By: Shari Dalton
I have made it a point to stay off of a lot of social media groups lately because, quite frankly, they are just negative and make me angry and I don’t have time for that. I saw a comedian once and he described his thought process as: “When someone speaks, usually my first 3-4 responses are totally bad, so I wait, and wait, and then I respond.” I find myself doing this more and more. I read something, type…delete….type….delete…type….delete…sometimes never to re-type at all.
The healthcare staffing industry isn’t a zero-sum world. There doesn’t have to be a loser in order for there to be a winner. In fact, I’ll let you in on a little secret: Everyone needs each other. The nurses NEED the agencies. The agencies NEED the MSPs. The hospitals NEED the agencies. We all play a key role; one piece does not function without the other. Rising up against one another isn’t going to do anything except hurt you and the couple of people you can convince to rise up around you.
Now, are there things that can change and things that should require everyone to play a little more nicely together in the sandbox? Absolutely!! And I truly believe we are making great strides as an industry in that direction. And if I’m being honest, if you’re one of the outliers, either a nurse, agency, MSP or hospital, who doesn’t feel like you need to play nice in the sandbox, I can all but guarantee that in the next few years, you’ll be pushed out. Collaboration, cooperation, and innovation are the keys to growth for healthcare over the next few years. Get in the sandbox and start sharing your toys or get left behind!!
In a world where you can choose to be anything, choose to be nice!
