doing other work you probalby should be doing, right? Just another day in the […]

Where do pets fit in within the healthcare staffing industry?

It’s been a long day at work – you’re tired, your feet hurt, you have a headache from the daily stresses from your job and you just want to get home and veg out on the couch with some take out and your favorite shows. However, when you walk through the door there is someone […]

Google Glass could change Healthcare

In late February Google confirmed that Google Project Glass is running ahead of schedule and will be released late 2013.  In conjunction with the announcement Google also launched a huge competitionto find testers of the cutting edge device.  The competition asks Twitter followers to write in a 140 characters or less, “what would you do […]

“X” marks the spot

Have you noticed people walking around today with a red “X” on their hands and wondered what it stood for? Did you know? Did you know that slavery exists? Did you know that there are still over 27 million slaves? 80% of which are women.  Did you know it can and probably is happening within […]

Marketing for healthcare staffing in 6 seconds…GO!

Each day shortcuts are being made in our communication. It wasn’t that long ago that our only communication was only via snail mail now we have email – delivering mail and other important documents in seconds. Phone calls are dwindling down to short, sweet, simple, to-the-point text messages. Even social media is dwindling down with […]

Seven Rules of Engagement of Mass Email

You know, it’s funny how many people know about the CAN-SPAM Act but don’t think that it applies to them.  Yes, Healthcare Staffing Recruiters… I am talking to you!  If you are using email in your business, the CAN-SPAM act establishes requirements for every message you send regardless of Bulk email or not and allows […]

3 Hottest Trends in Medical Staffing Recruiting

When it comes to the role of recruiting there is no question that with the invention of the iphone and then Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Skype, etc., that society has seen many huge changes in technology and it has also affected the way we attract talent. 

New LinkedIn Contacts can help keep healthcare relationships strong

LinkedIn is a wonderful social media tool that can be used within any profession. BlueSky is even on LinkedIn! If LinkedIn is something new to you, let me familiarize yourself with it. Think of it as a social media to network friends, colleagues, former classmates, etc and the information you share is more of a […]

Is your Doctor iRoboting

Working in Brookstone through college I was very knowledgeable on the latest and greatest gadgets this world had to offer. One of those, ahead-of-its-time, gadgets that was sold in Brookstone over ten years ago and is just now mainstream was the Roomba from iRobot.  As a store manager, I thoroughly enjoyed the Roomba because we […]

The Travel Industry is Better than Ever

Late Friday afternoon I received a call from one of my favorite clients, who I have known since I first started with BlueSky, and his company landed their first big travel contract. I love these types of calls because it means my customers are growing, but I also find it ironic because at the Healthcare […]

Healthcare flex spending accounts – Are they worth it?

Let’s face it we all have faced some sort of medical emergency in our life. If you are fortunate enough to not have had a medical emergency arise yet, the question of how will you pay for it may not be far from your mind. Of course, you may have insurance but, it may only […]

Potential hazards of 1099’s in healthcare staffing?

Utilizing independent contractors can sometimes be a difficult and confusing task to take on.  They are used not only in the healthcare staffing industry, but in almost every industry out there.  It’s important for companies to have some general knowledge on independent contractors, as misclassifying employees and independent contractors can result in potentially serious consequences. 

The healthcare staffing industry has gone digital, but have you?

It’s obvious to see the changes on the surface of healthcare and how it has adapted the now digital age. Paper files are now being scanned to become digital files – that can be accessed from about anywhere, well…as long as HIPAA guidelines are followed. You can be notified that your prescriptions are ready for […]

Stay competitive in the growing healthcare staffing industry

There is no denying that job opportunities in the healthcare industry are growing, which is why healthcare is the place to be. Careers as a registered nurse rank #2 (Dentistry ranks #1), according to U.S. World News for both top healthcare jobs and top 100 best jobs. Even though job opportunities are growing, the market […]

A common problem with nurses in healthcare staffing? Know what it is?

With any job there are always “it-could-happen-but-its-unlikely” type situations. For example, a recent news story broke about a Tiffany’s store employee that stole $1.3 million in jewels from their employer. This something that probably sits in the back of every company owner’s mind but never expects to deal with.

Social media serves as a benefit to your healthcare staffing agency?

Another blog about social media? Yeah we’re going there. Social media still seems to scare some in the healthcare staffing industry. Don’t be scared! More than likely you have a Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram or some kind of online social presence for your personal life. The thing is, it’s just as important for companies to […]

Healthcare staffing industry professionals: Do you take your health seriously?

When you think of the word “health”, think about what that word means. Eating right? Excercising? The medical definition from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is as follows: “The condition of an organism or one of its parts in which it performs its vital functions normally or properly : the state of being sound in body or […]

What can we in healthcare staffing learn from the royal baby?

There is a buzz all over the globe about the royal baby. The new prince is here! Although this is very exciting, and I am one of those people that is probably overly invested in being interested in a baby across the pond that will someday be a prince for a country I’ve never even […]

Healthcare Staffing Summit 2013 is quickly approaching – Get Ready!

We are now about three months away from arriving in Chicago for yet another great time at the healthcare staffing summit. Three months may seem like a long time but it will come faster than you think and its time to start preparing if you haven’t already. What is the Healthcare Staffing Summit? The Healthcare […]

Healthcare taking electronic route for records?

Health care information technology is showing promise, but providers stress both advantages and drawbacks to the use of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) or Electronic Health Records (EHR). The term “bioinformatics” is also catching on quickly.

Are you scared to try new things for your healthcare staffing agency?

Trying new things is always scary whether it is in your personal life or work life. Which is understandable. Trying new things is like stepping in to the unknown, like stepping into a dark alley that you’ve never been in or jumping into a pool when you’ve never learned to swim. Just look at this […]

The Brave New World of Healthcare Staffing

Entering the unique world of healthcare staffing is challenging at best and overwhelming at worst, but it can also prove very rewarding. In its simplest form, the industry involves matching a qualified, credentialed nurse to a unit within a hospital, but there is so much more that goes into making that happen. One thing is for […]

The Emergence of Freestanding ERs

Freestanding emergency rooms have popped up across the country, but according to a recent NPR story, they have advantages as well as drawbacks. Freestanding ERs are seen as competition to urgent care centers, which are available as convenient options for non-life threatening emergencies like influenza or a sprained ankle. There is a huge difference between […]

Provision of ACA Limiting Consumer Costs Delayed

A portion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) protecting consumers against higher health care costs has been delayed by the Obama administration. Originally scheduled to kick in Jan. 1, 2014, this aspect of the ACA will now begin in 2015.

Solutions Sought for Looming Physician Deficit

Earlier this year, the president of BlueSky, Tim Teague, asked the following question in this article: “Will your new doctor be a nurse?” Well, the debate over the future role of nurse practitioners has continued in the medical community given the projections of a looming physician shortfall. This New York Times article breaks down the […]

BlueSky Healthcare Staffing Enhancements

At BlueSky, we are always searching for ways to enrich the user experience for our clients. We recognize that healthcare staffing is an ever-evolving industry, so our work is centered on helping staffing agencies save time and money.

BlueSky’s Global Cash Card Integration

These are exciting times here at BlueSky. At this year’s Healthcare Staffing Summit in Chicago we will unveil a long-awaited feature: an integration with Global Cash Card! Be sure to stop by and visit us in Booth No. 101 for a live demo! We are thrilled to share this seamless enhancement with our loyal customers.

BlueSky’s SMS Solution

Ever had a job to fill but wondered what the best way was to get the message out quickly to your candidates?

