Infusion Careers - Home Infusion Professionals

Taking a temporary contract position

We seem to be getting more and more demand for "contract" home infusion positions.  It makes sense.  If the economy IS improving, even ever so slightly, employers will be looking to add people to help pick up when extra demand kicks in.  And, many employers have scaled way back because of the recession and are now finding themselves in a situation where they need trained personnel who can step in to fill a vacancy, or just cover for a maternity or disability leave.

But, they are not able or inclined to bring a full time employee on the payroll.  That's where contract staffing comes in.  A staffing firm employs the trained individual and then provides a "contract" employee to the hiring company.  The contract can go for any length of time, but ours are usually about 13 weeks.  When the contract is up, 1 of 2 things happen.  Either the employee goes on to another contract, (or even permanent) employment assignment, or the employee, stays on with the employer and assumes a permanent assignment.  This latter arrangement is often referred to as a "temp to perm" assignment.  It really is often a win-win for the employer and the employee.  Both parties get to "try before they buy" and see how the arrangement works out before moving forward with a permanent employee contract.

We also find more and more individuals seeking out these type of arrangements.  Some people enjoy the challenge of new places/people/assignments and look for opportunities in contract employment.

If you are an employee or an employer in home infusion who is seeking more information about contract staffing, please give us a call so that we can answer your questions.

Don't take it personal!

I spoke tonight with a home infusion pharmacy candidate who was really down as a result of being out of work for some time.  He wants to stay in the industry, but is not finding any opportunities in his local area.  The few companies in his home state are not hiring or are too far away to commute or to reasonably do on-call.  He suggested tonight that my call was a welcome one as he is beginning to lose hope.  He is even considering doing the "unthinkable" and taking a retail job.  :)

This is a little different scenario than you home infusion pros are used to... It seems like only a few months ago, all you had to do was throw your resume out there and multiple companies were interested in talking to you. 

It is important to keep in mind that if you are currently out of work and having trouble finding a viable "option," that much of this is a function of the current employment market.  It is important that you don't allow it to destroy your personal confidence.

With this perspective, you can objectively analyze the market and make important decisions about how you will proceed.  In discussing options with the candidate above, he determined that it is a high priority to stay in home infusion (an option that I highly recommend as I feel the industry will continue to experience high growth).  He is licensed in a couple of other states and would consider relocating for an opportunity in one of these states.  After consulting our available jobs list, I have submitted him for two jobs in an alternative state in which he is interested.  I think he has a strong chance at success.

Rather than letting your job search get you down,  you may just need to reassess your approach and modify your strategy.  By doing this you, in effect, "Make Your Own Success."

Making Headway!

Download E-C Committee - HHS Secretary - Home Infusion - June 24

 

This is a clip of Representative Eliot Engel (NY), the Sponsor of the House version of the medicare home infusion bill last week in the Energy and Commerce Committee. Please email Representative Engel and thank him for his well articulated description of the critical elements of H.R. 574.

Urgent Support Needed For Home Infusion Therapy Legislation

At InfusionCareers, we recognize the importance of the current effort the NHIA is waging on our behalf for passage of important legislation that will help the home infusion industry.  WIth his permission, I have attached a copy of an email recently sent by John Magnuson from the National Home Infusion Association.  I have also attached below Co-Sponsors to the bill within the Senate and House as well as a list of organizations that support this legislation.  Please review John's request and ACT TODAY!

I am writing to you on behalf of the NHIA Board of Directors to ask for your assistance in a very urgent matter. We have never been closer to passing legislation that will make it easier for Medicare beneficiaries to access the home infusion services they desperately need. The next two weeks are crucial in our efforts to pass S. 254 and H.R. 574, the "Medicare Home Infusion Therapy Coverage Act." Now, more than ever, we need your help!

The Senate Finance Committee is very close to moving its health care package forward which could happen as early as next week. Committees in the House of Representatives (Committees on Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means) will likely follow shortly after.

Our voice must be heard within the next seven days. Our highest priority is outreach to members of the Senate Finance Committee. Second priority is to gain as many co-sponsors in both the Senate and the House. In order to push us closer to success we are asking all of our members to do the following three things:

1. Talk to your Senators and Representative: Ask them to support the home infusion legislation currently being offered in Congress. Ask them to include S. 254 and H.R. 574 in any health care package being considered. In order to be effective, we need 5,000 letters sent to Congress within the next week. To help make this process quick and simple, a sample letter, that can be faxed or emailed, is available for you to use here. Please feel free to add your own personal message to our template.
2. Share our important message: Get all your co-workers involved and then reach out to your friends and patients. Anyone can easily use our online process. To impact legislators they need to hear from their constituents.
3. Follow up: It is important for our advocacy team to know who has been contacted and that your message got through. Our staff does follow up on your outreach. Please make sure that your e-mail or fax was received by calling your Senators' and Representative's offices. Doing so takes just moments by dialing the U.S. Capitol Switchboard Operator at 202-224-3121 and asking for your representative's office. Again it is important to share the outcome of your call or letter with us.

