The Official Amistaff Staff Blog

Amistaff is proud to announce their launch of Prophecy^sm Health to the beta testing phase.  With facilities on board putting the assessment tools to work, collected data is allowing facilities to make a much more informed business decision on selecting the right clinician. 

So, how does this all work? 

Well, Prophecy^sm’s three web-based assessment tools – Behavioral, Clinical, and Situational – test personality, attitude, engagement characteristics, in addition to interpersonal/soft skill and clinical job knowledge competencies missed in traditional testing.  Then the three assessments work together to create the most comprehensive employment predictor for the healthcare industry.

Behavioral Assessments

Prophecy^sm Behavioral Assessments utilize personality, attitude, cognitive ability, and engagement assessments to measure a caregivers overall Behavioral characteristics. The results capture behavioral characteristics that predict high performance, such as integrity and conscientiousness.

Expected corporate benefits from using Prophecy^sm Behavioral Assessments include:

•     Dramatically reducing turnover costs
•     Decreasing turnover rates
•     Increasing productivity due to better job fit
•     Improving Employee Morale

Results from the Behavioral Assessments facilitate the identification of potential future leaders and corporate strengths within the organization.

Clinical Assessments

Prophecy^sm Clinical Assessments encompass the extensive exam library of NurseTesting.com. The comprehensive library provides testing solutions for more than just nurses. These clinical assessments include OSHA and Joint Commission mandatories, nursing and allied assessments, as well as clinical skills checklists.

Measuring a candidate’s skill level in the nursing and healthcare profession is more important than ever. Steps need to be taken to ensure that caregivers hold the latest job knowledge as well as the critical thinking capabilities required of their positions. Prophecy^sm Clinical Assessments identify caregivers with sufficient job knowledge to perform successfully by targeting the most important aspects of each clinical specialty.

Situational Assessments

Prophecy^sm Situational Assessments identify caregivers with soft-skills directly correlated to successful nursing practice.  Designed by practicing registered nurses and a team of industrial/organizational psychologists, critical workplace competencies are measured such as:
 

1.    Interpersonal Competence
2.    Work-flow Management
3.    Teamwork
4.    Customer Service Skills

Real-life job-related video-based situations are delivered online to the caregiver. After viewing the video vignettes, the applicant selects their choices for the most and least effective responses. The answers demonstrate the manner in which the candidate responds to a variety of situations.  Using Prophecy^sm’s Situational Assessments, facilities are able to quantify which caregivers will make the most effective decisions in the workplace as it relates to soft skills and interpersonal competencies.

Going Live

Watch for Prophecysm Health to go live during Summer 2010.   Interested in more information?  Contact Melissa Spangler at (336)802-1070 ext 105 to find out about limited time offerings and special signing incentives.

The growth of new health information technologies is spurring on a communication revolution pointed towards delivering better health care and encouraging proactive health strategies. With these developments comes a series of questions surrounding the acceptance and implementation of new technologies, which affect diverse businesses and perspectives.

Defining eHealth Terms

Headlines on the eHealth revolution contain certain building blocks that should be defined to better understand the current state of the technologies: EMR, EHR, and PHR. Pinpointing the meaning behind these three acronyms portrays how daunting the responsibility to design effect eHealth communication tools is given the array of stakeholders sharing interest in the technology’s success (patients, providers, medical practitioners, insurance carriers, policy makers).

The National Alliance for Health Information Technology offered the following definitions in Defining Key Health Information Technology Terms (2008).

EMR – Electronic Medical Record – “An electronic record of health-related information on an individual that can be created, gathered, managed, and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff within one health care organization.” (Bell et al, 2008) It is important to note that information on an EMR cannot necessarily be exchanged between organizations.

EHR – Electronic Health Record – “An electronic record of health-related information on an individual that conforms to nationally recognized interoperability standards and that can be created, managed, and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff across more than one health care organization.” (Bell et al, 2008) Given the industry’s push towards nationally recognized interoperability standards, EMRs will be phased out and replaced by EHRs.