Facebook as a job board?

Just a few short weeks ago, Facebook announced its long-awaited job board. In my opinion, it’s going to change the face of healthcare staffing recruiting. If you are a healthcare staffing agency and are not on Facebook then you need to be! Combine the interactive job board, which is aggregating over 1.7 million openings from […]

End of year reviews have begun – Our top 5 blogs for the year

It’s the end of the year and that time of year to reflect on things that have happened over the course of the past 12 months. Social media and blogging became more of an importance to us. We have blogged about a wide range of topics from holidy fun to the presidential election. From social […]

What NOT to do as a Healthcare Staffing Recruiter on Linked In

LinkedIn has proven to be a great tool to build business relationships and a great platform for reaching out to potential candidates.  Heck, over 93% of recruiters actively use LinkedIn. It has made recruiting quicker and more efficient for even the tightest budget. However, many healthcare staffing agencies are still not as effective in their […]

12.12.12.

Today is 12.12.12. and the last time we will see the same number repeat itself…atleast for another 88 years. We thought we would post a “fun” blog with some fun facts, all about the number 12 of course!

Hiring for the Holidays

The fourth quarter presents the most complex hiring dynamics of the year, with its mix of fall activity, holiday retail hiring, Thanksgiving-to-New Year’s crazy traffic, and end-of-year financial and budget maneuvering.  For recruiters in the healthcare staffing agency, the standard to fill job orders are distributed this way: first quarter, 23 percent; second quarter, 21 […]

Remembering 2012 – Healthcare Staffing and Personal Highlights

This year has come as quickly as it has gone, and what a year it has been! We have had so many good moments this year, but one to highlight was attending the Healthcare Staffing Summit in Las Vegas, NV this October. It was great spending time with our wonderful clients – thank you for […]

Data conversion in the healthcare staffing industry

Staffing agencies are continually looking for the most modern, intuitive, flexible solution, which removes the constraints, and costs of their current platform. Medical Staffing agencies are especially sensitive to these products due to increased regulations on patient safety and pressure to deliver faster, better service with fewer resources. Doing so however, means moving old customer […]

Happy Holidays from BlueSky – Christmas fun facts

Christmas is upon us again, even though it is the same day each year, it always seems to sneak up on all of us. There never seems to be enough time to trim the tree, wrap/buy presents, and make all of the Christmas goodies that aren’t healthy for us. Not to mention prepping yourself to […]

Imagine This….

Let’s paint a picture: You’re out having lunch or coffee with some of your colleagues and you get an important call that everyone at the table should take part in as a conference call but the speaker on your phone makes it slightly difficult for everyone to hear – such an inconvenience, right? What if […]

The Healthcare Staffing Summit is Awesome

We are less than a week from the start of the Healthcare Staffing Summit and I am so excited!  The booth has arrived and the goodies have already been shipped off to Vegas.  Just a few more items on the checklist and we will be ready to go.  What about you? Are you ready? Agencies […]

Are we there yet? (Chicago Summit 2013)

Are we there yet? I am sure you have asked the question, “Are we there yet?”, to your parents before. I feel like a little kid days before the Healthcare Staffing Summit. But, one of the craziest things for me as an adult was realizing that after months of preparation and anticipation, the 2012 Healthcare Summit […]

Six Easy Steps to Becoming a Vendor Management System

Only Six Steps, is that EVEN possible? While planning our Roundtable for the Healthcare Staffing Summit in Las Vegas, we knew there was a big need for healthcare staffing agencies of all sizes to learn how to be a Healthcare VMS. Agencies realize that if they don’t take care of their clients need, to have […]

Social media at a whole new level

“I saw it on Facebook” Social media is one of the fastest growing marketing tools that is not getting the credit it deserves. There is so much more that can be done with your social media outlets than you think.

Trick or Treat – Happy Halloween!

It’s that time of year again… Rushing around trying to find the perfect costumes, buying candy for all the little trick-or-treaters, and baking lots of goodies for halloween parties. Once this is all done the chaos turns in to parents rushing their kids door-to-door to fill their bags and buckets full of candy before their […]

Why Is Voting Important to Healthcare Staffing?

Healthcare is a key topic of the 2012 election campaign.  However, many voters do not understand how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) affects the uninsured, current patients, payers, families, businesses, and caregivers.  This blog will provide an opportunity for you to become more knowledgeable and a policy expert.

Top 3 Features in BlueSky 4.0 You Shouldn’t Miss

If you are a BlueSky user you already are aware that we are very different from any other healthcare staffing software on the planet.  One of the biggest differentiators is our quarterly upgrade and this latest version, Version 4.0, isn’t any different.  There were so many great new features that we added for our users […]

Hurricane Sandy victims still needing aid

One of the biggest tragedies has affected 10 states in the northeast region of the United States – Hurricane Sandy. Sandy hit the northeast coast on Oct 29th and has left over $50 billion in damages to the New York area alone. The storm has proven to be one of the most costliest storms after […]

Recycling for therapy?

In today’s society everyone is about “going green”. We have electric cars, recycled paper products, re-usable shopping bags, etc. However, there is yet another way to recycle products for the benefit of someones PHYSICAL health. Yes, thats right physical health.

Don’t Break the Texting Etiquette Rules of Healthcare Staffing

Every day American’s send over 5 million text messages.  People can’t put their phones down.  The statistics are staggering – 97% of all text messages are opened.  This easily explains why SMS technology is the fastest growing recruiting tool among healthcare staffing recruiters. Last month we did a seminar and a blog on text messaging.  […]

Healthcare and Social Media – Yes they do go together!

Social media is growing – be a part of it! It isn’t a secret that social media is growing in importance and that the healthcare industry has been a late bloomer when jumping on the Social Media bandwagon.  Although many industry leaders recognize the importance of social media in healthcare they are concerned with how […]

Happy Thanksgiving from BlueSky!

It’s that time of year again… Family is coming to visit, trips to the grocery store are made, the house is needing cleaned, preparing travel plans and of course the numerous hours spent looking at Black Friday ads to find the perfect deals – then the plan of how to figure out which stores you […]

The Mobile Revolution

We can do almost anything via our smart phones. Holiday shopping, banking, order pizza…  Mobile recruiting should be the next logical step in the healthcare staffing industry. 

Social media isn’t scary

“Do you have Facebook?…Are you on Twitter?” How many times have you met someone and wanted to stay in touch and they ask you if you Facebook, or vice versa? Or how many times have you had a conversation with someone that starts with, “I saw on Facebook the other day…” – all the time, […]

The deadly and controversial: Influenza

If you’ve been watching the news, its hard not to see a story about the flu epidemic that has taken over. Especially in Boston, where Mayor Thomas Menino, has declared a state of emergency. In recent weeks, 18 people accross the state of Massachusetts have died because of the illness. Flu season seems to strike […]

New, More Secure Passwords for BlueSky Users

In this day and age most of us agree that secure passwords are important. We have all heard the news reports about systems getting hacked and personal information being leaked. I know that my personal information is important and even though it is going the easy route, having one simple password for everything just won’t […]

Java Plug-in Security threat and what it means for BlueSky users

Java has released its latest version of it software, but isn’t having the results they were hoping for. The release of Java 7 is making some web browsers more vulnerable to security risks and virus attacks. The program is used by millions of both PC and Mac users, and is also used on devices like […]

EXCITING NEWS! BlueSky Releases Mobile App

Healthcare staffing and recruiting has been made more accessible with the launch of the BlueSky mobile app. The app was released on January 15th, 2013 and is available for both Apple and Android users. 

