Tips for Success

How to be a Successful Temp/Traveler

We want you to be successful in your career with us!  While there are many things to learn in this industry, we trust you have already fallen in love with the sense of independence and flexibility that this industry will bring to you and your family.  We understand at times beginning this new type of career may also bring on a little anxiety, stress and sometimes fear, because it is new to you.  You have come to the right place and the right page!  

Our experience over the years of helping other great professionals like you has provided us with proven skills and valuable insights to promote YOU.  Check out our great tips to help you ease into our temp/travel world!  Hold on, your success is right around the corner!

Topics that Top the Trade:

We call it “Tricks of the Trade”!  From learning how to choose a healthcare staffing partner, how to complete a timesheet, how to get the most work, or how to manage temporary work schedules; we are here to get you off to the right start.  Let’s go!
 

• Does the firm cover professional liability and worker’s comp insurance?  If I am involved in an incident or have an injury or accident while working, will I be covered?  If the answer is anything but ABSOLUTELY, you should reconsider your options.

• Are you a Joint Commission Certified Staffing firm?  If this answer is no, ask them why not?  In today’s temp&travel market, this is expected by most healthcare institutions and well respected by reputable caregivers.  By working for only a certified staffing firm you will be represented by a company that has proven their ability to meet rigorous standards in: business operations, quality improvement initiatives, and in the provisions of hiring, placing and continuously evaluating the care provided by their professionals.  Achieving the Gold Seal from the Joint Commission represents the highest possible achievement in healthcare staffing standards.  We ask you: “How do you choose your healthcare staffing partner?"

• Is there Clinical support within the organization that has an understanding of my profession, the current healthcare environment, and the issues and problems we face in today’s healthcare market?   If there is not, you should consider working for a company that is built with a framework of clinical knowledge and one which strongly represents the healthcare industry.  Anything other than this is just another business.

• Does the Staffing firm hire qualified and professional personnel to manage its operations?  Do they treat me with respect? Do they follow through and do what they say?  Do I feel they are trying to help me find shifts, a new job, or whatever I am looking for, with my best interest at heart?  If you cannot say YES to any or all of these, then we suggest you explore your options.  When you do, ask yourself:  How was I greeted?  Did the representatives in this organization assist me promptly?  Did they discuss how they would play a role in my success?  Were they professionally dressed and prompt to assist me?  Did they seem to have a genuine desire to assist me?

• Flexibility and freedom is the number one answer by most! Having the ability to determine your own schedule is a value you cannot put a price on.  Whether it is more time with your family, or working around a school schedule to finish your degree, many turn to temp work for the autonomy it affords them in keeping their priorities in check.
• The number two answer is extra money and the great salaries they can earn!  Our services are needed and valued by our clients and they will continue to call upon us as long as we continue to provide great staff. Your earning potential is directly affected by your performance, your level of professionalism, how well you work and assist others on your team, and the level of clnical skills you bring to the table.
• Many professionals work extra perdiem shifts to supplement their incomes while continuing in their full time roles.  This allows them to choose extra work when they need it and at their discretion. 
• Other professionals prefer to work exclusively as a temp due to the variety of work or to take advantage of learning opportunities that new environments can bring. 
• Some professionals are ready for a change.  By electing to work as a temp, this allows for time to “bridge the gap”, try new places, and find that special job you are crazy about before tying the knot with a new permanent employer. 
• If the timing is right, many professionals are ready for an adventurous career.  They enjoy the benefits of traveling to new locations, seeing the world and getting to take in new sites along the way.
• Another reason is the opportunity to pick up extra shifts when you are looking for a way to earn extra cash fast!  When times are tough, this can be an ideal solution.  Our company offers next-day or weekly payroll through direct deposit and this is of great value to our professionals.
• Many professionals who have gotten close to or have already retired, no longer desire to work a full time schedule.  Working as a temp allows them the best of both worlds.  Time to relax and enjoy their freedom, yet the ability to keep their skills fresh and maintain their professional relationships if they desire.
• Many professionals who have entered the educational field still desire to keep their clinical skills sharpened. They find the temp avenue is a very good way to meet this goal.