PHR – Personal Health Record – “An electronic record of health-related information on an individual that conforms to nationally recognized interoperability standards and that can be drawn from multiple sources while being managed, shared, and controlled by the individual.” The key difference here is the consumer, or patient, holds control over managing how the information is used and accessed. For a record to be considered a PHR, the individual must hold personal responsibility for disseminating the information.

The short of the definitions comes down to EMRs and EHRs being tools for medical providers. PHRs on the other hand focus on involving the consumer in personal health initiatives to enhance wellbeing.

Current PHR Affairs

By fostering an individual’s interaction through documenting, tracking and evaluating their health conditions a PHR can lead to better informed health care decisions, superior health status, and thus, reduced health-related costs and superior quality of care. (Bell et al, 2008) With all of these benefits, where are PHRs falling short for today’s consumer markets? Developing a widely accepted technology warranting frequent interactions from a colossal population base is challenging for any marketer. But, put the jeopardy of individuals’ lives on the line and the stakes rise to an all-time high.

Communication proves a challenge for current PHRs. Although considered an emerging technology in the United States, PHR initiatives have been implemented in other nations. The successes and failures of countries such as Englad, Germany, Canada, Denmark and Australia serve as guidelines for realization of PHRs in the US. (Deutsch et al, 2009) Kreps and Neuhauser suggested new directions in which to take PHRs nationally in their article Rethinking Communication in the e-Health Era:

1. Enhance interactivity between consumer and caregiver –Medical guidance counselors should have collaborative lines of communication with which to share feelings and beliefs regarding treatment. Delivery of medical information can intimidate or discourage adoption of advice. (Neuhauser et al, 2008). Internalizing instructions occurs when recipients have an active role in the collaboration phase.
2. Increase interoperability of PHRs – Being able to send and receive health records in a timely fashion is of utmost importance; however, little progress has been made to develop national standards that would enable seamless use of PHRs.
3. Create dynamic and engaging communications – Capturing and holding an individual’s attention generates more challenges than ever before while crossing communication barriers such as literacy, language, culture, or disability will be no small feat. Capitalizing on the social networking frenzy may further the acceptance of the new technology.
4. Cost effect design control – Creating a personalized PHR feel without the personalized web-development cost is paramount. Interpersonal approaches to past health communication outcomes have proven to be more successful than targeting the mass media. The wealth of information available on the internet for free prohibits the typical consumer from justifying the purchase of a PHR. The time docked creating or using a free PHR may even seem like to much of an investment. Therefore, cost of the systems must be kept low.

Two other barriers prohibiting the use of PHRs are privacy and security. Ethical concerns surrounding privacy or confidentiality remain a hot topic for debate. All parties interested in PHRs have legal or ethical responsibilities to keep patient information confidential. However, many PHR companies do not feel obligated to follow HIPPA Privacy regulations.

The possibilities surfacing from standardized PHRs are seemingly endless…

• Web-cam Doctor Consultations
• Electronic Prescription Approval
• Personalized, Free Health & Wellness Plans

Consumers, medical professionals, and health care organizations would benefit from the additional information gleaned from a comprehensive and well-maintained PHR. Improved patient safety and health outcomes could be the result of PHRs for business stakeholders, while patients could benefit from more comprehensive health care and possibly healthier lifestyles.

Interested in learning more?

Bell, K. & Bradford, A. (2008). Report to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on Defining Key Health Information Technology Terms. Department of Health & Human Services.

Deutsch, E., Duftschmid, G. & Dorda, W. (2010). Critical Areas of National Electronic Health Record Programs – Is Our Focus Correct? International Journal of Medical Informatics (79), 211-222.

Neuhauser, L. &. Kreps, G. (2003). Rethinking Communtion in the e-Health Era. Journal of Health Psychology (8), 7-22.
 

Christine P. Carrington, President of NurseTesting Creative Solutions, has been recognized by Cambridge Who’s Who for demonstrating dedication, leadership and excellence in healthcare consulting.

March 3, 2010 — Christine P. Carrington, President of NurseTesting Creative Solutions, a has been recognized by Cambridge Who’s Who for demonstrating dedication, leadership and excellence in healthcare consulting.

