Who out there has not had to deal with the staffing shortages facing not only cardiology, but also the healthcare field overall? If you haven™t, then you are one of the lucky few. The nursing shortage alone is expected to hit healthcare hard. Couple that with the shortage of radiology technologists, and it has us all pulling out our hair, wondering where we are going to get our staff.

What do we do to make sure we have competent, adequately-trained staff? Clearly, we still have to take care of our patients and not compromise patient care. I will share with you what my organizations and I have accomplished over the past few years to staff the labs I have managed. Managers really need to think out of the box. Many of us have, and maybe you would be willing to share your ideas with readers as well.

Temporary staffing. You can fill an immediate need for staff through temporary staffing agencies which are popping up all over the place. These staffing agencies are always willing to help, but approach them with caution. Make sure you do your homework on these agencies, because I have seen some very competent staff and I have seen some that are not very good. There are plenty of temporary agencies and I have used a few. I would like to put a plug in for one firm I used the most often, CPI Temps. I have received nothing but high quality, competent staff. Sharon and Bart Walker, along with John Hagen and the rest of their team, are dedicated to placing only highly-trained people who are a good match to your organization.

This is an expensive venture, but nevertheless one which we will probably need to take advantage of at one time or another. I believe that when you weigh the potential loss of revenue against the cost of temporary staff, you will see the benefit of hiring agency staff.

Look Outside the CCL. Have you thought about utilizing other skill sets? How about a Respiratory Therapist, LPN, or Emergency Medical Technologist? I know there are some labs that are using these credentials in the cath lab environment, and why not? These are great skill sets that will only compliment the existing staff. They already possess certain critical skills required to work in the cath lab and with the proper orientation can quickly become a valued member of the cath lab team.

On-the-job training. What about on-the-job training (OJT)? In the early days, this is the way a lot of cath labs started with staffing. The key to training OJT personnel is to have a program which is designed to take the individual all the way from the basics to tableside and scrubbing with the physicians. The length of the training will be dependent on the skill set of the person you are training. I have seen staff ranging from monitor techs to transporters cross-trained to work the cath lab. To be quite frank, these became some of the best staff I had working in the labs. I know this is a controversial topic, but I sincerely believe that with the right training and orientation program, this can be successful without compromising patient care. (We all had to start somewhere!)

Start a CVT School. If you™re not crazy about the idea of an OJT program, why not start your own school? My previous employer did just that. We formed an advisory committee that put together a curriculum and the requirements for a school of cardiovascular technology. This facility is now in the process of building the program to achieve accreditation through CAHEEP and JRC-CVT. Their program started last October with five students for the echo track. They then hired someone to bring up the cath lab track and now anticipate having the first cath class this fall.

There are many resources available to help you get started with your own school program. You are also welcome to contact me, the Alliance of Cardiovascular Professionals (ACVP, www.acp-online.org) or Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals (SICP, www.sicp.com) for assistance.

Obviously, alternatives do exist that will help you to continue staffing your labs. You need to be able to think outside the norm, and don™t be afraid to be creative. We are facing critical staffing shortages and need to be able to continue to provide for our patients. I firmly believe this can be accomplished without compromising patient care.

Have a staffing idea? Contact author Roger Siegfried at rsiegfri@anmed.com