• You must make sure to communicate with your staffing coordinator on a daily basis.  Keeping us posted on any changes in your availability will allow us to promptly secure your schedule when needs are given to us by our clients.

• Returning our calls Promptly! This is absolutely critical to your success in getting the work you want. Delays may mean the loss of a shift.  When a facility calls for needed staff, they will accept the first available staff offered to them.  If you delay in calling us back to accept an offer, the shift most likely will already be filled once we call back. 

• Utilizing our online scheduler “AMS Online” provides you with a great way to keep us posted, view your scheduled shifts already secured, plot your daily or monthly availability yourself, or tell us when you are not available.  It also allows you to communicate directly to your staffing coordinator while logged in.  All communication is logged in your journal, which helps to ensure we are following up with your requests.  The best part, AMS Onlineis available to you 24 /7 so you can check your schedule and communicate information to us on your time!  Apply today for a link to AMS Online in the Job Seekers section of this website. You must be in active status to be given a log in.

• AMS enforces a tight check and balance system in managing its payroll functions which is imperative in order to process accurate invoicing to our clients. 
• Timesheets are to be faxed to our office at the completion of each and every shift. No exceptions.
• Our policy requires that each AMS employee must sign their own timesheets as well as to ensure they have the signature of an appropriate designated facility employee.  Timesheets must be completed in full to include your full name, the facility worked, your "actual" time in and the time out, the unit worked, and whether or not a lunch was taken.  
• You are required to also designate which form or payroll distribution you are electing such as mailing, picking up, or direct depositing your checks.  If this is not designated this could result in your paycheck being automatically being mailed directly to you.
• No Lunch:  If no lunch was taken during your shift, there must be a signature or initials written beside the NO LUNCH indication.  This signature must match the facility signature at the bottom of the timesheet. 
• Incomplete timesheets will not be processed and will cause delay in your payroll.
• We require that you list the exact time you arrive and leave the unit when working for AMS.  Do not round your time to the nearest quarter.
• Many facilities now utilize electronic time clocking procedures for the temp and traveling staff, however all facilities differ.  Even if you clock in electronically, you must still submit a time sheet to our fax upon completion of each shift. It is your responsibility to determine if you should be clocking in or only completing AMS timesheets.  All client facilities differ.
• When you receive your AMS photo ID, please note that we have listed our fax numbers, office numbers, and toll numbers on the back of your badge for your convenience of referencing when needing to reach us while on duty.
• If at any time, you forget to take along your AMS timesheets, you may call our 24 hour call center and a timesheet can be faxed to you. Or if you are allowed to access a computer you can log in to our website and access and print our timesheet directly from the Download Forms/Financial Documents section.
• If for any reason you have to leave your shift due to illness, you should first notify your immediate facility charge or supervisor, you must report off to another nurse, then you must call and notify us.
• Falsification of a timesheet is considered theft, and will not be tolerated.  This could be cause for immediate termination and may be reportable to the authorities as well as licensing boards.  

• At hire you will be asked to complete a payroll election form which will allow you to choose between next-day pay or direct deposit.

• If you elect direct deposit, you are required to provide a voided copy of a check where you want your banking deposits to occur.

• Once you elect direct deposit as your choice of payroll, you cannot switch back and forth. 

• You may elect to cancel direct deposit at any time and revert back to daily pay, but this must be continuous.

• Our work week for purposes of scheduling runs Sunday through Sat.  Direct deposit runs Wed. through Tues.  In other words, shifts worked through Tuesday, will be entered into the new weekly direct deposit run which occurs on Wednesday. You can typically expect that your payroll deposited will be available in your bank by the following Friday; however it may vary according to your bank's ACH transfer procedures.  It is your responsibility and we encourage you to talk with your banker to verify the timing of the deposit and when it will be available to you at your bank. 

• Electing to utilize our direct deposit option frees our professionals up from unnecessary trips to and from our office, or to the mailbox, then inadvertently to the bank.  Who has time to wait in bank lines anymore? 