Managing the Boomers and the Future of Healthcare

Within the next 2 decades, 8 million baby boomers will be turning 65 and are expected to live longer and rely a great deal on our healthcare system.  Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, coverage is set to expand by 32 million Americans by 2019.  Being conscious of this increased demand for care […]

The Seal of Approval: Joint Commission Certification

Do you want to improve the quality of your organization and earn a more reputable name? Want to be recognized by insurers? Want to have a stronger, more cohesive team? Have you been thinking about getting your organization certified by the Joint Commission but haven’t done so? What are you waiting for!? All these things […]

Another exciting announcement from BlueSky

The year of 2013 has proven itself to be a year of new and exciting things. We have recently announced the launch of our BlueSky mobile app, and we have yet another exciting announcement….

Smart choices in healthcare staffing means big decisions.

In life we face a lot of big decisions like buying car, purchasing a home, what to major in at college, etc. Facing big decisions never changes and doesn’t always get easier as time goes on. Choosing the right healthcare staffing software isn’t any different than making a big life-changing decision. Determining The Need The […]

Picture This…

Picture this… Your flight has over-sold. Now you will be sitting on top of the person next you. Your uncomfortable seat is now even more uncomfortable. Making travel plans far from ideal when all you want to do is just get home. This was a situation I experienced a few weeks ago while traveling home […]

“Are we there yet?!”

We’re ready for Vegas, but is Vegas ready for us?  In three short weeks we will be in Las Vegas, NV for the 2012 Healthcare Staffing Summit and we could not be more excited to share what is new with BlueSky! Trust us, it’s very exciting and you won’t want to miss out on this […]

What your Healthcare Staffing Agency Should Know about Internet Explorer’s Security Risk

Tuesday morning, Microsoft warned Internet Explorer users that hackers have found a “massive hole” or vulnerability in the web browser and to download security software to mitigate the risk of infection. More than a third of all web browsing is done through Internet Explorer versions 6-9, so obviously this is a huge concern to BlueSky users and others who use a […]

Simple Interview Questions in Healthcare Staffing Not to Overlook

Many medical staffing recruiters may feel expert interviewers, but it is always good to have a quick refresher.  And if you are a medical staffing startup you are starting to interview healthcare professionals based on you applications you have received, you should be prepared with some simple interview questions. 

Be Sticky: Why Healthcare Staffing Software Integration is Important

The pressure to cut costs and streamline business in today’s economy is more intense than it has ever been.  Medical staffing agencies have to figure out ways to cut costs without compromising the customer experience.  The goal of streamlining a process, growing revenue, while delivering quality service, is the foundation of financial success.  To achieve […]

Txt Me Pls: The Most Powerful Healthcare Staffing Recruiting Tool

Do you consider your staffing agency to be cutting edge?  You may have a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a great healthcare scheduling software and even a blog.   All of this is excellent, however, I am going to make a very bold statement and I don’t want to scare you so make sure you are […]

Tips for Successfully Tele-Commuting with Web-based Staffing Software

Believe it or not there are over three million Americans working from home.  As gas prices continue to rise, so do the number of tele-commuters.  Creating convenience and flexibility for the at-home worker is becoming a critical benefit for employees at many healthcare staffing agencies.  Even large Fortune 500 companies are recognizing the financial advantages […]

Tips for Successfully Tele-Commuting with Web based Staffing Software

Believe it or not there are over three million Americans working from home. As gas prices continue to rise, so do the number of tele-commuters.  Creating convenience and flexibility for the at-home worker is becoming a critical benefit for employees at many healthcare staffing agencies. Even large Fortune 500 companies are recognizing the financial advantages […]

7 Reasons Why Your Website Should Integrate with Staffing Software

Your website is the face of your company and if used correctly can be your best lead generation tool. Educate your potential caregivers with relevant content, and in return collect information on them. How do you collect, store and manage this data? That is an issue many small and medium healthcare staffing agenices have.  Integrating […]

9 Tips to Completing a Successful Healthcare Staffing Payroll

With more and more vendor management systems popping up, the rules of healthcare staffing payroll seem to get increasingly complicated.  We already know that Healthcare Staffing payroll could not be more different than ANY other industry’s payroll.  Healthcare facilities have crazy billing and overtime rules that can make processing payroll a nightmare. 

Benefits of Web-Based Healthcare Staffing Software

In wake of recent power outages on the East Coast and the unforgiving fires in the western half of the United States, it is yet another reminder of how important it is to have safe, secure, and reliable data storage for your company.

4 Tips for Healthcare Staffing Agencies to Hiring Internal Staff

Having held the position of hiring manager for a small business, and currently working as an implementation specialist within the healthcare staffing software industry, I understand the challenges of hiring the perfect employee.  Finding an employee who not only understands the healthcare staffing industry, but who can keep up with the ever-changing world of technology, […]

Five Effective Ways to Hire Temporary Healthcare Staff

1. Prepare a job description.  The job description you provide will validate your need for more help. Job descriptions also identifies the skills, knowledge, licenses, certifications and necessary abilities for the job.  The more detailed the job description, the better the healthcare staffing agency will be able to find employees who are a good fit for […]

Four Lessons from The Hunger Games in Healthcare Staffing

Like the rest of world, I read The Hunger Games trilogy and saw the movie.  For the 2% of you who don’t know the story, The Hunger Games is a movie based on the novel by Suzanne Collins.  It is about two representatives from each of the twelve districts in the country who are placed in […]

Choosing the best Healthcare Staffing and Recruiting Software

What to look for in a Healthcare Staffing and Recruiting Software If you are in the market for healthcare staffing and recruiting software, you have your work cut out for you! There are several options to choose from and finding the best solution for your company is key.  Not every healthcare staffing and recruiting software […]

Float Pools- Are they working the way you expect?

If your float pool or staffing bank is not providing the results you need, you are not alone. One of the great challenges in the acute care setting is the ability to meet the challenge of daily staffing expectations. Two of the major drivers in this challenge can be the random “call-offs” in an already […]

Cyber Security Part 2:  Data Breach and Cloud Computing Dangers

As previously discussed, the move to Cloud computing is simply the change from working with applications that are loaded on your local computer to working with applications that are generated online via the Internet. Cloud Computing, or web-based applications are not a “Clouds” per se, but are applications that are housed in a computer that […]

Cyber Security Part 1:  Understanding Cloud Computing

The terms “Cloud Computing” and “In the Cloud” are terms that harken pictures of data sitting somewhere in the sky with no physical attributes. Although nothing could be further from the truth, this terminology still leaves consumers scratching their heads as to how all this data can live up in the sky! To make the […]

Physicians becoming Hospital Employees – Does it affect the Locum Tenens Demand?

Between 2010 and 2015, a milestone in the practice of physicians was reached. The number of physicians working as employees of a healthcare organization or a group practice surpassed the 50% mark. This direction of employment versus independent practices has been a growing trend. Hospital systems have been aggressively recruiting physicians for several years. Their […]

Healthcare Staffing a Great Place to Be

The growth or contraction of the healthcare staffing industry has typically followed the direction of the economy. Since hospital census typically takes a dive when unemployment spikes, the need for additional labor softens.

Customize your VMS Portals

Today, businesses require customizable and efficient workflow, especially for healthcare-staffing VMS portals.

