Healthcare Traveler - September 2008 - (Page 32)

Joining together REGISTERED NURSES PickYour New Backyard. Whether you enjoy the wide open spaces with a million stars in the sky, or prefer to wake up to a backdrop of peaks and pines, chances are, we can offer the setting. From big-city medical centers to the small-town community hospitals, we offer it all. We are Banner Health. Banner Health is not just another nurse travel company; we are a strong non-profit system of healthcare facilities and providers. Our amazing travel program, led by an RN, allows our professionals the ultimate in flexible scheduling options combined with a superior compensation structure and great benefits including free private housing. Come visit us at the ENA Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 25 - 27 at Booth #517. Register to win a free iPod™! To find out more and apply online, visit www.bannerhealth.com or call 1-800-827-NURS(6877). locum tenens physician staffing marketplace and by similar needs in the travel nursing and allied health marketplaces. Our mission is to establish and promote ethical business practices across the board among industry players. We’ve also embraced a code of ethics to raise the bar by which all these companies operate. Larry Kraska (LK): While travel companies—large and small—will always view each other as competitors in the marketplace, belonging to an association like NATHO will give us more of a non-threatening opportunity to share ideas and to talk about best practices within our industry. Ultimately, we want NATHO to become a gold standard where travel companies want to become members and travelers choose to work with companies that are part of the association because they expect a certain level of service and quality. Mark Stagen (MS): Since there have never been specific guidelines or a body that developed best practices for travel healthcare organizations, NATHO will establish higher expectations that all agencies can strive to achieve. The Advisory Group Committee—which consists of the largest healthcare staffing firms in the country with many decades of experience and thousands of traveling healthcare professionals as partners—has proposed best practices by which to abide. The resulting Standards of Practice & Procedures for professional conduct and Code of Ethics can be found online at www.natho.org/ethics-standards.php. By adhering to these guidelines, member agencies can avoid disputes and raise the bar for the entire industry. For when traveling healthcare companies provide excellent service, it improves our business and the ways hospitals and travel healthcare professionals view us, which in turn improves our industry’s reputation. What are some of NATHO’s standards and how will they benefit travelers, facilities, and members? MS: Nothing is revolutionary. It is all common sense, and most agencies are likely complying with these guidelines already. For instance, member companies should not submit a traveler candidate to a facility for placement unless representatives have obtained the traveler’s permission to do so. And if a traveler has signed up with two companies and they both present the candidate to the same hospital, the agency that receives the actual job offer, regardless of timing of submittals, will represent the traveler. JW: If a traveler visits the NATHO website, he or she can see the ethics and standards adopted by member companies and know what to expect when working with them. Given the mix of organizations in our industry, this is a good tool for determining where individual agencies stand. In the future, there also will be opportunities for the healthcare professionals to voice any concerns about their experiences with NATHO firms. From the perspective of the traveler, that’s really one of the key benefits. » 32 Healthcare Traveler September 2008 EOE/AA Banner Health supports a drug-free work environment. ALASKA ARIZONA CALIFORNIA COLORADO NEBRASKA NEVADA WYOMING Circle Career Card No. 606 http://www.natho.org/ethics-standards.php http://www.bannerhealth.com http://www.bannerhealth.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Healthcare Traveler - September 2008

Healthcare Traveler - September 2008 Editor's Desk Contents In a Flash Paws for Thought Field Notes Regional Differences in the ED Joining Together Drug Update Clinical Tips Cityscape Advertiser's Index Name It Travel Tips Big Deals Tax Facts Dot.com Contest Rules Allied Corner Going the Distance Classifieds Tales from the Road

Healthcare Traveler - September 2008

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