on February 1, 2012 |
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Topics: Candidate Pool Development, Recruitment and Retention, Workforce, Clinical Skills, Skill Development, Ultrasound, Imaging, Service Lines
Emily Hague, Imaging Performance Partnership
In last week’s State of the Union address, President Obama raised the issue of finding skilled workers for the science and technology industries – there are currently twice as many job openings as trained workers, despite the nation’s high unemployment rate. One proposed solution – to increase the number of partnerships between private organizations and community colleges to ensure a sufficient labor force – is in place at Sutter Health.
With growing attention to concerns about radiation dosage from CT, Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region has seen a large increase in the demand for ultrasound – and has struggled to recruit and staff a sufficient number of technologists. To ensure a suitable pool of tech candidates, Sutter partnered with Catholic Healthcare West, UC Davis, Cosumnes River College (part of Los Rios Community College District), and the US Department of Labor to design and fund an ultrasound tech training program.
The ultrasonographer training program was modeled after an earlier program put in place by Sutter to train radiology techs. Begun in 2003, that program helped transform Sutter’s rad tech program from one that was understaffed to a program with a waiting list of employees. Sutter hopes to see the same results with their ultrasonographers. The first cohort of those students began their clinical training on January 17th, with both students and preceptors reporting positive experiences thus far.
The Advisory Board has identified five other strategies to aid organizations in radiology technologist recruitment:
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Advertise with radiology technologist organizations: Advertising on national websites can effectively tap applicant pools from other regions.
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Pursue unconventional recruitment avenues: Referral campaigns or even a referral “hotline” can provide access to a broader base of applicants.
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Integrate radiology technologist recruitment strategy with larger, hospital-wide recruitment initiatives: Tying technician recruiting to larger recruiting campaigns across the organization can mean a more efficient use of resources – and more publicity for radiology tech staffing needs.
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Focus on hospital work environment differentiation as a recruiting point: Because of high competition for qualified applicants, hospitals should advertise positive work culture or opportunities for continuing education and professional growth as a means to stand out among competitors.
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Actively advertise monetary bonuses and reimbursement incentives: Beyond qualitative factors, hospitals must compete on salary – and offering productivity and signing bonuses can help.
The Partnership’s publication Improving Imaging Throughput provides further guidance, with tactics that assist programs in correctly staffing to volumes.