6 Points on Selling your Staffing Firm: # 5 Design your Payday

Now that we’ve discussed some of the preliminaries of selling your healthcare staffing firm, it’s time to take a look at the often-used “earn out” strategy. An earn out strategy is a means by which a price to purchase a company is negotiated with

6 Lessons on Selling a Recruiting Firm: #2 valuation

In the first lesson, we examined understanding why an owner would sell.  In this post, I will open the door to the question of valuation: what is my company truly worth? It is helpful to know this information when a potential buyer comes calling. One of the first things a buyer will do is examine […]

Supreme Court Health Care Ruling: What businesses need to know

King v. Burwell: Follow the money to Healthcare Staffing Agencies The historic ruling concerning Obamacare this week has left constitutional scholars scratching their collective heads.  A mentor of mine was told me; “you can study the roots…or you can enjoy the fruits” take your pick!  Despite the interest in the reasoning behind the ruling (the […]

6 Lessons on Selling your Recruiting Firm: # 1 the why

  Ever wanted to sell your healthcare staffing agency? There are many reasons why owners come to a point that the thought of selling their medical recruiting firm is on the table: retirement, exhaustion, debt and change of career are just a few of the reasons.

Is your low-hanging fruit killing your healthcare staffing agency?

When I started my first healthcare staffing agency over two decades ago, it began in a tiny office with payroll that was funded by my prior company stock options. In our hurry to generate revenue, we were anxious to earn business from anyone that would listen to us, and populate our database with candidates as quickly […]

Donald Trump and Affordable Care

Donald Trump and Affordable Care Act   As Donald Trump moves closer to becoming the Republican’s presidential candidate in the general election, there are new ramblings of what he would do to Obamacare if elected. Many arguments have been made against the continuance of this growing governmental entity, but odds are the ACA has already […]

The latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act

Late last year the Supreme Court decided to hear the latest legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act. One item at issue is the Act’s provision to pay health insurance companies subsidies to help offset the cost of out-of-pocket expenses for low income policyholders that purchase insurance through a government exchange. In short, the suit […]

Manage The Margin Killers in Healthcare Staffing!

In a prior post we discussed two areas that can greatly affect margins in the healthcare staffing world; unemployment and workers compensation. These two components of the cost of labor are directly applied to actual payroll amounts, thus decreasing the gross margin.

State Medicaid Expansion and the 2012 Electoral Map

Last year the Supreme Court ruled on tenets of the Affordable Care Act that withheld Federal funding from states that chose not to expand their Medicaid programs to include many of the nation’s current uninsured. The ruling denied the Feds ability to withhold existing Medicaid funding if the state did not adhere to the Act’s […]

Will your next nurse be a man?

Have you ever wondered what the odds are that you will have a male nurse? If your guess is “not very likely”, you’re right. However, based on census data just released, the odds are growing every year that your next nurse could be a male.

Complicated math for determining demand for temporary labor

As the Affordable care act comes closer to full implementation, multiple factors will combine to assess the impact on the demand for contract labor.  It is impossible to determine demand figures using historic data as the ACA has thrown an entirely new set of governing principles into play. When all the new regulations for payment […]

The Affordable Care Act Desperately Needs YOUNG PEOPLE!

As the new math of the Affordable Care Act plays out, insurers and hospitals are scrambling to take advantage of new markets. One of the cornerstones of the ACA was the acquisition of a young demographic from a currently underserved population. There will be substantial fanfare around the country to engage the millions of uninsured […]

American Hospital Association’s “Workforce Roles in a Redesigned Primary Care Model”

In January of this year, the American Hospital Association released a report entitled “Workforce Roles in a Redesigned Primary Care Model.” This document was largely created from a roundtable discussion by nine physician and nurse leaders who were asked to develop some recommendations for hospitals and healthcare systems that would be faced with a paradigm […]

How Flexible is your MSP / VMS?

I recently attended a seminar that included topics on how to maximize the value of an MSP/VMS relationship. One of the most interesting take-aways from the meeting was the examination of what were the best as well as worst attributes of most MSP/VMS systems. Not surprisingly, the most valuable asset an MSP/VMS provides is uniformity […]

Affordable Care Act is About to Invade Your Living Room!

Since the Affordable Care Act was enacted three years ago in March, most of the work for implementation has been behind-the-scenes and little noticed by the typical consumer. This will all change on Jan 1, 2014 as for the first time in history, all Americans will be guaranteed access to healthcare coverage.

Why the Stockton CA Bankruptcy is Important to HealthCare Staffing Firms

Stockton, CA has been in the news recently as a Federal Judge ruled Monday, April 1, that it is eligible for bankruptcy protection. At first glance, this ruling seems to have little to do with the future of healthcare in the United States. Upon closer inspection, however, what stands out is the City’s #1 creditor, […]

Common sense and The Affordable Care Act

Picture this; a not-for-profit hospital in an urban area tracks it’s cost to provide care for ONE uninsured, homeless individual for a period of between 18 months and 2 years. At the heart of this exercise lies the impetus for the creation and execution of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Making healthcare coverage […]

The I.R.S. and the Affordable Care Act-what role do they play?

Recent news cycles have been loaded with information concerning the I.R.S.’ scrutiny, or lack thereof, of applications for not-for-profit 501 C 4 status. Most of the noise concerns the ability of the institution to adequately manage parts of the largest healthcare overhaul since the introduction of Medicare. As the I.R.S. continues to be in the […]

Will Affordable Care Act present dilemma for Unions?

Several million employees across the US receive health insurance benefits through what is called a “multi-employer” plan, or otherwise known as a Taft-Hartley plan.  These plans currently cover unionized workers in retail, construction, transportation and other industries with seasonal or temporary employment. These plans are typically included in the employers collective bargaining agreements, and are […]

What will Affordable Care Act actually cost through the State Exchanges?

As the Affordable Care Act moves closer to full implementation, the real test is soon to begin. As state insurance exchanges prepare for open enrollment in the fall of this year, premiums for various levels of coverage are starting to take shape. Most eyes are on the State of California as it is as close […]

Daily Pay a “Taxing” Issue

Companies often claim that their employees are their greatest assets. In the world of temporary staffing, aside from existing contracts and operations, nothing could be closer to the truth. Human capital is the currency of staffing firms, and needs are constantly changing to provide the best possible experience for the temp worker. One of the […]

Affordable Care Act: From the Street

Despite the derisive debates surrounding ObamaCare, there are some good changes that have been mandated for those seeking health insurance on their own. In 2014, all new plans offered are required to cover a set of “essential health benefits,” some at no cost to the enrollee. These “essential health benefits” include the following: ·      Outpatient care·      Emergency […]

The Future of ObamaCare

It all started with  the tension of the waiting game when the ultimate fate of the Affordable Care Act would be determined by the Supreme Court Justices. This hurdle was overcome by proclaiming part of the legislation as a “tax” instead of a mandate, and the voluntary participation by the states in the expansion of […]

The (not so) Simple methods to test for FTEs – (Part Two)

In the last blog ,The (not so) Simple methods to test for FTEs…,”we discussed both the “stability” period and the “measurement” period. As is the case in other Federal programs, consistency in the measurement periods is the key. Whatever period you select, (between 3 and 12 months), stay consistent in consecutive periods. What sizes of businesses are pertinent […]

Affordable Care Act Actuarial Premise

Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) will close at the end of March 2014. The original goal of 6 million enrollees will be tough to achieve. According to the Department of Health and Human Services there were four million enrollees through Feb. 25, 2014. The actuarial science that accompanied the introduction of the […]

