Anesthesia Group Overcomes Staffing Shortage with CRNA Locums

Challenge

A Diminishing Volume of Quality Talent

For 11 years, an anesthesia practice management group has partnered with Caliber Healthcare Solutions to supply top-tier CRNA locums to hospitals and clinics.

Sourcing quality anesthesia provider talent is a challenge any time, given it’s an in-demand specialty with few available resources. But it’s been especially vexing the past few years with inflation and staffing shortages plaguing the economy and the healthcare industry.

Through it all, this group and its physician partners knew they could count on Caliber.

Solution

A Collaborative Partnership with a History of Success

No stranger to balancing acts, the group’s physician partners hold many responsibilities, including reconciling weekly and monthly vacation calendars with daily hospital service-side needs, identifying coverage gaps, and hiring temporary CRNAs as appropriate.

Given the group’s rural geography, it’s a feat that can be easier said than done. One physician partner elaborates, “In terms of location, we’re truly in the middle of nowhere, which makes attracting and retaining healthcare talent a significant challenge. Most providers who practice here do so because they have family roots. This, coupled with a national labor shortage, has created a reality where recruiting locums for our clients is the best solution.”

Thanks to an established partnership with Caliber, the group has been able to count on expert staffing help from a dedicated team who intimately understands, and specializes in, locum anesthesia positions.

Result

The Right Relationship Matters as Much as the Right Talent

Through industry and market fluctuations, Caliber has provided the practice management group with top-tier talent and top-notch service. For the group’s physician partners, this is invaluable. One explains:

“With Caliber there’s a history, a precedent. They understand me and my hiring needs inside and out and even put up with my quirks. I’ve worked with some on the team for so long that we know each other’s families. That dedication to relationships is as important as connecting with top talent.”

Caliber takes the time to understand how every physician partner, and every physician within any healthcare organization for that matter, likes to communicate. In this case, the group’s physician partners prefer direct text—whether connecting with Caliber to fill an expected vacancy two weeks out or working to staff an unexpected coverage gap with two hours’ notice.

Caliber fills an average of two vacant positions a week for this practice management group, with the exception of holiday seasons when increased demand for stopgap talent accelerates that pace. The group knows they can reach out any time, even with requests that might require more creative solutions.

Lessons Learned

Not All Agencies are Created Equal: Advice on Finding the Right Match

For practices considering partnering with a staffing agency for the first time, the group’s physician partners share advice based on their own experience:

Come to an understanding
Look for an agency that makes you feel comfortable, specializes in your healthcare niche, and understands your unique staffing requirements.
Take the short and long view
It’s easy to find an agency who can keep communication lines open when planning weeks in advance, but it’s harder to find one that can be responsive and collaborative when you’re in crisis mode (e.g., someone resigns, someone gets sick).
Prioritize partnerships
Avoid box checkers and seat fillers. Find an agency you can build a long standing relationship with; one that also has long standing relationships with their providers. It’s the only way to ensure you get consistent, vetted, quality locums.
Value consistency
If you find a relationship-oriented staffing partner, you have a better chance of filling short- or long-term roles with repeat talent—talent that grows familiar with your practice and can make the coverage transition progressively easier each time.

Get the Coverage You Need with High-Caliber Providers

If you’re looking for a dedicated partner to work with you on your evolving staffing needs, Caliber can help. Reach out to us today to talk over your hiring challenges and the unique solutions our team can offer.

Anesthesia Practice Management Group Sources Consistent, Quality Locums Talent with Caliber

A Diminishing Volume of Quality Talent

A Collaborative Partnership with a History of Success

The Right Relationship Matters as Much as the Right Talent

Not All Agencies are Created Equal: Advice on Finding the Right Match

Get the Coverage You Need with High-Caliber Providers

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