AllHealthcare

When you are laid off from your job, one of your hopes is that you receive a good severance package, equipped with both severance pay and continued benefits. Most often, severance is based on how long an employee has been employed by the employer, but benefits often vary depending on the employer. In addition, employers are not required to provide severance ...

Healthcare industry turnover hovers around 18 percent, according to a 2004 survey by Compensation Resources. But this figure, just slightly above the 17.6 percent overall national average the survey found, doesn't tell the whole story: The US Department of Labor predicts that from 2002 to 2012, 10 of the 20 fastest-growing occupations will be in health services, and the industry will ...

Time flies when you're wasting it These days, no one can afford to waste time at work. Thanks to widespread downsizing, workloads are piling up. Unfortunately, extra hours in the day are not. Maximizing your time at work can mean the difference between leaving at a reasonable hour (i.e. holding onto your sanity) and staying late unnecessarily. You’ve got a ...

For night owls and early birds, the traditional 9-to-5 workday can be agonizing. The exhausted night owl drags himself bleary-eyed into the office every morning, while the chipper early bird finds his energy waning well before quitting time. But there are ways to cope. Experts offer these workplace survival strategies for those with body clocks out of sync with their employers' ...

Whether you're an ICU nurse dealing with life-or-death situations, a social worker counseling clients through traumatic events, a pharmacist faced with prescription quotas or another type of healthcare worker coping with your own pressures, learning to handle stress is critical to managing your career. Ongoing stress can manifest itself in a host of physical and psychological symptoms, including headaches, sleep disturbances, ...

You've just received the awful news: Effective today, your services are no longer needed. You know you're not alone, but somehow that doesn't make you feel any better. Your mind tells you to put together your resume right away, but your body won't move. Here are some tips to help get your mind and body working together. Grieving Time Before you ...

One late night while working Boston’s needle exchange van I realized the early stage of drug addiction is no different than the sugar or coffee cycle many of us fall prey to in our daily lives. This particular evening a young man walked into the van, and we talked about his drug use and life in the gay community. He had ...

They complain, criticize, shout, swear and may even try to hit you. Difficult patients are an unfortunate fact of life in healthcare. But knowing how to identify, understand and respond to them can make your work life safer and less stressful. Identify Difficult Patients >> [page] Identify Difficult Patients It's sometimes possible to predict which patients will likely become difficult, abusive ...

The interview’s set, and now you want to know if your potential employer does more than talk about diversity. Use these tips to find out if the company has a proven commitment to hiring a wide range of people. For many hospitals, home-care agencies and other healthcare employers, providing care to diverse patients is a business imperative. Does the employer have ...

Clinical social worker Jim Hardeman almost landed in jail once for refusing to turn over confidential client records. Hardeman, who was managing a corporation's employee assistance program at the time, had counseled both parents involved in a heated custody battle. Because of his work with the pair, the court ordered Hardeman to turn over his therapeutic records regarding the couple. "I ...

A shift into a completely new career doesn’t have to mean a drop back to an entry-level salary, but convincing an employer you deserve above entry-level pay for an entry-level position is tough. “Companies have a set salary range in mind for every position,” says Janice Litvin of Micro Search, a San Francisco high tech recruitment firm. “They are not able ...

Pharmacists tend to believe that they provide dispassionate service and care for their customers who are, after all, patients. But in the 2000s, a passion-filled controversy is dividing pharmacists, engendering activity in Congress and dozens of state legislatures and creating questions about future practices in this field. The crux of the matter: Should pharmacists have the right to refuse to dispense ...

Healthcare isn't a 9-to-5 job. It's an around-the-clock profession, and working evening or night hours is a way of life for many health professionals. Such shifts can take a physical and emotional toll on workers, experts say, but there are ways to prevent the damage. Here are suggestions for surviving - and even thriving - despite a draining schedule. h4. Understand ...

Are you a healthcare professional who's feeling anything but merry about working yet another holiday shift? Healthcare veterans offer tips on how to banish your inner grinch and make the most of another holiday on the job. h4. Plan Ahead Healthcare professionals say one of the worst aspects of working a holiday is missing family events. Diane Speranza, RN, a certified ...

If you want to start developing leadership skills in your first job, here’s Lindsey Pollak’s advice: Begin with your eyes and ears. That’s what she did in her first role as a program coordinator for the American Woman’s Economic Development Corp. in Stamford, Connecticut. “My pay was very low, so my terrific boss -- the executive director of the organization -- ...

You know the healthcare drill-long hours, high demands, and stressful situations leave you feeling accomplished, fulfilled, and...exhausted! You may feel like there's just no time in the work day to take care of your number one patient: yourself. Although the work you do for others is amazing, it is important to give yourself the same attention! Here are 10 ways to ...

Mentoring relationships can be among the most rewarding career-related interactions you'll have -- if you take full advantage of them. Whether you're interested in mentoring someone or looking for a mentor to help steer your career in the right direction, these guidelines can help you get and stay connected with the right person. Five Tips for Being a Great Mentor 1. ...

Think the promise of promotion into management would motivate most employees? Not so, according to a survey by staffing firm The Creative Group, which found 71 percent of workers surveyed would not want their manager's job. "A manager needs to get to know his or her employees," says Carol E. Gilson, vice president of human resources and client services for EMPO, ...

Weary of the costly games some workers play with elaborate systems of vacation, personal and sick days, many large employers have shuffled the deck and called a new game: Paid time off (PTO). PTO plans, by which employees accrue days off in a single account and spend them more or less as they wish, are a mixed bag from the worker's ...

Managers who understand what motivates each employee can tailor incentives accordingly. But your motivational toolbox should go beyond rewarding excellent work. Just as important to keeping workers engaged is a plan for encouraging, consoling and embracing them when they invariably slip off track. But how do you find the right balance between supporting employees and pushing them to meet high standards? ...