Affordable Care Act and VMS/MSP Representations

The Affordable Care Act has some very specific implications to the world of managing multiple human capital vendors. (i.e. the VMS model and MSP). It should be a safe assumption that employees of staffing agencies are considered employees of that agency, and NOT the healthcare facility in which they provide services as a subcontracted agent. […]

Healthcare Staffing Agencies and Affordable Care Act: A Taxing Issue

Many healthcare staffing agencies that have over 50 FTEs are looking at the cost (or Tax) associated with NOT complying with the Affordable Care Act.  In 2015, employers with more than 100 FTEs will need to cover 70% of their full-time employees and by 2016 employers with more than 50 FTEs will have to cover substantially […]

ACA & SHOP – How it affects small healthcare staffing agencies

The Small Business Health Options Program, (SHOP) is a program with the affordable care act for employers with less that 50 FTEs. It is a plan that helps small businesses including healthcare staffing agencies provide health coverage to their employees. There are several feature of this plan that allow flexibility for the employer. Employers can control […]

The Future of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

The recent turn of events during the mid-term elections have the two political parties at odds over the future of the Affordable Care Act.  As a business owner, it is certainly instructive to take a look at the possible outcomes as the Republican-controlled Senate joins a Republican majority in the House.

States’ Medicaid Expansion and the Confederacy

One of the tenets of the Affordable Care Act struck down by the Supreme Court was the States’ mandated expansion of Medicaid. This segment of the legislation was seen as an “over-reach” of states rights. The choice for expansion was returned to the individual states. A map showing the states’ expansion of Medicaid has an […]

Don’t Let the Affordable Care Act Penalties Sneak Up on You!

Amidst the back and forth, the delays, and the political posturing surrounding the Affordable Care Act, DON’T FORGET THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT PENALTIES for employers for non-compliance.   The penalties are only for employers of 50 or more FTEs, but if your firm suddenly hits the 50 FTE threshold, penalties can accrue monthly. 

Will the Affordable Care Act Inject More Funding for Hospitals?

Amidst the uncertainty, delays, and administration of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a valid question remains as to the reimbursement effects on hospitals nationwide. Given the outreach of the plan to assist in providing insurance to millions who currently can’t afford coverage, a quick assessment would assume an increase in reimbursements to hospitals.

Two of The Leading Reasons for Gross Margin Erosion

As discussed previously, gross margins are the fuel that drives the healthcare staffing industry. Cash flow, growth, and debt financing are all greatly impacted by the slightest change in basis points. Assuming you are in the ballpark of industry standards for pricing and pay rates, there are two items that can seriously erode the margins […]

Will your new doctor be a nurse?

The state of California has been one of the earliest and most aggressive adopters of the Affordable Care Act. The desired outcome of the legislation is to reach into a population previously uninsured and provide health insurance for those individuals. On a macroeconomic basis, this translates into a larger pool of citizens with health insurance. […]

The coming Medicaid battle with the Affordable Care Act – something has to give

One of the major tenets of the Affordable Care Act was state-by-state expansion of the Medicaid program to cover the poorest residents on a state-by-state basis. The law was originally written to withhold Federal reimbursement for Medicaid payments if states did not comply with the expansion of coverage. The Supreme Court ruled that the Federal […]

Small Staffing Firms Adjust for Tax Season

Most start-ups in the staffing industry are organized under the umbrella of an S-corp or an LLC. The reasons most opt for these choices rather than a C-corp are the single pass-through taxation applied to the S-Corp and LLC.  Income from a C-corp. passed through to an individual is taxable to the recipient at individual […]

Obamacare and the Not-For-Profit Hospital Conundrum

Approximately 60% of the hospitals in the US were created within the legal context of not-for-profit status. This tax-exempt status has been enjoyed by healthcare facilities around the country as Government subsidies were awarded after World War II for mostly religious-affiliated entities providing care in local communities. One of the criteria in awarding tax-exempt status […]

Fiscal Cliff Notes

Congress finally executed a last minute legislative response to the impending tax increases and spending cuts that were scheduled to become law Jan. 1, 2013.  It is too soon to evaluate this stopgap measure since legislators only received the final draft of over 100 pages a few minutes prior to the actual vote.  This will […]

What about the “Fiscal Cliff”?

Much debate is occurring on Capital Hill concerning the so-called “Fiscal Cliff”. The “Fiscal Cliff” per se was a negotiating tool between Democrats and Republicans to once again kick the proverbial debt-ceiling debacle further down the road. The deal with the devil was simple and relatively quick.  “Since we can’t decide today on what to […]

Phone Apps and Black Friday….retailers warming up.

This year most major retailers have started to warm to the notion that shoppers enter their brick and mortar sanctuaries with their smart phones in hand ready to cross-reference every conceivable retailer’s price. Prior to Black Friday of 2011, some retailers went as far as to ban cell phone use in their showrooms! The fear […]

VMS in Healthcare poised for a comeback

“As financial officers around the country try to make sense of the new staffing dynamic, the VMS will once again be front and center.”-Tim Teague, BlueSky MSS Tim Teague, President of BlueSky Medical Staffing Software, is blogging in conjuction with the Staffing Analysts at the Staffing Stream. “The Staffing Stream is a forum for the leading […]

Staffing Summit Take-aways

The recent healthcare staffing summit in Las Vegas provides interesting insight into the unique world of tempory labor in the healthcare sector. Co-incidentally, the day after the summit ended, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a “Re-do” of the numbers released on unemployment. Not surprisingly, the second set of numbers significantly increased the unemployment figures […]

Persistence in the Healthcare Staffing Industry

The recent surge in the national polls for Presidential candidate Mitt Romney reminds me of times I have struggled in the staffing industry. After a previous failed bid for President, and consistently trailing in every poll nation-wide, the Romney campaign is now experiencing for the first time in over 4 years the feeling of being […]

Dialing for Dollars

According to the Labor Department, household spending on vehicles, apparel, entertainment, and eating out decreased between 2007 and 2011. Telephone services, largely fueled by the growth of “smart phones” and higher priced data plans have increased during the same period by over 10%.

The election is near. Is your staffing firm ready?

As the November election draws near, the political pundits across the country do their best to project alternate futures based on their respective party platforms.  On one side there will be the continued implementation of the Affordable Care Act that has been largely affirmed through the recent Supreme Court ruling.  One of the major pieces […]

More Recent Data on the Nursing Shortage

I was reminded after my recent blog quoting Dr. Peter Buerhaus of Vanderbilt University, that he has written two more articles concerning the shortage. Findings show a 62 percent increase in the number of 23- to 26-year-olds who became registered nurses between 2002 and 2009, a growth rate not seen in this age group since […]

Fact or Fiction: There is a Nursing Shortage

In the July/August 2009 Health Affairs, Dr. Peter Buerhaus and coauthors found that despite the current easing of the nursing shortage due to the recession, the U.S. nursing shortage is projected to grow to 260,000 registered nurses by 2025.  A shortage of this magnitude would be twice as large as any nursing shortage experienced in this […]

Using Healthcare Staffing Software to Keep Your Overhead Low

Many of the onerous regulatory concerns of employers are triggered when certain FTE thresholds are met. The ObamaCare legislation for employers is triggered by one set of FTE rules, but execution of penalties or (taxes) is dependent on another set of FTE calculations. It is not unusual in heavily regulated industries to attempt to remain […]

Can you compete in the Olympics as a Vendor Management System?

