Summer can feel like a lazy river ride for pediatricians: with trips, camps, and plenty of outside play, office visits may be fewer than during sick season and kids are generally less ill. But for practice administrators and office managers, the struggle to fill schedules continues. After all, staff and physicians also want in on the nice weather! If your practice is struggling to realize both vacation time and filling out the staff schedule, here are some tips to help you stay afloat on the inner tube of success and keep your revenue from hitting a wave – all summer long.

Cross-Train for Strength 

Just as athletes cross-train muscles for better performance, you can and should cross-train staff on your team. While everyone has their strengths and should generally play to them, the ability of your staff to cover for one another during absences will help prevent lulls between the reception room and the exam room.

Depending on the number of staff and the size of your practice, here are tasks you might consider cross-training:

• Checking patients in/out
• Billing 
• Handling appointments
• Referrals
• Patient recall
• Rooming patients
• Giving a brief tour of the practice for new patients/expecting parents
• Accepting deliveries

Cross-training isn’t just a good strategy for summer and other lulls in schedules. This study suggests that cross-training is a great way to keep employees motivated and engaged, as the novelty of new tasks breaks the monotony of their usual work. Win/win.

Shock the Benefits Pool

When was the last time you considered your practice’s benefit package before hiring new staff? Perhaps recently, especially if you’re experiencing staff shortages, but if you haven’t, now is a great time to take another look. 

Negotiating benefits is a great strategy for practices that aren’t able to offer more financial compensation when a candidate asks for it, and benefits are also great for employee retention. Some benefits questions to consider:

• Is PTO accrued over the year or given in a lump sum?
• Do employees with more seniority get more PTO? 
• Does your practice require planning PTO ahead of time, or are you generally flexible? Where is the best middle ground?

Some practices offer more flexibility in scheduling vacation time for their senior employees and physicians, but be careful: allowing a senior employee to schedule a vacation last minute over the newbie’s wedding plans booked months in advance sets a demoralizing precedent. Having clear definitions around who can book vacation time, how far in advance, and how seniority benefits differ (if you choose to offer them) can prevent this problem.

Summer Staffing: Locum Tenens and Per Diem Players

When the staff you have in the office dwindles, sometimes you simply need more people – both in and out of the office.

• Per diem staff can help fill in gaps for positions like MAs, front desk, and scheduling.
• Locum tenens physicians require more planning, but could be a great option especially if multiple physicians are out for several weeks during the season.
• Remote workers can help your practice schedule appointments and perform administrative work like making patient recall phone calls. Telemedicine opportunities for physicians and NPs are another great benefit to negotiate with.

Getting creative with part-time staff can pay dividends. College students are a great pool of candidates for summer-time coverage. Bonus: medical school students make great scribes and can use what they learn in your practice for their future career. Read about how Dr. Caroline Morgan of Pirate Pediatrics did just that.

Even while summer schedules relax a little, there are plenty of creative ways to help your team accommodate everything that this summer will offer. Whether you decide to shore up your team of part-time players or get flexible with the staff you already have, you can tackle summer scheduling snafus with a little planning ahead.

Speaking of planning ahead – are you making the most of your front desk staff? They’re the face of the office, and critical for your success. From optimizing patient flow to making great first impressions, supporting your front desk can be a great boost for your practice’s workflow and morale. Learn more about how to utilize your front desk to collect payments, improve patient relationships, and much more with this webinar from PCC’s Lynne Gratton.