• Direct Deposit offers the security of knowing that your money is being deposited safely and securely without the risk of theft or lost mail.

• Should your checks be mailed to you instead of direct deposit and they become lost, AMS policy requires that we must wait 7-10 business days before a stop payment can be issued and possibly another check be printed. Often time this delay is related to the postal system and this allows proper time for the check discovered and then returned. 

• How will I know my deposit has been made and what my salary was for each shift?  You will receive a check stub in the mail with all the information about the check that was deposited directly.

• W-2’s will be automatically mailed directly to the current address we have on file for you. It is your responsibility to keep us updated on any changes to your address or contact information.  Failure to do so may result in lost mail, in which we can’t be responsible for.  Please remember to keep us posted on any changes even if you are now inactive with us. You can easily update your changes with us, by accessing and downloading the Personnel Change Form directly from the Download Forms section located on the AMS Professionals page of our website.

• Yes, you may make this change at any time you feel it is necessary.  You must complete a new W-2, sign and date the form yourself and return it to our office. This form may also be found on the Download forms section of our website.

• Your filing status is your personal choice.  You are advised to consult with a CPA or a financial planner to assist you in best determining your individual way to file.
• Careful attention should be noted when considering your filing status, as you may potentially earn a much higher overall base salary while working as a temp or traveler, as opposed to former jobs.

How does scheduling work?

• Some of our client facilities schedule months in advance and others call on a daily basis for help.
• For those clients that give us a month’s worth of open shifts to be filled, we immediately begin calling all appropriately matched professionals to offer shifts.
• Scheduling does not work, if you do not call back!
• It is best if we obtain your availability in as much advance as possible, (1 month or more) is advised, so that we are able to quickly secure a shift when a client calls in a need.
• Once our staffing coordinators receive needs from our client facilities, we begin matching appropriate skills with the needs, and then begin calling.
• Staffing coordinators depend on the data entered in your availability calendars to quickly find which staff are available.  
• Once you agree to a shift, your staffing coordinator will call and secure the shift with the facility and therefore will show it confirmed.  Another phone call is made to you as well to confirm. 

• ABSOLUTLEY!  Our staffing database assists us in tracking expired licenses and in notifying you.

• We will notify you by postcard, email, and by a direct phone call,  well in advance of your expiration date. This allows you to secure a course promptly before your expiration date.

• Failure to update your credentials in a timely manner, weighs poorly on your professional skills, and will disqualify you from being placed.

• Every effort should be made to maintain current and active credentials appropriate for your skill level.

• As a part our continuous improvement initiative, we audit our personnel files on a monthly basis to determine our percentage of expired credentials within each file.

• We maintain a listing of course schedules that show an array of courses available throughout the area, and will be happy to provide this to you upon request.  This will also be posted in the Career center on our website. 

• You are responsible for your license and keeping your credentials up to date at all times.  Do not let your credentials expire! 

• You absolutely will not be allowed to be placed if your license has expired.

• (Nurses only) As an added convenience to you, you can access the AMS licensing map on our website.  Here’s how:  click on the Career Center tab, then click Licensing&Credentialing.  Click on your appropriate state and this will automatically open the website of that state’s licensing board. 

• What forms of communication are utilized to communicate about shifts and bookings, and open orders and new opportunites?

• AMS utilizes all the latest technologies in today’s communicative world to reach out to our staff and our clients in the most time efficient manner possibly. Whether by direct phone call, texting, emailng, faxing, social blogs, such as Twittering; we strive to meet your needs through the most current use of technologies.  We will utilize the best form of communication that works for you and that will aid in our ability to reach our staff in the most timely&efficient manner.  We are currently encouraging all staff who have cell phones, to consider allowing us to text them when immediate needs and new opprunities arise. We are able to program cell&email messages into text messages for immediate bulk texting, which will help you get the shifts you want faster!  Be sure to talk with us about this when you visit with your staffing coordinator or the office next time. We always make it a point to call you directly on the phone to confirm all shifts being booked. In return, we also expect you to call in person should you have to cancel or make a change. We will not accept email messages to cancel a shift that was confirmed.