As we all watch the world’s greatest athletes compete in London, from across the globe, it’s often easy to think only of the competition that unfolds daily. In reality, when these athletes perform their sport, those few seconds or minutes are the culmination of years of daily preparation.  As young athletes, these individuals started at […]

Macroeconomics of Vendor Management Systems

Vendor management systems have been a part of US commerce for decades, starting with the Ford Motor Company and moving across all other industries. Such systems were not invented with the advent of electronic data managements, but they have evolved to maximize the use of technology. These vendor mangement systems provide both operational and financial […]

HealthCare Industry in Flux

The recent ruling by the Supreme Court to uphold the major tenets of the Obamacare plan will not serve to quell the long and contentious debate over how to fund healthcare.  On the contrary, the court bypassed the individual mandate issue by calling it a “tax”, but moved to eliminate the forced compliance by states […]

Obamacare and the Healthcare Staffing Industry

The somewhat surprise affirmation by the Supreme Court this past week for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) has levered up the game of “chicken” that many states are playing with the state sponsored exchanges and Medicaid changes. With the wheels of bureaucracy continuing to creep forward with full implementation, it serves the […]

Why a Double-Dip Recession Would Not Devastate Healthcare Staffing

My prior blog explained some of the anomalies of the last recession and how it severely impacted revenues in the healthcare staffing industry. If a worst-case scenario happens this year, and the US is faced with a double dip recession, the staffing industry will not be hurt as badly as was the case in 2009. […]

How Automation Has Entered Healthcare Staffing Recruiting

As the number of unemployed workers remains high along with another new graduating class from colleges around the country, the number of applicants per job posted is reaching historic levels in all professions. In many industries, including the healthcare staffing industry,  the sheer volume of applicants has resulted in a reliance on more automated methods […]

3 Ways to Utilize Candidates to Source Healthcare Staffing Clients

No matter how many viable candidates are in your database, the law of supply and demand will always mandate amount of revenue you can generate. In short, the more candidates you have to place (supply), the more clients (demand) you will need to service. Obviously any successful healthcare staffing firm will be working on both […]

Three Lessons for the healthcare staffing Industry from FaceBook IPO

The recent initial public offering of the popular social network firm FaceBook provides a cautionary tale for healthcare staffing firms around the country. How in the world does the public offering of a previously private social networking company relate to the staffing industry? Three ways. Expectations, expectations, and expectations.

VMS Operational Considerations in Healthcare Staffing

As a follow-up to our last blog, “Building a Vendor Management System in Healthcare Staffing,” describing a brief history and current state of Vendor Management Systems in the healthcare staffing industry, we will take a look at some of the operational nuts and bolts in its application in the healthcare environment. Operationally, the most ornery […]

Healthcare Staffing Documents with Electronic Signatures

…. Are they really legal? During the course of candidate sourcing in the healthcare staffing industry, legal signatures are required for binding documents between prospective employees and the employer. The volume of paperwork in healthcare staffing credentialing and contracting is typically much greater than in other non-healthcare related fields. The process of sending, receiving, signing, […]

Joint Commission Certification: What’s in it for you?

The decision to begin the process of Joint Commission Certification for a healthcare staffing agency has faced all firms since the organization began certification for staffing firms a little over 7 years ago. The Joint Commission is an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies more than 19,000 health care organizations and programs in the […]

Margin Expectations in Healthcare Staffing

One of the most important aspects of successfully moving a start-up healthcare staffing firm from incubation to ongoing success is the ability to effectively manage margins. Tracking the true cost of labor is a cornerstone of all successful staffing companies. Every staffing firm should have their own benchmarks for margin objectives. Letting margins slide only […]

Why nurses choose contract labor over permanent placement

The segments of the nursing population that choose contract labor over permanent placement represent a substantial percentage of the workforce. One of the most important questions healthcare staffing firms has to answer, is how can we attract someone to a temporary assignment that is used to permanent placement.

Medical Liability and the Healthcare Staffing Firm

Participants in the delivery of healthcare have long been primary targets in litigation surrounding complaints of medical malpractice.  Good Samaritan laws that can provide some protection from damages resulting from unintentional harm fly out the window as soon as a licensed provider of care becomes involved.

How does Per Diem Medical Staffing work?

Per diem medical staffing comprises a portion of the total healthcare staffing in the US. Per diem medical staffing consists of those assignments that are not contracted for long segments of time. Unlike per diem medical staffing, travel contracted staffing typically commits a caregiver to a pre-determined schedule that can last several weeks or even […]

The (not so) Simple methods to test for FTEs…

Under the Affordable Care Act – (Part One) It seems a majority of organizations are safely under or over the minimum FTE requirements for complying with the ACA.  This blog is not comprehensive, but will give you a few guidelines to untangle some of the regulation.

The Real Worries a CNO Loses Sleep Over

Our team scoured the internet, pooled experience, called upon all available resources. The results of that effort is this collection of real worries that keep a Chief Nursing Officer or Nurse Manager awake at night.

Applicant Tracking Systems Increase Efficiency for Healthcare Demands

Staffing Agencies and Hiring Managers at Hospitals Directly Benefit from Proper Applicant Tracking Systems Applicant tracking systems, or ATS, help recruiters and human resource professionals acquire candidates, process them through job applications and interviews, healthcare credentialing and credential management, background checks and drug screenings, competency testing and formal agreement to hold a position. Bolstering the […]

Q&A: What is the Best Recruiting Process for RN and Travel Nurses

Our team is fairly active on the American Staffing Association’s forums, and during the last few days we were able to assist with some industry questions that could prove helpful for others. With that in mind, our team wanted to add it to our blog. Hope it helps!

Bolster Your Current HRIS With Healthcare Staffing Software

Our team is sometimes asked if we are a solid replacement for human resource information systems. The answer can be a little muddled, but sometimes the answer is yes. However, HRIS is still an important piece of any business operation workflow. Instead of letting our audience struggle to find a hard answer, we’ve outlined some […]

Demand, Supply, Sourcing, Strategy and More in Healthcare Staffing

During a Healthcare Staffing Summit 2020 discussion our founder Tim Teague participated in, a question arose regarding direct sourcing and how temporary staffing agencies, MSPs and others that provide staffing services are handling their clients’ requests to assist in direct sourcing.

8 Ways to Cut Labor Costs in Your Hospital

SIGNIFICANT HEALTHCARE LABOR MANAGEMENT COSTS CHALLENGE HEALTH SYSTEMS Labor costs are one of the largest expenses for most hospitals, so tight management of staffing and contract labor spend is essential to maintaining financial health. Dennis Patterson, chairman of The Collaborative for Healthcare Leadership, discusses eight ways hospital CEOs can cut labor costs and staff appropriately.

BlueSky is Sponsoring This Year’s SIA Healthcare Staffing Summit (HCSS) Conference

We are glad to announce our sponsorship and participation in this year’s Healthcare Staffing Summit by Staffing Industry Analysts. President and Co-Founder of BlueSky, Tim Teague, is speaking as an expert panelist during the summit. Invited to discuss the topic Next Generation Healthcare VMS and MSP, Tim Teague and the BlueSky team will be able […]

The Benefits to Healthcare and Medical Staffing Software: Integrated Margin Calculator

What’s your revenue for hiring out temporary and permanent candidates? As a staffing company, you must know precisely how much profit you’re making on your temporary or permanent healthcare openings before you place someone on an assignment. You likely see the markup for your placement, but do you know how this placement affects your overall […]

The Love Hate Relationship With The MSP Model in the Personnel Staffing Industry

The MSP (Master Services Provider) penetration in U.S. companies that have over 1,000 employees has grown to 60% since 2014 according to Staffing Industry Analysts.    The benefits to the client include: Greater exposure to candidates from larger talent pools Operational efficiencies from reducing multiple vendor reconciliations to one More uniform compliance for candidate proposals […]

Texting Is Part Of Modern Healthcare – We Explain Why

Many hospitals, clinics and medical facilities have been notoriously slow to adopt technologies such as social media tools and texting. But that could be changing. Modern healthcare is beginning to catch up to ways tech can be used as a tool to improve patient outcomes. 

