Name: The Future of Travel Nursing: Key Trends to Watch in 2025
Uploaded: 2025-05-15T16:15:34.235Z
Duration: 44 min 44 s
Description: The Future of Travel Nursing: Key Trends to Watch in 2025

Transcript for "The Future of Travel Nursing: Key Trends to Watch in 2025": Alright. Hi, everyone. Welcome to today's event. We're certainly excited and happy that you're here, so thank you for taking some time to join us today. I'm Steve Vittorioso. I'm Ceipal director of industry marketing, and I'm extremely excited to be joined by an incredible guest who's really on the front lines of travel nurse staffing, Karen Rodriguez, founder and CEO of Eternal Medical Services. Before we dive in, we're just gonna go over some quick housekeeping notes, kinda get those out of the way, and then, we'll start, the conversation. First, this webinar is being recorded, and it will be available on demand afterward. We'll also have time for q and a toward the end of the event, so feel free to drop your questions in the chat on screen, using that q and a tab. And if you experience any technical issues, like audio problems or anything else, kinda on the back end with, with Goldcast, please feel more than free just to reach out to support@goldcast.io. That's support@goldcast.io. So now, let's set the stage and, talk about why we're all here today. So as many of you know, travel nursing is in a state of, some rapid change. It's driven by shifting health care demands, evolving nurse expectations, new compliance regulations, and really the rise of some more of, sophisticated technologies. And, of course, kind of without saying it's been a very volatile year. According to staffing industry analysts, travel nurse revenue fell by 37% in 2024, largely largely due to declining volumes and downward pressures on pay rates. Forecast also suggests that we may see some additional declines this year. But there's more to the story. Despite the slowdown, the nursing shortage continues to actually fuel demand, especially for travel nurses who specialize in skills in emergency care, telemetry, and the ICO at the ICU. Excuse me. And at the same time, mobility is improving. 43 jurors jurisdictions are now part of the Nurse Licensure Compact, which expands access to nursing care and nurse mobility across The US. States like Pennsylvania, territories like Guam are partially implemented under that con compact, and more could also be coming. Alaska, Michigan, and DC all have, legislation under consideration to join as well. But as health care systems kinda navigate these pressures, staffing firms are also they're stepping up, adopting smarter technology, tightening compliance operations, and focusing on stronger candidate relationships, and that is why we are all here today. So, we're very excited to have you. We're gonna keep things very conversational. We'll wrap up with that live q q and a. So, again, feel free to submit, your questions as we go. But, now let's turn it over to, our guest of honor, Karen here. And, kinda before we really dive into that conversation, why don't you share a little bit about yourself and, your experience? Sure. Thanks for having me, Steve. I'm happy to be here, and hello to everyone here on this webinar. A little about me, I guess first and foremost, I have to cheat. I am a nurse by trade. I I have been a nurse twenty six years and, done done a lot of things in in health care, from the bedside, and I still put on my scrubs to this day. I've never taken them off, just when I choose to. Right? And, I've been in administration, for many types of organizations. I've worked not only in the walls of hospitals, and specialty units. I have several specialties under my belt with critical care as well as beyond the walls for hospice and home health and home care and skilled nursing, and also did a lot of time in consulting. We do have a consulting arm as well, as well as the military, you know, being in the front lines and and and working there, from from the field to to medic. So there's just several different areas that I personally have seen. And then, of course, being in this industry, the staffing industry and staffing for so many variables and so many, different types of organizations, we're really able to see the different trends, and we feel the impacts, you know, just like everyone else. So always, you know, we I I see the impacts of what's happening to the workers, the the nurses, the front lines. I see the impacts of what's happening to us as staffing agencies. I understand, that gap between the education piece and the compliance piece. And, you know, we have the federals, then we have the states, and we have the locals, and you've got the facilities. So you have a lot of different things that we get to navigate. But with all that said, I have really just taken all of my years of experience. And, I looking back, I I don't regret any of them. They have all led me to where I am today. That's great. You know? All that experience makes you you too. So, I know. And with all that experience, it's almost like you've kinda seen everything and, kind of experienced it all and especially, like, you know, over these past few years, you know, I don't mean to rehash kinda like what you know, what we've all seen by, you know, we for pandemic, we've seen economic changes, both ups and downs and clinician burnout, evolving patient care models, you know, even the economic markets are still shifting day in and