Healthcare Career Blog, Physician Blogs

2009 H1N1 Influenza Update

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 04.05.2009 | Category 2009 H1N1 influenza, CRNA, Family Medicine, Healthcare Career Blog, Hospitals, Locum Tenens, Physicians, diseases, infectious diseases

Candidate Direct urges our clients and friends to closely monitor the evolving 2009 H1N1 influenza or “Swine Flu” outbreak in the United States. For those in the medical field, it is particularly important to stay informed. The following web sites offer Candidate Direct physicians and locum tenens additional updated information.

• http://www.hhs.gov/ (Federal HHS website for general information on H1N1)
• http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html (International information from the WHO directly related to the swine flu)
• http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/ (Federal Centers for Disease Control updates regarding swine flu)
• http://www.medworm.com/rss/ (Medical Newsfeed for H1N1 news from various media outlets)
• http://www.cdc.gov/travel/ (Centers for Disease Control international and national travel advisories)

The CDC, infectious disease specialists and a multitude of health agencies are collecting data, monitoring and reporting on the latest developments with the H1N1 virus. As of today, they are urging healthcare professionals and the population at large to be prudent, but not to panic. Family medicine and emergency medicine physicians have been inundated with inquiries and visits from patients who are concerned about symptoms and learning how to avoid infection. Every inquiry must be evaluated on a case by case basis, and at this point one of the most important steps that anyone can take is to stay on top of the news. It is also imperative to follow these guidelines to avoid infection:

• Physicians and Locum Tenens should monitor the constantly changing flu event by visiting the web sites listed above and/or watching the news
• It goes without saying that medical professionals must follow the strictest hygiene practices while on duty. Just a reminder to also take personal responsibility for hygiene on your own time. Avoid unnecessary contact with obviously ill people, thoroughly covering your mouth and nose with disposable tissues or the inside of your elbow when sneezing or coughing and dispose of the tissue properly. Thorough and frequent hand washing is also key.
• Physicians and Locum Tenens should carry alcohol-based hand sanitizer and use it frequently through out the day.
• If you develop flu-like symptoms, contact your personal physician as soon as possible.

What is the Most Likely Reason Rural Communities have Physician Shortages?

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 13.04.2009 | Category Hospitals, Locum Tenens, Medical doctor jobs, OB GYN jobs, Orthopedic Surgery, Physician Career Path, Physician Shortage, Physicians

If we were on the popular tv game show Family Feud (now hosted by John O’Hurley, of Seinfeld fame), the question might be put to us this way:

Name a reason that big cities tend to have more doctors than rural communities:

Would you name either of these two reasons?

• Affluent areas pay higher salaries than rural areas
• Physicians tend to settle down near the place they were trained

And the Survey Says …

Both! Affluent communities in and around big cities are where the majority of medical schools and teaching hospitals are located. As doctors leave school and move forward with their careers in physician residency jobs, they tend to settle near the large teaching hospitals where they trained.

For example, San Francisco and Washington DC are loaded with medical schools, as well as high-income residents:

• San Francisco, California, had 117 primary care doctors per 100,000 residents.
• Washington, D.C., had 102 primary care doctors per 100,000 residents

Whereas, in these more rural communities with fewer medical schools and lower household income:

• McAllen, Texas, had just 45 primary care doctors per 100,000 residents
• El Paso, Texas, had 47 primary care doctors per 100,000 residents

Who were the researchers that did the study?

The nonprofit group that conducted the survey was The Dartmouth Atlas, funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The purpose of this group is to provide research, information and analysis about hospitals, doctors and healthcare markets.

For the research, the nonprofit group evaluated 306 regions nationwide, using data from the government, the American Medical Association, and the American Hospital Association.

The study also found that areas with more doctors tend to have a decreasing amount of hospital beds. But some rural areas have far more beds per capita than more heavily populated areas. For example:

• San Francisco suburb of San Mateo had 1.45 hospital beds per 1,000 residents
• While Mississippi’s Jackson and Gulfport both had 4.44 beds per 1,000 residents

What does this all mean for consumers and registered voters who are looking for healthcare reform?

Dr. David Goodman, a professor of pediatrics and community and family medicine at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice in New Hampshire, which publishes the Atlas had these suggestions:

• Congress should require the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to use its payment policies to try to limit hospital growth in regions that have too many beds.
• National healthcare reform, should it be implemented, should set up a national commission to direct training dollars to high-need specialties such as primary care physicians

And what is the recommendation for communities that need to attract high quality physicians for staff openings? First, they start by attracting locum tenens in hopes that these physicians may choose to settle in their areas permanently. Once a physician has had a chance to live in a new place, and experienced the alternative to the fast-paced, busy metropolitan lifestyle, they may be more inclined to make the move a permanent one.

What else does it take? Great pay and benefits, less stressful work environments, and a desire to try something new are the top motivators to change for medical doctor jobs in specialties like OB/GYN and Orthopedic Surgery.

Interested in a Physician Job in a Community Hospital that is Ranked Among the Best in the U.S.?

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 06.04.2009 | Category CRNA, Education, Healthcare Career Blog, Hospitals, Locum Tenens, Medical doctor jobs, Physicians, Pschyriatry Jobs, Travel Nurses, jobs

The Candidate Direct Healthcare Career Blog brings you this breaking news for professionals seeking opportunities in hospitals nationwide.

Given the severe shortage of physicians jobs and CRNAs, many current position postings for permanent and locum tenens are in often in urban and rural communities in a multitude of healthcare settings.

If you like the idea of working in a community hospital, this article is for you! It’s no coincidence that many of these places are also in choice locations for locum tenens who wish to combine work and leisure and visit places like Fort Lauderdale Florida, Colorado Springs, or Atlanta Georgia.

65 of the Best of the Good Community Hospitals

They have no medical school or residents, but they know what they’re doing, some are even ranked!

The following 10 hospitals are not academic medical centers, nor do they have physicians in training. But they are ranked—some of them in multiple specialties—in the latest edition of U.S. News & World Reports, America’s Best Hospitals.

Top 10 Community Hospitals

The 55 non-teaching hospitals below scored nearly high enough in America’s Best Hospitals to be ranked.

For additional insight on the shortage of CRNA’s see this blog posting, Nurse Anesthetist

Physician jobs that are also in great demand are:

• Emergency Medicine
• Family Medicine
• Internal Medicine
• Hospitalist

Hospitals make Fortune list of best companies to work for Physician Locum Tenens Jobs

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 03.03.2009 | Category Hospitals, Locum Tenens, Physical Therapist, Travel Nurses

Fortune magazine’s 2009 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For includes 13 hospitals and health systems across the country. Selection is based on an employee survey and the organization’s pay and benefits, hiring practices, internal communications, training, recognition and diversity efforts. Jobs for locum tenens, travel nurses, and travel therapists are available at many of these prominent organizations with a top locum tenens agency.

Top 2009 best hospitals list