Temporary Workers Now Accrue Sick Leave via Hours Worked

bluesky medical staffing software for healthcare staffing agencies and hospital healthcare systems

Recently our team was able to join a conversation about a process that certain states have not experienced before. We thought it would be helpful to provide the answer to the question that resonated the most. If you have any specific industry questions or want to continue the discussion, let us know!

Using Software to Eliminate Bias from Hiring

Artificial intelligence, smart candidate matching, automated onboarding… the keywords are limitless but the concept is the same. Software can help reduce inherent bias in the hiring process.

BlueSky Staffing Software’s Product Update Adds Transparency + Control

bluesky medical staffing software for healthcare staffing agencies and hospital healthcare systems

NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 18, 2020 — BlueSky Medical Staffing Software has released a powerful version update to its clinical talent management system. With hospitals facing financial challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic like increased costs, revenue losses and staffing shortages, locum tenens physicians, travel or temporary nurses and their employer agencies are heavily relied on by […]

Travel Nursing (Part 1): The Contract Cost Conundrum

Especially now, traveling medical professionals provide a critical part of the healthcare we receive today. Why is it that there are so many traveling nurses though? It seems like there would be a middle-ground to find a local professional and mitigate the costs associated with bringing one in from out-of-state. Travel nursing contracts have associated […]

Travel Nursing (Part 2): The Concept of Efficiency

In a prior post, we discussed the phenomena of nurses swapping cities simultaneously to work for 13 weeks, then returning to their respective cities. It doesn’t occur to the requesting healthcare facilities, the source of all job orders, that at the same time they are pulling travel nurses from other parts of the country, hospitals […]

Staffing Industry Giants Hit the Courts (Again): AMN and AYA Case

Aya Healthcare Statement Regarding AMN’s Practices and Recent Court Ruling SAN DIEGO, June 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Aya Healthcare has been successful in preventing AMN Healthcare from using unlawful contractual restraints to limit employee mobility in the travel nurse industry. AMN originally sued Aya and our employees in an attempt to prevent AMN employees from joining Aya. AMN’s […]

An Agency Standpoint on the Front Lines of COVID-19

This Gilbert staffing agency gets nurses and doctors to the front lines of the COVID-19 battle. In a typical week at AB Staffing Solutions, the Gilbert firm that places travel nurses and physicians in clinics and hospitals across the country, the company would find temporary professional homes for an average of 250 nurses and 90 […]

Nurse Staffing: Why today is different than in the “Great Recession”

What’s the current status of nurse staffing? IT’S A CENSUS YEAR FOR THE US. As hospitals stretch to meet the growing demand for census requirements, it is instructive to take a long-term view of the impact on the healthcare-staffing segment of the industry. History is usually helpful in predictive analysis. An example of this is […]

Medicare and Medicaid Allows Doctors to Practice Across State Lines

One of the biggest health IT related news items to come out was the announcement by Vice President Mike Pence that HHS was issuing a regulation to permit doctors to practice across state lines.  State Medical Licensure is something that has baffled many of us that have worked in healthcare.  I’m sure there’s some historical […]

2020 Healthcare Trends: Improve Your Onboarding!

The Challenges of Healthcare Recruiting: Ineffective Onboarding Process Today’s healthcare talent shortages allow doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, and other medical professionals to be selective about where they work – and for how long.

2020 Healthcare Trends: Mergers, Acquisitions and Who Loses When Companies Gain

A monopoly in motion as Healthcare Staffing Agency  purchases locum tenens software provider. SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — CHG Healthcare, the nation’s largest privately held healthcare staffing company, announced today the acquisition of LocumsMart, the leading locum tenens vendor management system (VMS).

2020 Healthcare Trends: Be Weary of Buzzwords

Everyone wants to “bend the cost curve” by “breaking down silos”. We are all working towards “personalized medicine” by deploying “predictive analytics” and “big data” using “cloud computing”.

2020 Healthcare Trends: Set Health Goals That You Can Reach

4 Ways to Set – and Achieve – Healthy Goals for 2020. Ready to ring in the new year with a set of healthy goals you can keep? Well, if you’re like most, those well-intentioned “new year’s resolutions” might be a thing of the past by Valentine’s Day. One of the main reasons is that […]

What are the difficulties Health Systems face with recent technology?

Health System Difficulties with Technology Hospitals and health systems are being forced to adapt to ever-changing technology systems in the name of pursuing the best care for their patients. However, many healthcare professionals say that the healthcare system is one of the slowest in embracing new technology as it emerges, and is sometimes left behind.

User Voice Interface is Reshaping Personalized Healthcare

How Will Voice-User-Interface Help Shape Personalized Healthcare?  If you’ve been following the trends over the past year, you’ve likely heard that the healthcare industry is on the cutting edge of Voice User Interface (VUI) technology. VUI is an exciting breakthrough for healthcare professionals that uses speech recognition to understand spoken commands and answer questions. Today’s […]

How Staffing Software Can Increase Your Speed-to-Market

There’s nothing worse for a recruiter than to submit the perfect nurse candidate to a job just a minute too late. It doesn’t matter if she was absolutely terrific for the job. When a staffing agency moves too slowly, the opportunity is lost.

Capture Quality Candidates: 3 Keys to Ensure Competitive Healthcare Salaries

How to Ensure Your Healthcare Salaries are Competitive: Learn the keys to addressing employee staffing to help enhance your ability to hire the best candidates and reduce existing staff turnover. With healthcare hiring staying at a high level, it’s essential for HR professionals, healthcare recruiters and hiring managers to understand how the salaries your hospital, […]

How to Prepare for the Retirement of Baby Boomers in Healthcare

It’s no secret to healthcare workers that aging baby boomers are changing the care delivery landscape given limited medical resources and staffing shortages. The industry seems hyper-focused on the demographic shift and what it means to hospitals, facilities, and physician practices. But what about the other end of the equation?

Hiring in Healthcare: Education vs. Experience

A hotly-debated question in the healthcare industry is whether an employee’s education is more important than experience or vice versa. But this generalized query may be an oversimplification. Real-life tends to be much more nuanced than theoretical speculation. Perhaps the most honest answer is, “It depends”.

Make Candidate Relationship Less Transactional & More Conversational

Healthcare recruiting is a business and an important one for that matter. Not only does the enterprise fund a highly-productive industry of recruiters and staffing agencies, but it also ensures that hospitals, nursing facilities and other practices secure desperately-needed care providers. However, it’s important that recruiters never lose sight of the “human touch.”

5 Questions to Ask that Will Help You Find Your Selling Points

No doubt the hot job market and growing healthcare industry bode well for medical recruiting agencies. However, basic economics dictates that supply always catches up with demand. While great staffing companies always stay busy, it’s still important for organizations to differentiate their services from those of competitors.