Every one of us must do our share to get the job done. If you sit back at this critical moment, we will be in jeopardy of having come so close only to fall short of the victory line! On behalf of the NHIA Board of Directors, I would like to thank you in advance for your help and support. Remember your action and immediate follow-up is needed today.

John Magnuson, National Home Infusion

 Download 111th Congress - Senate-House Co-Sponsors List 6-16-09

Download Supporting Orgs List - 111th Cong. 6-16-09

What if your license isn't "clean" when you apply for a new job?

We routinly check licenses for pharmacy applicants we submit to our clients.  Once in a while I am surprised by a license search which yields unfavorable results.  Typically, I will call back the candidate and ask them about the results.  I have yet to recieve a response I was comfortable with.

No matter what has happened in your life and how it has affected your license...no matter how strongly you feel it wasn't your fault...no matter how much progress you have made since the "discipline" or "violation", there is never a good excuse for not being upfront with a potential employer or a recruiter.  This has all the appearances of deception and leaves any potential employer or "agent" (in the case of a recruiter) with a very impression of you right out of the gate.

If you have a violation on your license, there is a proper approach in applying for a position:

- Be honest up front.  Never try and hide the issue.

- Most often the license check will give the detail of the "infraction" and what has been required of the pharmacist in regards to probation, etc.

- Be clear with the potential employer about restrictions you must operate under.

- Provide a job history showing satisfactory performance since the "infraction."

- Provide a reference in a job you have worked at successfully since the "infraction."

It is not, as many suspect, an automatic rejection of a candidate who has a blemish on their license.  Many employers realize that mistakes are sometimes made and an employee who can perform the job satisfactorily and is complying with the steps required by the licensing board deserves a second chance.  However, any form of deceit or covering up is never percieved in a positive light.

Surviving the Recession

There are a lot of recruiters who are struggling to survive during this Recession along with many others who are affected by the economic slump we are in. Health care probably hasn't been hit as hard as many other areas of employment but we have noticed layoffs and downsizing in many Hospitals and other Health facilities.

The recent media reports positive signs of recovery but recognizes that it will be a long slow process. So, if you are currently unemployed, how do you stay afloat among the masses of people looking for a job? Try to remember all the old sayings we have heard all our lives and apply them to our business! One we try to remember is, "a sure way to fail is to quit trying", also,"when the going gets tough, the tough gets going"!

Right now you may not be landing all the interviews/job offers you want and there seems to be a lot of candidates that are looking for work. However, a lot of those people are unable to relocate at this time due to the housing slump;  others may not have the home infusion experience that you possess.  You just have to dig a little deeper, make a few more calls, contact others you network with and those of us who specialize in helping home infusion professionals find job opportunities!

Remember, the one thing we can always count on is--CHANGE--!   If you stay actively looking, you will be ready when the right job comes along.

Recruiting Successful Home Infusion Salespeople

 

We recently participated in the NHIA conference in Baltimore where we had a booth during their exposition.  It is a great event for us and we are able to secure both recruiting contracts as well as potential candidates from contacts we make there.

It seemed that there was a strong interest this year from companies looking for sales and marketing professionals.  We received a lot of inquiries and have been working on several placement contracts received at the show.  As I consider the type of candidates we are seeing out there it brings up a question of how to best advise clients on selection of salespeople who will ultimately be successful and bring revenue to their firm.

 

Right now, there seem to be a lot of pharmaceutical reps in the job market.  There’s  a lot of consolidation out there right now and there are a lot of people with healthcare product sales experience.  The question is whether one of these candidates can make a transition from “product” sales to “service” sales.  Undoubtedly, there are some individuals who have a strong enough sales aptitude and talent to make the switch and be very successful.  The key is having the ability to identify those that can do it vs. those that will struggle to find their way.  Of course the ideal is to find someone who does have home infusion experience and can bring contacts in the territory and an ability to explain the benefits of your program because they already understand home infusion.

