Categories: Doctors/Employees

by Aptus Associates

Share

Categories: Doctors/Employees

by Aptus Associates

Share

Healthcare in rural America faces some unique challenges as facilities are few and far between, and most infrastructure and equipment are aging. People who live beyond urban and suburban healthcare may have diseases going unnoticed and addiction and obesity issues reaching dangerous levels. Although working in rural America may seem undesirable for many healthcare practitioners, it could be a tremendous opportunity. It allows you to diversify your healthcare offering, earn impressive revenue, and network in ways you never imagined you could. 

 

As a medical practitioner setting up a clinic in rural America, you’ll want to hire the right talent who brings something valuable to the table. Unfortunately, not every job position is vital to running a rural health clinic. So, here are three major job positions for your rural healthcare clinic:

Nurse

Nurses work to improve the health and well-being of the patients they serve by educating them about disease prevention, illness, safe health practices, and how to obtain health care services. They also facilitate communication between patients, their families, and the doctor to improve healthcare outcomes.

 

You’ll need a skilled nurse to help create programs that allow patients to become healthier regardless of their culturally diverse backgrounds and budget/insurance. Their work may include performing health care screenings, vaccinations, and other forms of preventative care.

 

A rural health clinic typically requires a registered nurse (RN) who specializes in promoting health for diverse communities, infants, children, adolescents, and adults. One of the primary roles of a nurse is to provide health care to patients and help identify health concerns that affect a specific population.

 

Doctor

Doctors provide patients with the knowledge and medical assistance they need for their well-being. It is for this reason that health clinics exist in rural areas. Doctors are the lifeblood of the health clinic because patients pay for their services. Depending on the size of a clinic and the physicians available, doctors can perform many different roles within the clinic. 

 

The doctor should know how to assess their health and, if necessary, determine the best course of action to take when some disease or condition is detected that requires specialized medical treatment. Overall, doctors can save people’s lives or help preserve and improve their quality of life, which is an immeasurable valuable commodity.

 

Receptionist

Although the doctor is the reason why people first show up at your clinic, the receptionist is responsible for them returning the next time. Receptionists greet customers at the door, take phone calls, schedule appointments, and help patients walk through the steps to get checked in and out of the clinic. 

Without receptionists, there would be no patients returning for more visits. You must have patients return for more services, and repeat customers are vital to your success. Your doctor is vital to the survival of your clinic, as is your receptionist. She is the one thing people recognize and associate with the quality of your clinic.

 

Wrapping Up

Besides the three essential positions, you may also want to hire an office manager to serve as the backbone of the clinic. This is often the person who manages the office staff. They keep everything running smoothly by getting involved in the day-to-day running of your clinic, even if the patients don’t know about it. With these three positions filled, it would be wise to outsource a small portion of your work to third-party service providers, such as medical billing services, so that the rest of your clinic can run smoothly.