by MDSP Blog Admin | Aug 11, 2021 | Around MDSP, Employers, Providers
Specialty: Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine
Home State: North Carolina
Practicing Locum Tenens Since 2014
Getting to Know Dr. Anna:
Why did you first pursue locum tenens work?
I enjoy working in different settings, meeting new physicians. Locum tenens helps me do that and keeps me intellectually engaged.
Describe the most unique assignment you’ve worked.
I have been working with a hospital in just outside Charlotte. It was hard work with long hours but I enjoyed my work also met colleagues and have learnt a lot in the process.
What medical advancements would you like to see in the next 5 years?
Although idealistic, I would like to see more affordable health care for all. I would also like to see improvement in the lab testing with faster turnaround of the results which would help optimizing patient care.
Client feedback: We are glad to have Dr. Anna come to our facility over the past few years, and welcome her back for Locum Tenens coverage. She is a big help and provides much needed relief for our permanent physician.
To learn more about MD Staff Pointe click About MDSP
Provider Page: Providers
by MDSP Blog Admin | Aug 9, 2021 | Around MDSP, Employers, Providers
August 9, 2021
IRVING, TEXAS: MD Staff Pointe is honoring locum tenens providers and joining healthcare staffing agencies from across the industry in recognition of National Locum Tenens Week, August 9-13.
MD Staff Pointe: Here for the expected, unexpected, and everything in between. Providing temporary coverage for hospital based specialties, consultants and surgery.
Working with MD Staff Pointe, each of our candidate works with a dedicated single point of contact throughout the search process. We strive for superior service during the search, placement, credentialing and logistics phases. Our mission, is to provide an experience to every client and candidature worth repeating and our values include: up-to-date communication, mutual respect and representative transparency.
National Locum Tenens Week occurs annually the second week in August. Led by the National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations® (NALTO®), the program’s annual platform provides a forum to collectively recognize locum tenens doctors and the contributions made by staffing agencies to the U.S. healthcare industry.
About NALTO® (https://www.nalto.org/):The National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations® (NALTO®) is the only professional association of temporary physician staffing firms committed to a code of ethics and to maintaining the highest industry standards.
About MD Staff Pointe (https://www.mdstaffpointe.com/about-mdsp-2/):MD Staff Pointe began placing physicians permanently in 2007. With demand for temporary coverage in 2013, MD Staff Pointe launched their locum tenens division with just ICU coverage. MD Staff Pointe services now include locum tenens and permanent placement for all hospital-based specialties, consultants and surgeons.
Contact:
Mike Zagami, Vice President
MD Staff Pointe
(214) 247-6695
mzagami@mdstaffpointe.com
Proud Members of AAPPR, NAPR and NALTO
Corporate Contributor to AAPPR
by MDSP Blog Admin | Mar 12, 2021 | Providers
Physician Spotlight –
Dr. Ray
Specialty: Anesthesiology
Home State: North Carolina
Number of Years Practicing Locum Tenens: First Year
What clients have to say about Dr. Ray:
Dr. Ray has been a great addition to our locum tenens staff. He has worked at two of our facilities and integrates well at both even though the culture at each is quite different. His anesthesia skills are excellent and is so compliant with paperwork! Really great to work with!
Getting to know Dr. Ray:
Q: Why did you first pursue locum tenens work?
A: Burn Out. I left a busy, full-time hospital location after 22 years. I saw an opportunity to leave the daily grind. After some time, I realized that I missed some aspects of the practice of anesthesiology and I started to look around to see what options were available. I explained my situation to various recruiters and I found that MD Staff Pointe had some options that were ideal for me. As I mentioned to them “There are youngsters that can take the all-night call. I’m too old now for busy call.” Working locums allows me to evaluate different hospitals and practices to see if we’re a good match. When I first got out of the Army in 1993, I started in a practice I did not enjoy, but it was close to home. I was stuck because of contractual requirements. I got the opportunity to move to North Carolina to join people I knew from the Army and spent 22 years with them. I got to work with some great people and learned a lot. But most importantly, I learned that different hospitals and communities have personalities of their own, and that’s where locums work is so great. You can tap into those areas and see if it is a good fit for yourself.