 

I had a client who expressed a difficulty in choosing between two very good sales candidates.  His comment: "They are sales reps and they know how to sell their abilities and experience.  This is a lot harder than recruiting other areas of the pharmacy!"  However, many of you have had the experience of hiring a sales rep who was not successful, did not meet the goals set out or created difficulties and conflicts in the work environment.  It may be a little more challenging, but it is still possible to identify potentially problematic character traits in the interviewing process.  You do it by making sure the person interviewing the candidate is a skilled sales pro too!

 

Our experience in home infusion recruiting and our relationships with candidates in this arena allow us to really dig in with potential candidates and find those individuals with viable experience/skills. However, we also bring to the table a keen understanding of what it takes to be a strong sales professional.  Having recruiters who have run successful sales teams and recruited sales pros who went on to exceed quota, we can help you find team members who can bring you success.

 

You might be interested in the following blog entry from an employee who recieved an opportunity to try on  the sales role within one home infusion pharmacy.  Hats off to this employee's manager for seeing the "big picture" and fostering growth and development with employees.  Click the link for more info: http://pharmboard.com/board/topic/2247

Retail Pharmacists in a Home Infusion Job

 

One of the greatest frustrations I find when talking to alternate site infusion employers is that recruiters often don’t understand the nuances of infusion and refer too many people with retail-only experience.  This frustration is understandable as someone with a retail background may struggle in several areas during a job transition:

 

·        Compensation that is often different in structure and scope

·        On-call requirements

·        They don’t  have Clinical, IV Admixture experience

·        Work environment/expectations much different than retail

·        Hours that are more typically a day shift (although this is often viewed as a positive by someone used to retail shifts that are often erratic and difficult).

 

We really focus on trying to find someone who has home infusion or alternate-site infusion experience to fill our job orders.  When that is not possible, someone with acute-care clinical background and IV certification is our next best option.  In some cases, however, there are locations where we cannot find a viable candidate and may need to start recruiting retail pharmacists.  In these cases we look for someone who is unhappy with the hours, job requirements, or demands of the retail environment.  We have had some retail pharmacists who have made the transition successfully, but it is not the norm.  An employer always has to go into this kind of a relationship with an understanding that there will be a lot of upfront training.

Contract/Salary Negotiations

There’s always some degree of negotiation that comes when a job offer is made.  However, as infusion phamacists, nurses, or directors you may not have had a lot of experience in negotiation and, like many people, you may be a little uncomfortable trying to negotiate a fair deal for yourself and might leave some things on the table.  Or you might leave a LOT on the table.

As a recruiter, we often assist the candidates we work with in negotiating with the employer on their behalf.  As a trained negotiator, we know what going rates for salaries are as well as benefit packages and can help broker a deal between the potential employer and candidate.  Because we can remove emotion from the equation, we are often in a better position to work on behalf of both the client and candidate to help craft a win/win for both parties.  If you are working with a recruiter currently, make sure he/she is able to assist you in this area.  It is an important value-add that a recruiter should be able to provide to a client and candidate.

NHIA Annual Conference with "Hill Day"

We had an enjoyable conference in Baltimore last week.  One of the highlights was Hill Day.

 On March 5th, we had a opportunity to represent infusion pharmacists to members of congress to advocate for Medicare coverage of home infusion.  Our group met with Washington state congress member, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Senator Maria Cantwell and staffers from several of the other Washington congressional representatives.  In all, more than 400 NHIA representatives met with legislators on this particular issue during the day.   It was amazing to be part of this process and have a chance to see how lawmakers recieved us regarding proposed legislation on Medicare which could have a significant effect on our industry.  See the related article: http://sev.prnewswire.com/health-care-hospitals/20090305/DC7933705032009-1.html.

Our congressional representatives indicated that there is a major push on Capitol Hill to find ways to make healthcare more affordable as part of Obama's proposed healthcare reform.  The message we delivered to them was timely, relevant, and very well received.  There was a real optimism from all those who participated as we rode to the event on bus transportation provided by the NHIA.  As the day proceeded and we all made our ways through the halls of the congressional office buildings, that optimism seemed to grow with the other NHIA groups we came in contact with. 

However, as was strongly indicated by NHIA Staff, this is only the beginning.  There is much work to do at a time when many groups are lobbying lawmakers regarding healthcare products and services. Home infusion pharmacists have a very strong message, but it needs to get out in a concerted way by providers and associated companies, all of whom will benefit it this legislation passes.

Thanks to all of you who stopped by our booth at the NHIA exposition. Many of you commented on how much you enjoyed our newsletter with its timely articles and focus on job opportunities.  

See you next year at the 2010 Show!