As the president of NurseTesting Creative Solutions, Ms. Carrington is responsible for consulting with

healthcare staffing organizations and preparing them for national certification by The Joint Commission. Her services include providing cost effective clinical operations and risk management support, as well as, staffing operations start up support for new healthcare staffing organizations.

Elevating Frontline Performance-Best Practices for Improving Nursing Staff Performance.

Ms. Carrington began her career as a staff nurse in a hospital, advancing into progressive nursing management roles. Prior to working for her current company, she worked for a national healthcare staffing organization, where she was instrumental in the company being recognized as one of the leading, quality focused healthcare staffing organizations. Ms. Carrington’s experience includes clinical operations, resource allocation, workforce management, strategic sales, consultation with hospitals and health systems in the development of customized strategic staffing partnerships, and Joint Commission Health Care Staffing Services Certification. She attributes her success to her hard work, dedication, passion for her profession and her ability to establish great relationships with her clients.

Ms. Carrington received her Master’s Degree in Nursing Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1998 and is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives. She served as advisor to The Advisory Board Company for publication of “Elevating Frontline Performance-Best Practices for Improving Nursing Staff Performance.” She served on Joint Commission’s Healthcare Staffing Certification Advisory Council. Ms. Carrington served on the Board of Managers for InteliStaf of Oklahoma LLC, a joint venture with the INTEGRIS Health System. She intends to continue expanding the consulting division by adding additional services in other areas of healthcare as well as establishing the company as a trusted name in healthcare.

About NurseTesting Creative Solutions
NurseTesting Creative Solutions, formerly NT Consulting Services – a division of NurseTesting.com which is an Amistaff Healthcare Techology product – was founded in 2008 in response to the healthcare staffing industry’s need for consultants experienced in Joint Commission’s Health Care Staffing Services Certification. NTCS’ consulting services assist healthcare staffing firms prepare for Joint Commission certification and provide cost effective clinical operation and risk management services. NTCS also provides staffing operations start-up support for new healthcare staffing organizations. NTCS consultants are nationally experienced Nurse Executives with 20+ years of healthcare staffing experience and extensive experience and success with Joint Commission Health Care Staffing Services Certification.

For more information about NurseTesting Creative Solutions, visit http://www.nursetesting.com/consulting.

About Cambridge Who’s Who
Cambridge Who’s Who is an exclusive membership organization that recognizes and empowers executives, professionals and entrepreneurs throughout the world. From healthcare to law, engineering to finance, manufacturing to education, every major industry is represented by its 500,000 active members.

Cambridge Who’s Who membership provides individuals with a valuable third party endorsement of their accomplishments and gives them the tools needed to brand themselves and their businesses effectively. In addition to publishing biographies in print and electronic form, Cambridge Who’s Who offers an online networking platform where members can establish new business relationships and achieve career advancement within their company, industry or profession.

For more information, please visit http://www.cambridgewhoswho.com.

As frequenters of the blog may remember, our company decided to adopt a local orphanage for the 2009 holiday season. 

We opened up the donations to our entire office complex being that the orphanage is called "home" to 46 teenagers.

Packing & Preparation

The weather truly put us in the holiday spirit as we headed out for delivery!

With coffee in hand and jackets closed tight, a few of us ladies headed out in the treacherous weather.

And for those of you from up north – yes – a bit of sleet is considered "treacherous weather" here in the piedmont of NC!

Unpacking & Delivering

The drive which was only supposed to take 25 minutes ended up closer to 45 when we took the slippery roads into consideration.

From board games to computer monitors and body lotions to bedroom set, we had a great turn out of goodies to help make each child’s holiday brighter.

Looking forward to continuing a charge towards bettering our neighborhood non-profits in 2010!

Amistaff’s Chief Nursing Officer, James Ostmann, Sr. RN, MBA, assisted in rescuing an 81-year-old woman on his flight back from the American Society Healthcare Human Resources Association conference in Chicago. Fox News 8 picked up the story which aired last evening during the 6 o’clock news!

This is a true incident that occurred on an airplane in which Amistaff’s Chief Nursing Officer was a passenger. Praise to the airline and crew for their poise and composure during the crisis.

