In the first of a new blog series from VeloSource highlighting our production personnel - those in Account Management, Recruiting, and Business Development - we recently sat down with Brett Neal, Senior Account Manager, for a Q&A session. The 6-year veteran of our company plays a crucial role as an extension of our clientele, spearheading our relationships with healthcare facilities that count on him to deliver not only locum tenens providers but a seamless experience based on building long-term trust that can only be earned by continually meeting their organization's unique staffing expectations.
What is the goal of an account manager? What defines a successful relationship with a client?
My main goal in working with clients is for them to trust in myself and the VS team. I always joke that I am their relief pitcher. When an issue arises, I want them to call me in from the bullpen and know our team can close things out.
As for a successful relationship, it is oddly the same as any other interpersonal relationship. Both parties involved must work together with a shared goal and a clear understanding of what is needed by the other to be successful.
Agencies can be different, some value profit more than anything else. That is done to the detriment of the system/group, followed by the possibility of unethical behavior on the client side as well.
Good agency/client relationships provide a feeling of being the extension of one another, as reflected in the ability to execute recruitment and scheduling coverage. I have had the fortune of experiencing such dynamics in working together, with a spirit of transparency and looking out for each other.
What Made You Decide to Get Into Healthcare?
When I was getting ready to graduate college my mom was going through cancer treatment (clear now). My brother, sister and I would be there every time she was getting chemo and would try joking around with the people who were there by themselves. At the time I was applying all over and saw this job said healthcare with no clue as to what locum tenens meant I decided to apply. Then after speaking with the president of our company, Jeff Schaal, he convinced me to give it a shot, and I have not looked back at all.
What Comes to Mind When You Reflect on Your Impact in Providing Life-Saving Care?
I have been incredibly fortunate to become close to many executives and have worked on a lot of major needs that required rapid response. These tend to be my favorite just because it moves so quickly and there are a lot of consequences if things don’t go well. When a group takes over a facility in anesthesia a lot of times they cannot retain any of the staff. The wildest example of this I have a few years back having to help a facility become fully staffed in 30 days. Then the scariest part of this the facility was a key cardiac facility in the region. Due to this if we didn’t get a cardiac provider to start on time then if anyone in a large radius had a heart attack they would have had to be taken hours away for a procedure. Realistically, there is an almost 100% chance the client, hospital and our team getting that file done within time saved lives (shoutout to our credentialing team).
Additionally, on the human side I also get to not only see our providers grow in life but to be involved in that growth which is incredibly gratifying. One doctor that I first met in 2020 during the elective stoppage had a goal of starting his own company, while also simultaneously becoming Chief Anesthesiologist within the next 5 years. I told him on the phone that I thought this would be entirely unachievable to do those two things at once. A medical director role demands so much in terms of time and you generally can’t do that and a business but after working for us at a client for around a year, he became a medical director for them in late 2021. He had already started his side business and as of a conversation last week, he has his biggest career piece yet happening shortly. Though I had no involvement in that one and instead just get to cheer him on.
What challenges are clients currently facing most regarding their staffing needs? How has that changed over time, and what trends do you see on the horizon as we prepare for the growing demand from our aging population?
I will speak primarily on the anesthesia market since that is where I have spent most of my time. After the elective stoppage during COVID-19, an increasing number of providers were no longer interested in working the traditional full-time schedule of four M-F week months. Also, quite a few providers retired, which created massive shortages nationwide and a massive supply and demand issue. Then at the same time, you have reimbursements decreasing which has created a bit of volatility.
Another fun added problem is with an aging population, you will have more surgical procedures, putting more pressure on hospitals and institutions. I know from speaking with a program director for a prestigious university that they are aware of the struggles and have tried promoting their CRNA program specifically to get more students to meet the demand in their state by the end of next year.
Why is locum tenens the predominant solution used to meet our labor challenges across the variations of healthcare settings (I.e., urban/rural, large networks, private practices, hospitals, urgent care)?
It is a necessary aspect of the industry because networking can only get these hospitals/medical groups so far and there are two main reasons why it works this way.
From a provider standpoint doing locum work simply feels safer. Internal travelers without agency representation present an immense risk unless providers know a lot about the facility or group. You do not have strong legal agreements that protect you from delayed payments, keeping your dates, getting travel costs covered, etc. Now in a perfect world that would work seamlessly but that is not the world we live in since it just takes one bad player with something as simple as a bad incentive program to cause actions that are less than savory. The result could be legal action and incurring those costs. Additionally, from a time perspective if a provider is already working 50+ hours a week doing the leg work to handle a credentialing process and simultaneously handling paperwork to meet timelines can be incredibly stressful. Even when we are prefilling apps sometimes it is a lot on the providers.
The biggest reason is the grim reality that humans can only do so much. Internal physician recruitment is a tough gig and often they are working to fill multiple opportunities in multiple specialties. You have doctors/executive teams from each of these specialties asking for support due to shortages and those same docs are working endless hours and and see less of their families to keep their communities safe. Additionally, the stress from the above is expanded because recruiting providers in such skilled realms is not easy, especially in rural areas where such a process can take a year or more. This is one of the reasons why groups collaborate with us. When you get to a point where a solution does not seem near then bringing in additional help from outside the organization is a means to limit the workload of the permanent team and hopefully prevent them from leaving or becoming burned out.
How do you build a foundation of trust with new clients and what is essential to maintain that level of customer experience over time?
This is the most important aspect of any relationship, and it is primarily about being consistent with transparency. Additionally, it is just being a fellow human being. I hear lots of stories of agencies being tougher on employees of clients, but the reality is when you are collaborating with a person in the MSO, the hospital recruitment team, or whomever; they are your co-workers and deserve to be treated with respect. My take is as long as I stay consistent and keep functioning in my core values based on helping others, things will continue on the right trajectory.
Why do clients work with VeloSource? What do you feel makes us different from other agencies?
I can only speak from what I have seen when having referrals done for RFPs to work with systems/groups. We are more transparent and have a focus on successfully implementing locum tenens solutions. This comes from the top, from Jeff’s leadership.
What makes a match “stick” between the locum provider and a facility in need of coverage?
We are given clarity on cases and what providers will deal with in their daily roles. Then we find a provider who we feel will mesh with the client, starting with the interview. Once the provider has started it is paramount that the facility and provider look out for one another, as we can’t always be there for them. If a provider is coming across poorly or if someone is not treating one of our providers like they would a permanent employee, then we have to interject and help manage the interpersonal relationship until they become comfortable. When done properly the provider is ingrained in how the facility operates. The best example I have of this was a physician who worked for me for five years before they no longer needed him due to a surgeon leaving. The client called me to let me know she was going to have to give him the 30-day notification since she felt she owed it to him to tell him in person rather than via email. After giving notification she let me know that she hugged him and started breaking down because she was so sad he was leaving.
About VeloSource: VeloSource is a leading healthcare staffing and recruitment agency specializing in Locum Tenens services. By providing a vast network of highly qualified physicians, CRNAs, Physician Assistants, and Nurse Practitioners, VeloSource connects exceptional medical talent with healthcare facilities across the United States ensuring quality patient care and optimal workforce solutions.
(Posted by Mike Gianas, Senior Director of Marketing, VeloSource)
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