Q: Describe the most unique experience you’ve had.
A: By far the most unique assignment I’ve ever had was after my internship when I was in the Army. I was assigned to HHB 56th Field Artillery in Schwaebisch Gmuend, Germany. Not only did I get to live in another country, but I was assigned as the Command Medical Officer to the Army’s Nuclear Missile Command during the time of the signing of the INF Nuclear Missile Treaty under President Reagan. I got to see East Berlin before the Wall came down, eat real Borscht in a real Russian restaurant in East Berlin, go through Checkpoint Charlie, see Berlin, and all the other amazing sights, sounds, and the rest Germany had to offer. And I got to ski in the Alps. Nothing even comes close to that experience!
Q: Describe what medical advancements you would like to see in the next 5 years (or anything else relevant to your specialty).
A: I can’t imagine because there have been so many advancements over my short 35-year career. Things we take for granted today like pulse oximetry and EtCO2 monitoring did not exist when I started, and are now standard usage and have revolutionized care. But the past several years have shown the value of Ultrasound inpatient care. What started as a big bulky box can now be held in your hand on your phone. But more importantly, it has allowed the anesthesiologist to “see” the tip of their needle. Surgeons have always said there is nothing worse than a blind surgeon, but anesthesiologists always were blind, we always “felt” our way to needle placement. And there were many things I would not do because I felt that they were too dangerous. Now Ultrasound allows precise needle placement to allow avoidance of other structures.
To learn more about MD Staff Pointe click About MDSP
Provider Page: Providers
by MDSP Blog Admin | Aug 27, 2020 | Around MDSP, Employers, Providers
Neurosurgeons fight Medicare’s payment cuts to preserve quality and access to care in an already stressed health care system due to COVID-19.
The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) are fighting the 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The uproar from the neurosurgery community comes from the estimated 7% payment cuts they will face at a time that our health care system is already under stressed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The reductions come from new policies for office and outpatient visits that the CMS will put into motion on January 1, 2021. The neurosurgery community argues that any cuts or changes to evaluation and management codes will compromise patient access to care and longer wait times.
According to Ann R. Stoink, MD, FAANS, a practicing neurosurgeon from Bloomington, Illinois, and chair for the AANS/CNS Washington Committee, states, “Now is not the time to reduce payments for surgical care, and if implemented as is, the Medicare payment rule will challenge an already fragile health care system.” Members from the Surgical Care Coalition and other groups are asking Congress to waive Medicare’s budget neutrality to prevent these cuts and to require that CMS apply an increase to the evaluation and management payments.
A survey conducted by the coalition found that: 74% of neurosurgeons are concerned about the finances of their practice. 38% have cut their own salary and 24% have taken on debt just to keep their doors open as a result of COVID-19. Over 76% are worried that they will have to cut employee’s salaries or permanently layoff employees.
“This was an ill-informed and dangerous policy for patients even before the pandemic started but could be even more detrimental as our health care system continues to weaken under COVID-19. If finalized, this proposal could result in neurosurgeons taking fewer Medicare patients leading to longer wait times and reduced access to care for older Americans, so Congress must act now to prevent this from happening,” Dr. Stroink concluded.
Source: Katie O. Orrico – American Association of Neurological Surgeons
MD Staff Pointe
For the latest opportunities in Neurosurgery go to our Jobs Page!
For more about MD Staff Pointe go to: About MDSP
by MDSP Blog Admin | Aug 7, 2020 | Around MDSP, Employers, Providers
| It’s National Locum Tenens Week and MD Staff Pointe recognizes locum tenens providers!
Irving, TX: MD Staff Pointe is honoring locum tenens providers and joining healthcare staffing agencies from across the industry in recognition of National Locum Tenens Week, August 10-14. “During unprecedented times of COVID-19, physicians are critical to the health of our population. We must recognize the sacrifices they make on the front lines to help heal our family and friends” MD Staff Pointe’s mission to provide an experience to every candidate worth repeating is key to retaining their roster of physicians on assignment. National Locum Tenens Week occurs annually the second week in August. Led by the National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations® (NALTO®), the program’s annual platform provides a forum to collectively recognize locum tenens doctors and the contributions made by staffing agencies to the U.S. healthcare industry.
