Powering the Next Generation: Streamlining Onboarding for Healthcare’s New Graduates
It’s that time of year when the healthcare field experiences a vital influx of new talent, fresh from recent graduations. This wave of emerging professionals is indispensable for addressing persistent staffing shortages and upholding the highest standards of patient care for the future. Consequently, delivering an optimized onboarding experience is not merely beneficial—it is critical for both your organization’s operational continuity and the successful integration of these new healthcare professionals. As your team prepares to welcome these graduates, the sheer volume can pose significant challenges, even for the most seasoned onboarding teams. To facilitate a seamless and efficient transition during this period, consider these 6 tips for your onboarding processes. Tip #1: Proactive Planning Commence preparations well in advance to create a frictionless experience for both your existing team and the new graduates, many of whom are navigating a hospital or health system’s onboarding processes for the first time. Leverage the pre-surge period to meticulously review internal processes for new graduates, making certain every team member involved in onboarding is proficient in your systems and protocols. Address anticipated frequently asked questions proactively to minimize errors and standardize information delivery. This foresight in identifying and mitigating common roadblocks will yield substantial time savings and reduce potential frustrations for all stakeholders. Tip #2: Assign Dedicated Onboarding Coordinators Navigating the complexities of onboarding in any new role, particularly within a healthcare organization, presents inherent challenges. Where feasible, assign a dedicated onboarding coordinator to new graduates at the outset of their journey. This individual will serve as a consistent point of contact throughout their onboarding experience. A singular point of contact not only alleviates new hire anxiety but also cultivates a more personalized integration into your organization. Furthermore, it promotes a more equitable distribution of workload among your team, enhancing overall efficiency. Tip #3: Communicate Expectations & Timelines Clearly with New Grads From the outset, establish clear guidelines regarding required documentation, critical deadlines, and the paramount importance of maintaining compliance and a clear-to-work status. Tailor onboarding materials to this new audience, making sure all instructions are unequivocally clear and comprehensive, supported by readily accessible points of contact and support channels at each stage. This is an opportune moment to critically evaluate your existing processes and identify areas prone to confusion. Utilize automated reminders and secure portals to facilitate the effortless upload and tracking of documents by new hires. Transparently communicate all deadlines to prevent last-minute complications. Tip #4: Leverage Temporary Permits and Provisional Credentials Wisely Many new graduates will commence their roles with temporary licenses or provisional credentials. These short-term authorizations, issued by state licensing boards or regulatory bodies, allow new healthcare graduates to practice while their full, permanent license application is being processed. It is imperative that your team implements a robust system for effectively tracking temporary permits and proactively alerting you when permanent credentials are required. This vigilance is crucial to prevent any professional from providing patient care without valid credentials or from being unexpectedly removed from existing staff schedules. Tip #5: Prepare for Temporary Staffing Needs Unforeseen circumstances can arise, particularly during periods of high-volume onboarding. While early and thorough preparation significantly mitigates delays, unexpected challenges can still surface at any point in a new hire’s journey. Develop comprehensive contingency plans, including provisions for temporary staff or float pools, should any onboarding delays impact critical staffing levels. Tip #6: Power Onboarding with Tech Graduation season often overwhelms manual systems, leading to bottlenecks and inefficiencies. Investing in scalable automation is paramount to smoothly manage surges in hiring volume, allowing your HR team to reallocate their focus to strategic initiatives rather than administrative burdens. See how Propelus’s workforce compliance solutions — EverCheck, Data Solutions, and Immuware — can help you onboard new healthcare talent faster and with greater confidence. New grads can also use CE Broker to track their own CE requirements, access accredited courses, and make their professional journey smoother.
Shining a Light on HR Excellence: Celebrating Human Resource Professional Day
At Propelus, we understand that people are the heartbeat of any organization. That is why we celebrate Human Resource Professional Day, honoring the essential role HR professionals play in nurturing and sustaining vibrant workplaces. This day is an opportunity to reflect on the value of HR teams and their impact on driving career growth and professional development. Join us as we explore how to honor HR professionals and why their work is vital to organizational success. What is Human Resource Professional Day? Human Resource Professional Day, observed annually on Sept. 26, recognizes the indispensable contributions of HR professionals. This day not only celebrates their achievements but also highlights the often-overlooked scope of their work. It’s a chance to deepen your understanding of HR’s role and to express appreciation for their unwavering commitment. Why Honor HR Professionals in Healthcare? In the dynamic field of healthcare, celebrating HR professionals is crucial. Here’s why we at Propelus believe it’s important to recognize their efforts: Talent Acquisition and Retention HR professionals in healthcare are key to attracting and retaining exceptional talent. Their dedication ensures that healthcare facilities are equipped with skilled, compassionate professionals who provide outstanding patient care. While they may not interact directly with patients, their work is foundational to the effective operation of your organization. Employee Well-being HR teams are champions of employee well-being, driving initiatives that promote wellness, mental health, and work-life balance. In the high-pressure environment of healthcare, their efforts are vital for maintaining morale and preventing burnout. By supporting these initiatives, you contribute to a more balanced and engaged workforce. Training and Development Continuous learning and development are central to healthcare excellence. HR professionals facilitate programs that keep staff up-to-date with the latest healthcare practices and technologies. This ongoing education not only boosts employee confidence but also enhances the quality of patient care. Compliance and Ethics Navigating complex regulatory requirements and ethical standards is a critical function of HR teams. By managing these aspects, HR professionals allow other leaders to focus on delivering exceptional