In the first part of our series on imaging services, we discussed why imaging professionals are burning out and turning over at such high rates. As facilities continue to try to balance the increased demand for imaging services with the heavy turnover of imaging professionals, there are a few ways facilities can retain their talent.
If you missed part one, read it here!
How to retain imaging professionals
Healthcare workers across the board are looking for better work-life balance in their career, and imaging professionals are no exception. Taking breaks, flexible schedules, and a separation between their work and personal life are priorities for imaging professionals. As imaging professionals work hard to avoid burnout, they’re looking to facilities to assist them in prioritizing their wellbeing and working to reduce stress in a high-demand work environment. Here are a few tips that facilities can integrate in order to help imaging professionals feel heard while prioritizing the best patient care possible.
Prioritize flexibility with Talent Marketplace
As imaging professionals look for a better work-life balance, more are turning to flexible options, like per diem work, in order to create their own schedule. In 2024, 20,451 imaging service shifts and assignments were posted on Medely, signaling the need for per diem imaging professionals across the country.
Medely’s Talent Marketplace allows facilities to post shifts to our network of 300,000+ nurses and health professionals on the platform across the country. Shifts can be posted within minutes and immediately sent out to credentialed imaging professionals on the Medely platform in the area. With our thorough screening process, facilities don’t have to spend extra time verifying credentials or ensuring skills are up-to-date. Imaging professionals go through our credentialing process and thorough skills assessment to ensure seamless integration into the facility.
One of these imaging professionals is Ashlyn Fajerson. Ashlyn Fajerson, was looking to create her own schedule, and after she found Medely, she never looked back. “I really enjoy how I can control my own schedule and create my own schedule because I was used to doing that,” Ashlyn shares. “Working through Medely, I get to do the same thing.” Now, she’s on multiple facility’s favorites lists, ensuring that she can continue to work when she wants while ensuring facilities are getting an imaging professional that seamlessly fits into the facility culture.
Prioritize breaks for imaging professionals
Addressing burnout before it even starts can be a crucial step toward reducing turnover. One of the ways that facilities can work on addressing burnout early is by prioritizing imaging professionals’ schedules to allow for breaks and vacations so they can enjoy a better work-life balance.
Medely’s Talent Fusion tool allows facilities to do that seamlessly. With our intelligent scheduling software, facilities don’t have to rely on paper schedules, texts, emails, or unorganized planning tools. Our platform takes into consideration staff availability, skillset, and patient demand when auto-scheduling. This means that staff can have a more balanced schedule based on their needs and facility managers don’t have to spend extra time moving people around to make it work. With demand forecasting, facility managers can accurately predict labor needs to create the most optimized schedules for meeting demand with the staff they have. When gaps occur that internal staff can’t fill, the scheduling tool will post a shift to Medely’s Talent Marketplace to ensure it gets filled appropriately. If facilities still want a self-scheduling option, Medely offers that in addition to automated scheduling, allowing staff the flexibility to assign their own shifts.
With staffing data in one place, facility managers have access to data and insights from their previous schedules, leading to better understanding of demand, employee availability, and busy seasons that can inform future staffing decisions.
Share appreciation for staff
According to a survey from the American Society of Radiologic Technologists on the state of imaging services, “Data suggest that burnout, including emotional exhaustion and feeling underappreciated at work, are pervasive problems among medical imaging and radiation therapy professionals. More than half of all respondents (53.7%) reported feeling emotionally exhausted at least a few times each month, and an even larger percentage (56.9%) said they felt underappreciated on the job at least a few times each month.”
Feeling appreciated at work is growing in importance for health professionals as they continue to prioritize their mental health and wellbeing, even in a stressful career like medicine. When staff feel appreciated, they’ll be more likely to go above and beyond in their role, provide better patient care, and create a more positive team dynamic that encourages collaboration with their peers and supervisors.
In Medely’s 2024 sentiment survey, nurses and health professionals shared some of the best ways facilities can show appreciation. “The top answer when asked, ‘what are the best ways facilities have shown you appreciation?’ was gifts or gift cards, followed by bonuses, compensation, or money and free food or meals.” The survey also shares that something as simple as saying thank you can help imaging professionals feel appreciated.
Find freedom with Medely
By prioritizing what imaging professionals are looking for in a career, facilities are more likely to be able to retain those imaging professionals. When facilities’ imaging departments are fully staffed, there’s less delay in important imaging requests, leading to better patient care and increased patient satisfaction. Looking for imaging professionals? Sign up for Medely today!