About NALTO® (www.NALTO.org): The National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations® (NALTO®) is the only professional association of temporary physician staffing firms committed to a code of ethics and to maintaining the highest industry standards.
About MD Staff Pointe (www.mdstaffpointe.com/about):
MD Staff Pointe is a Locum tenens and permanent placement physician staffing agency for all hospital-based specialties, consultants and surgeons since 2007. |
Contact: Mike Zagami
Vice President
MD Staff Pointe
mzagami@mdstaffpointe.com
|
by MDSP Blog Admin | Jul 10, 2020 | Around MDSP, Employers, Providers
With summer in full swing, finding fun activities to do can be daunting. Regardless of where you live there are countless ways to have fun at-home, in your community, or in your state. Here 20 amazing summer stay-cation ideas to make it a blast.
Set some ground rules: (optional)
No phones, computers, or TV – Test yourself and get creative with a no phones, computers, or TV rule for a day.
Out and About
Visit a Nearby Tourist Spot- Be a tourist in your on hometown.
Take a day trip – get out in your state and explore places you have never been before. Pull out a map and go! Who knows you just might find some cool places you have never been in your own backyard.
Stay at a hometown hotel for a night or two. Or Airbnb it. – When we think vacation, we typically dream of tropical get away or scenic journeys to far away lands, but who says you can’t stay local and try out a nice hotel near you? Better yet, Airbnb a eclectic home, yurt or tiny house in your state and get out of Dodge for a weekend.
Take your camera for an adventure – Our phones have cameras. Take yours for a field trip, day trip, or weekend getaway. Make memories! You will be glad you did.
Food Lovers
Tour a Local Factory, Winery, or Brewery – Taste your way to a fun day out with friends!
Go out for ice cream – I know the ice cream aisle at the grocery store may have some appeal, but nothing replaces the special trip to get ice cream our parents took us on.
Themed dinner and movie night – Go out to a great Italian place, have a glass of Chianti, and follow it up with the Godfather series. You pick your food and movie combo!
Fun in the sun
Get Wet – Spend the day at a river, lake, local pool or water park, or just head to the beach! If that sounds like too much effort, simply set up a slip & slide in the backyard. Kiddie pools can be for adults too. Set up a cool down tank in your back yard to fight the hot summer days.
Go Golfing – If dad is into real golf, consider spending an afternoon doing a family golf lesson; otherwise, stick to mini golf at a local novelty course!
Play Outside – Go fly a kite, take a walk, go for a bike ride, or take a hike–most state and national parks have at least a few walking, hiking, or biking trails to choose from.
Explore The Great Indoors
Finish a jig saw puzzle – If its to hot to go outside, buy a jigsaw puzzle, throw on some music and challenge yourself to complete it in one day! Or two. Get your friends to help out, the more help the better.
Stay in bed or take as many nappy poo’s as you want! – Rest and good quality sleep are sometimes hard to come by. Take a day and spoil your body and mind with some rest and recovery.
Buy a bunch of magazines – Tired of reading books, try picking up some magazines and lounge at-home or at park.
Make a collage – Got too many magazines? Create a vision board or dream collage of the things that matter to you or that you want in your life. Collages are a great way to get creative again. No experience necessary. Just glue, poster board and scissors.
Find a easy Read, Romance, fantasy, fiction – When was the last time you read a book for fun? Maybe high school, grade school? Go to a local library, amazon or used book store and find a tantalizing book to get lost in.
Backyard Bliss
Camp in Your Own Backyard-Why not enjoy the great outdoors in your own backyard? Set up a tent and sleeping bags, build a fire (or use the grill) to cook s’mores, and camp out.
Picnic – This could be a full basket retreat to the park or a brown bag lunch in the grass. Just a change in scenery with some good simple food could brighten your day.
Hang up a hammock – Aiming for a low key day? Hang up a hammock inside or outside. Give yourself a nook to lay back, relax and enjoy a nap or a good book.
Break out some cards and board games – Dust them off everyone! Or go out and find one you and some friends can have a blast with over cocktails and small eats.
Got an itch to work and play?
Check out our recent blog Summer Fun Travel Destinations for Locums and our Job Page for new locum opportunities!
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