patient care. Compliance and ethics requirements within your business protect the organization and its employees from legal issues and help maintain a culture of integrity. Crisis Management During challenging times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, HR professionals have been instrumental in managing workforce dynamics and implementing safety protocols. Their support during crises is a testament to their resilience and commitment. If your team members have a personal challenge, they can always turn to your HR team for extra support and advice. Cultural and Organizational Leadership HR professionals shape the culture of healthcare organizations, fostering an environment of inclusion, collaboration, and respect. Their role in building a supportive and empathetic workplace is crucial for organizational success. By celebrating HR colleagues on Human Resource Professional Day, you acknowledge their role in maintaining a high standard of care and employee support. Ideas to Honor Healthcare HR Professionals Inspired to celebrate Human Resource Professional Day? Here are some thoughtful ways to recognize and appreciate your HR team: Thank You Notes from Staff: Encourage colleagues to write personal notes or create thank you cards for HR colleagues, showcasing their appreciation for the team’s dedication. Lunch or Dinner with Leadership: Organize a special meal around Sept. 26, offering senior leaders the chance to express their gratitude and celebrate HR professionals. Gift Packages: Delight your HR team with personalized gift packages that reflect their interests, demonstrating your appreciation for their hard work. Customized HR Appreciation Video: Create a video featuring testimonials from employees and leaders, highlighting the positive impact of your HR team. Display the video prominently to raise awareness of their contributions. Final Thoughts Human Resource Professional Day is the perfect opportunity to recognize and celebrate your HR team’s hard work to ensure a safer, healthier, and more compliant workforce. Propelus is dedicated to helping HR professionals equip their workforce with the resources they need to perform at the highest level. Through our industry-leading solutions—EverCheck, Immuware, and CE Broker—we’re powering professionals with the tools they need to achieve professional compliance and ultimately, provide safer healthcare with better outcomes. This Human Resource Professional Day, we thank the HR professionals in healthcare who help their organizations provide the best care possible.
Celebrating One Year as Propelus: A Look Back at Our Progress
Written by Julie Walker, CEO at Propelus One year ago, on August 1, we excitingly announced our new brand, Propelus. This is a defining moment in our company’s history, and it more formally brought our brands – EverCheck, CE Broker, and Immuware – together as one unified company, all with a focused vision, mission, common set of values, and clear, customer-centric strategy. We knew we were on to something really special! A nod to our history We are honored and humbled by our unique history of over 20 years. Our founder’s vision was to help the Florida Department of Health (FL DoH) ensure their continuing education requirements for their licensed professionals were satisfied, which was foundational to our future. The FL DoH partnership was further instrumental in helping us develop and grow over the years to become the most trusted full-lifecycle continuing education management solution for government agencies, licensure departments, boards, and compacts. We embraced the opportunity to continuously evolve, innovate, and deliver meaningful solutions, introducing EverCheck. First, we assisted healthcare organizations in Florida, and soon after that, we expanded to a national footprint with the first-of-its-kind primary source verification and monitoring solution essential for dynamic workforce compliance management and to ensure professionals are Clear to Work®. In early 2023, we welcomed Immuware, a modern, intuitive, and professional-centric solution for Employee Health and safety (EHS) screening and surveillance. Ensuring the entire workforce – employees, vendors, contractors, students, and more–are healthy and safe to work – another critical element of workforce compliance in the broader human capital management ecosystem. Realizing our potential Our customer-centric, values-driven, and innovation-focused approach is core to our organization. Our many trusted professionals and their employers, licensure boards, agencies, and more helped us realize that our organization, as one company, has far-reaching potential with the focus on making a meaningful impact across our broader healthcare ecosystem. So, we stacked hands and set forth on our journey… We came together as one Propelus Team We embarked on this journey much earlier, in 2023. We started with our values. We believe they are our DNA. They are a blueprint that guides every interaction and decision and informs how we behave, operate, engage, and grow. We gathered thousands of inputs from our organization, customers, and other industry experts. We reviewed, discussed, and debated. We stacked hands, and here we are today. We have refreshed values, an even clearer vision, mission, and strategy–focused on powering professionals–connected through modern technology and united by our new brand, Propelus. We have laid an even stronger foundation for modernizing how professionals, employers, regulators, educators, and partners work together. Further, our “propeller” logo accentuates the full spectrum of what we do and the future we envision. Powering our progress We are excited to share a snapshot of our Propelus highlights: We serve more than 5 million professionals across our Propelus solutions. We partner with 400+ healthcare systems and several hundred licensure boards. We verify and monitor 8.3k primary data sources & professions for total workforce compliance. We process millions of license verifications, certifications, and registrations daily. We track more than 30 types of immunizations, screenings/surveillances, and injuries/illnesses. We’ve been honored with three Silver Stevie Awards, the world’s premier business awards, and Best Place to Work awards. We have delivered many exciting innovations for our customers, and even more are coming soon! Sharing our gratitude We are beyond grateful for our customers. They are central to why we exist, what motivates us to do meaningful work, and are vital to our future. Further, I am beyond proud of our Propelus team. We have had an exceptional first year as Propelus, and it is a true testament to our commitment to being a healthy, high-performing organization. One that embodies our values, the hustle & heart, passion & compassion, and determination makes Propelus an exceptional organization with an even brighter future – one that I am grateful and honored to lead. We are grateful for the progress we’ve made, and at the heart of everything we do is ensuring we meaningfully help safeguard our nation’s communities and workforce for safer, more compliant, healthier, and happier professionals. Cheers to Powering Professionals!