day out. But would love to know for you from you, kinda what are some of those, like, kind of the big shifts that you're seeing in the travel nursing market right now and kinda, you know, what are you kinda keeping your pulse on? Well, there's so many different things. There's variables here. So for the for the candidates, right, the the nurses. Number one, there there's always been a desire for flexibility in some sense, but I think more than ever because COVID, as you mentioned, really drained a lot of individuals mentally and physically. And I and I understand that. I was there on the front lines as well, helping out when where I could as well as staffing, heavily. And so the desire to be more flexible and have shorter assignments is huge right now in the contract industry, you know, looser requirements. But it also goes along with some of the compliance things too because some of the regulations. Another piece is, there's a huge push for focus on mental health and well-being. You know, facilities are recognizing that. Being in health care, we recognize that just as a whole, as a system for all across the the nation and world. But at the same time, we also recognize that as health care individuals that if we cannot take care of ourselves, right, how are we supposed to do a good job at the bedside and take care of those who depend on us? So so there's a demand for that. And with that comes along with that work life balance. And when I say work life balance, you know, that term is thrown around a lot. But what I mean by that is each individual knows when they need a break. You know? And so that goes back to the focus on the mental health piece, and being able to have that flexibility. So that's that's one huge push that we have really seen. It's not that it hasn't always somewhat been there, but right now it's really on the forefront of lines and and and a push. Another end of push is that permanent staffing for both sides of the equation because you mentioned economic shifts. Right? The economy with the ends and the flip. That's huge right now, and no one really knows the unknowns. And so there are candidates who, you know, they love travel, but they also have a need for more stability and for, you know, to to know that they're locked in right now. So they may flip over to permanent. And we do offer the permanent staffing too. That certainly helps offset, you know, if you're an agency that doesn't. On the flip side, the facilities are wanting a desire for more permanent staffing. A lot of that is because of a lot of legislation's piece coming down, economic as well. They're not wanting to do the extra spend. There's just so many factors that play into economically as to why both sides of the equation would would want that in in a lot of ways to include continuity of care. But there has been also an uptick in the per diem staffing world. You know, not just per diem shift to shift, but even the contract per diem. And that's because it does offer that looser, and more flexibility. You know, loose contract terms, if you will, and more flexibility for both sides of the equation. I would say that the emphasis on specialization and continuing education in the market is huge. You know, there's nursing that, you know, you come in and you kinda do the basics, if you will, you know, your med surg and that kind of thing. But there's so many subspecialties that have a huge need that are growing. With COVID, there was a push. There was a push. You know? The facilities were overwhelmed. Everyone was overwhelmed. You know? The all the beds were full. And, at the end of the day, you had to have somewhere to take care of these individuals. So although home health has been around a while and hospice has been around a long time, there was a a a greater focus on pushing out in the community care. And not just those areas, but assisted livings. And beyond the skilled nursing and beyond the hospitals that were just overcome and and burdens by, you know, the demands, if you will, you know, and the need for care. So having those specializations, not only in the critical care or within the law setting or the l and d, or the geriatrics because of our aging population, that's another huge area. There's also a focus on wellness. There's a focus in the home care world and industry. There's a focus in this is the living world. There's a focus in world and telehealth, chronic care manage some of those remote positions are becoming huge as well. So that's a really new area for us to dive into with staffing agencies because we have to learn the dynamics of that because it's not your traditional brick and mortar. You have to understand how billing works. You have to understand how the regulatory compliance works. So there's a lot to digest there. And, you know, ultimately, nurses, they nurses has been doing things a long time and since COVID, they they have a desire to want to explore unique and different opportunities as well. So you not only are you catering to your new and upcoming nurses that are ready to travel and those that love it and do it day to day, you're also catering to those who's been your loyals for many years. And they still have a desire to work with you, but they wanna explore some different arenas. Very nice. And I know to kinda just follow-up on that and Yeah. As we're approaching the second half of twenty twenty five, which is just crazy that we're almost halfway through the