HIGH POINT: US Air Flight 1723 from Chicago to Charlotte made an emergency descend landing on Tuesday, November 3, 2009.  The cabin transformed into an emergency room before passengers’ eyes as Amistaff’s Chief Nursing Officer, James Ostmann, Sr. RN, MBA, rescued a diaphoretic woman suffering a potential heart attack and stroke.

While in route, the 81-year-old, French-speaking woman grabbed her chest and motioned pressure. With neurological deficits on the left-side of her body and color draining her face, Ostmann knew the patient’s condition was rapidly deteriorating.  Pilots phoned MedLink for medical consultation and received authorization for Ostmann to open the medical resuscitation kit.

Alongside a French-speaking, Medical-Surgical nurse from a Florida hospital, Ostmann reported the patient’s conditions to officials on the ground.  With an IV bag hung from the carry-on compartment and oxygen tank resting in a seat, Ostmann and the flight crew created a mobile ER. Ostmann initiated the IV and eased the woman’s chest pain with Nitroglycerin, keeping her vitals stabilized through landing.

Of the experience Ostmann commented:

“The crew handled the medical emergency with such composure. From 35,000 feet, US Air was able to ground our plane within 20 minutes. When dealing with stroke victims, time is of utmost importance with the tissue plasminogen activator’s limited 3-hour window. The fully equipped medical cart was color coded expediting treatment for the passenger. I hope to receive authorization to follow up with the attending hospital to check on her condition.”

The chilling truth is that Ostmann made a last minute change in his itinerary to board US Air Flight 1723. Coming from the American Society Healthcare Human Resources Association conference in Chicago, Ostmann decided to take the 2:00pm flight in lieu of the 12:00pm flight allowing extra time for travel. Had Ostmann not been a passenger on the same flight, this emergency descend could have had a much different landing.
 

NurseTesting would like to congratulate their new client, Wahiawa General Hospital, for winning the 50 points raffle. Wahiawa General took advantage of NurseTesting’s Fall Special!

We appreciate all of our new clients’ interest in the raffle and look forward to working with you all as we provide the validated prescreening assessment tools for your organizations!

Sit back and relax.  It’s story time!

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, in the land of SIN (Staffing Incompetent Nurses), there were two guys, Ron and Jason, who joined forces to create something powerful.  Sacrificing nights and weekends, the two dreamed and developed an answer for the land of SIN.  Out of their tireless work and commitment to bettering the healthcare industry, NurseTesting was born.

After two and half years of budding success, Ron and Jason parted as owners.  Jason moved on to pursue homemade salsa and BLS – a logical match – while Ron concentrated on growing NurseTesting. Since that time, NurseTesting has continued to evolve to meet the needs of SIN while keeping its core components the same.

Well, today the two have joined forces once again to continue changing the land of SIN to land of SAINTS (Skilled and Incredible Nurse Tested Staff ).

Jason Hall has officially returned to the NurseTesting team as Chief Technology Officer.  He will be responsible for all items related to development, systems, 3rd party integrations etc…

We are all excited to have Jason on our team – feels like he never left!  Looking forward to a bright future!

Amistaff sends warm wishes to all the bosses in the healthcare industry.

Thank you for continuing to persevere through challenging times with the patient’s needs in mind.

Whether your leadership stems from staffing firms or facilities , your hard work touches the hearts of patients and their families
each and every day.

The Ami-staffer’s send a special thanks to Ron and Eric today! We appreciate working for such phenomenal gentlemen!  Enjoy the cookie cake and evening out with your families –
you all deserve it!

It seems that our Ami-staffers have moved on from the Jets and Buccaneers!  We have a bit of a rivalry this week between the Bears and the Steelers.

Chris (left) sporting her Chicago jersey – the Bears match up with the Lions Sunday afternoon.

Kisha (right) and Melissa (far right) show their game stance for the Pittsburgh Steelers – Steelers vs. Chargers late night on Sunday!

Everyone enjoy your weekend and let us know when our 
Ami-staffers represent your favorite team as we continue the ‘09-’10 season!