Written by Amanda Sowards, Search Consultant, East Coast
Contact her at 1.800.974.4828 x110, or amanda@carenational.com.
Remote work, also known as TeleCommute or Work-From-Home is a non-traditionally work setting that has virtually swept the nation in the last 2 decades. With technology allowing us to connect in almost every way imagined, why not? Doctors can see and assess patients to a point using TeleHealth/TeleMedicine or web video-casting serves like Skype or FaceTime. Behavioral Health Counselors can do on-the-spot sessions for patients that have an immediate need or a very difficult schedule. Case Management and Wellness Nurses can help educate patients over the phone on their plan of care, and eligible benefits.
The ripple effects of working from home are very different for each participant, particularly in terms of health care services. For the patient it can help greatly, because they can step out of their work to make a phone call instead of going into a provider’s office or visiting a health plan’s care center. It gives them the flexibility to get the help they need when they need it. For the health care professional, when it is possible to work from home, it adds flexibility for their family or for an optimal work-life balance.
There are some possible negative side-effects that cannot be dismissed causally. For instance, sometimes working remotely means you must always be available and connected to work, even outside of normal office hours. Sometime nurses dislike not having the face to face contact with patients they are used to, and they must adapt their style of care. Frankly, any remote working can sometimes have issues with being secluded from other coworkers. Lastly the health plan or hospital must consider the effect it has on an organization, to be managing staff that are sitting at home with little to no immediate supervision or face-to-face guidance. Performance metrics become the standard to which the team must be measured, not some punch clock to track the number of hours spent on site.
Most Medical Centers, Hospitals, Managed Care Organizations, and their affiliated provider networks have positions that can be performed from a home office, as well as many that simply must be on site. Finding that balance can be difficult, and in our growing and changing world it’s important to be flexible and try to be open to new ideas.
Even here at CareNational we have a hybrid, or Partial Work-From-Home schedule that allows tenured and high-performing staff members work from their home part of the week. “You have more control over how your day starts and ends, which can make it easier to get your tasks done on time. However, there are more distractions and people might imagine you are not truly working, which could cause some big hurdles.” said Erik Berg.
For this author, the reason I enjoy this partial schedule is because I get to be home when my kids get off the bus. Not only that, but for me, it cuts over 1.5 hours a day of commuting, and allows for more seclusion (self-quarantine) during flu season and when other illnesses are involved. However, as much as I love it, and even though I get to speak with great medical management candidates every day on the phone, sometimes lacking human interaction can be trying. That why I see a healthy mix of some days in the office, and some days at home as the best work situation for me, and for many of the healthcare professionals I work with every day.