Longer Life Expectancy is Increasing Demand for the Healthcare Systems

The economy seems to be moving along nicely, but automation, AI and other technological developments have some workers concerned about their future job security. Innovation has certainly affected the world of healthcare staffing, but most of the changes have been positive for medical recruiters. The truth is that longer life expectancy and demographics suggests healthcare […]

Benefits to Healthcare Staffing Software 10: VMS Platform

Many healthcare recruiting agencies and medical organizations understand that modern software solutions are critical to success. However, some have yet to implement an advanced VMS platform. Given that the staffing industry is more competitive than ever, now’s a good time for industry leaders to reassess the technology’s virtues.

Benefits to Staffing Software – SMART Candidate Matching

It’s no secret that healthcare recruiting is changing rapidly, thanks to technology.  And that’s good news for healthcare recruiters and hiring professionals looking to identify and onboard the most highly skilled medical professionals available.

How Healthcare Professionals Can Mentally Prepare for an Interview

Job interviews are stressful for most nurse and healthcare candidates. Applicants often feel like they have one chance to “prove” their worth and must make the most of it in rushed circumstances. However, successful job seekers are wise to remember they’ve actually been preparing for the interview for quite some time.

Utilize Company Branding to Increase Healthcare Job Applicants

Most medical organizations know branding is very important when it comes to sales and marketing efforts. However, did you know it’s also critical for effective nurse and employee recruitment? Healthcare candidates are in high demand, and successful companies should view them similarly to customers.

Healthcare Recruiting is a Marathon

Nurse and medical professional shortages are a very real problem in today’s healthcare industry. There’s no doubt that many employers and recruiting agencies are confronted with major staffing challenges. However, this reality is not an excuse for making subpar hires.

How Forward-Thinking Healthcare Companies Use Benefits to Stand Out

Although it may seem counterintuitive, salary often isn’t the most important consideration for medical professionals weighing job options. Obviously there’s a limit. Pay rates must be competitive within the industry. However, studies suggest that non-monetary benefits actually go further with prospective hires than marginal pay differences.

7 Great Reasons to Be a Travel Nurse!

It’s no secret that many nurses and healthcare workers are passionate about their work and find it very rewarding. But, some medical professionals have carved out an even more unique career path that affords special opportunity. These folks work as travel nurses.

Will Healthcare Employees Need to be Upskilled or Reskilled as Technology Advances?

“Upskilling” is a hot topic in today’s rapidly changing corporate world of technological advancements. Articles are published daily predicting the demise of entire workforces due to machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). While many healthcare workers serve in hands-on positions like nursing, they’re not entirely immune to the changes.

5 Ways to Integrate Healthcare AI Into Your Daily Recruiting Routine

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been the talk of 2019 when it comes to healthcare recruiting. The technology still seems futuristic to many, but the fact is it’s already being leveraged by many companies large and small. There are many ways it can help teams improve the efficiency and effectiveness of daily activities. Here are five […]

How to Maintain Standards When Volume-Hiring Healthcare Professionals

Henry Ford is famous for having invented the assembly line. By creating systems that were simple yet efficient, he proved that quality cars could be mass-produced. Effective healthcare staffing agencies follow a similar methodology. Although they’re not working with steel components and heavy equipment, they do implement an “assembly-line”-type strategy to their recruiting and hiring […]

Considering Legal Exposure When Engaging a Staffing Firm

Liability exposure and costs associated with workers’ compensation claims are major factors for most healthcare companies. Many view nurse-staffing partnerships as a way to help mitigate risks. To some extent that’s true. However, relying on an outside recruiting firm to hire healthcare workers does not completely absolve a company from legal responsibilities.

6 Soft Skills Needed to Be Successful as a Medical Assistant

Aspiring Medical Assistants are understandably excited by their new passion. They’ve found a great career opportunity that allows them to help others. It may also be a stepping-stone to further advancement within the healthcare industry, including becoming a nurse or doctor. However, it is important to remember that special abilities are required for this challenging […]

How Medical Staffing Software Saves Money on the Back End

As technology plays a bigger role in all business, it’s easy to only focus on tools that increase revenue. Bringing more money into an organization is very important. However, it’s also critical that nursing and healthcare agencies save money on the back end. When you think about it, “a penny saved really is a penny […]

Millennial Workers Now Dominate Healthcare

Did you know that millennials now form nearly one-third of the U.S. workforce and significantly fill the ranks of nurses? With such collective power, they correspondingly exert great influence over the healthcare industry. Hospitals and nursing facilities that work to address the needs and desires of a millennial workforce are best positioned for success and […]

How Medical Staffing Software Keeps Your Agency Competitive

Healthcare and nursing organizations realize many benefits from the implementation of staffing software solutions. Many companies seem to appreciate such technology. However, they sometimes underestimate the importance of staying current with the latest innovations. All technology becomes obsolete over time, and businesses that don’t keep up with the changes will ultimately lose ground to the […]

Diverse Healthcare Candidate Pools Matter

Workplace diversity isn’t exactly a new concept in 2019. Most of us are aware of the benefits to having a multicultural staff that reflects the overall community. However, there are a few specific reasons why it may be even more critical than generally acknowledged. This is especially true in the highly sensitive world of nursing […]

5 Tips to Help Nurses Manage Those 12-Hour Shifts

There’s a lot to love about being a nurse! The job affords many opportunities and great pay. However, one tough reality for many healthcare professionals is the “typical” 12-hour shift. Although nursing can be quite flexible, it often is not a nine-to-five job.

How Staffing Software Can Simplify Compliance Management

Accurately accessing a candidate’s or employee’s credentials is important in most industries. However, it’s perhaps most critical in healthcare. The consequences of hiring an incompetent nurse or therapist can be dangerous; putting both patients and the company at risk.

Expanding Company Benefits to Increase Nurse Referrals

It’s no secret that word-of-mouth employee referrals are crucial for healthcare staffing agencies. The old saying, “birds of a feather flock together,” often rings true. And, great healthcare professionals tend to form tight networks. Many agencies offer great sign-on benefits and bonuses. For example, the well known travel nurse agency White Glove Placement offers great […]

BlueSky Medical Staffing Software will Exhibit at the 2019 NALTO & NAPR Convention

BlueSky Medical Staffing Software is pleased to announce that we are participating in the annual NAPR/NALTO Convention in La Jolla. We encourage all attendees to visit our booth to hear the latest developments in medical staffing and VMS software solutions specific to placing locum tenens! Or, just stop by to say, “Hi.” We expect a […]

Thinking of Becoming a Travel Nurse? Make Sure You Develop These 3 Critical Skills!

Nursing is a great career for people seeking challenge, reward, and boundless opportunity. While all nurses are in high demand, travel nurses are particularly desirable in today’s changing healthcare landscape. Many professionals relish the idea of exploring the country or world while earning a great income and serving the needs of patients. However, unique opportunity […]

How medical staffing software makes the physician search quick and easy

Locating the right physician for a health care organization can be a long, time-consuming process. Worse, after going through a candidate search and hiring an individual, it may turn out the person isn’t the best fit for the position. This means going back to the drawing board and wasting more time and money.

Are you controlling your contract labor spend, or is it controlling you?

As vendor management systems take an increasing market share in acute care settings, hospitals are becoming further removed from the nationwide talent pool. Although the use of a MSP (Master Service Provider) removes many of the administrative hurdles in assignment of temporary labor, it also creates another wall between the hospital and the healthcare professionals […]

3 medical staffing trends to watch out for in the second half of 2017

The health care industry is one of the fastest-changing sectors today, and the way in which appropriate candidates are found to fill available hospital and health system positions is no different. Technology has considerably changed the way health care organizations find employee candidates, and there are a few main staffing trends that recruiters should keep […]