year. And I know you're talking things around flexibility and some changes there. Kinda what are you what are some other changes that you're anticipating or any anything else new that you might be seeing in terms of, like, demand, assignment preferences, or, you know, different things as, you know, facilities are kind of approaching, new talent? Well, let's start with technology. Technology is just, you know, it it's been rapidly on the on the rise for many years. But all of a sudden, this AI just boom just happened. Right? So let's start with technology. First and foremost, technology is great. And it's great when it works. Right? When it works properly and, you know, all the systems talk together theoretically. So, of course, nurses are there at the bedside hustling and doing all the things. That's one piece of technology. Another dynamic when it comes to technology there. So nurses, not just nurses in in general, but, you know, candidates all the way around as well as the the, staffing agencies, it's up to us to really understand what technologies they're using and as well as how that's going to impact because that has a huge impact on the time, the time management that has an impact on the learning curve, and to really understand. So, you know, nurses they're, you know, they're nurses that many of us are so great at the bedside, but technology, it's a learning curve. It's a learning curve. Right? So we didn't go to school for IT, but we have to learn IT. Okay. That's the best way I can put it. So we really have to keep up with that as well. That's one big push. So I would encourage anyone that, you know, to to really just understand that that technology dynamic and and let those nurses hone in on those skills and and know exactly what they're up against, in order to place them because these facilities need these nurses to have these skills. So that's one big push. AI and so forth is great. It helps you with a lot of different things, scripts, and and different things that you get, especially if you work remote and chronic care management and so forth. But at the same time, it never takes away from that human touch. Right? So even if we're if whether at the bedside or we're on the computer, treating a patient, it it you still have to know how to bridge that gap and have that human touch and that compare compassion that we're supposed to deliver. So that's one big piece. Another one that every, you know, that everyone's up in arms about right now, is we have no idea what's happening with the health care world. You know, we've seen such a shift from COVID, and there's health care pro proposed policies. There's committees that's even talking about different reimbursement rates when it comes to nursing, you know, to being able to actually build the insurance companies. There's coalitions out there that that that's that's on the forefront. So we just don't know what the what the future holds with all that, but I will say that the signs point to more of a positive approach. You know, I think CMS has certainly realized that there do need to be safer, protocols in place for for the individuals on the front lines. Right? At the same time, for the staffing world, it just means more compliance for us. Right? And more protocols to follow and make sure that we stay abreast and we understand so we can stay ahead of the game, and to also understand the needs of each individual client that we are staffing for. So CMS is just CMS as a whole, meaning Medicare. Right? But on the same side, we have they have so many subparts. So, you know, CMS regulations and what they set for for skilled nursing facility may be different for hospital, may be different for hospice. You know? So you really have to understand your niche as well. If you were in a niche staffing, you have to understand that as well, moving forward just because there's so many moving parts. And that includes reimbursement rates, which will also affect how we staff, you know, the the decisions that the facility makes and understanding their profit margins and why they are asking us as agencies to do what we need to do, in in terms of contract terms. Yeah. Makes sense. And, I like how you were talking about technology and nurses, you know, needing to know all the various types of technologies and really keeping the, the human at the center of the care because that's what it's about every day. And kinda keeping in that technology, vein, how has tech, like, helped you in, kinda your work? And how has that kind of, you know, helped you in, any of your, placements in business and whatnot? You know, I changed our systems three different times. And I'm gonna tell you, I kept changing till I got it right. And my number one goal was to find a system that had automation, more automation that took away those those mundane task of manual entries and manual fines. You know, does it take some getting used to? Of course. Does it take, you know, a little bit of working with your system to perfect it and to tweak it and to get it to where you need it to be? Of course. It does. It takes training just like you take training. Right? But at the same time, that is that is one of the things we've employed. Another push that we're seeing with clients is, you know, it's good to have a a catch all, if you will, for clients to be able to respond timely and and to respond quickly and to not miss things. Things get missed in emails because email has it just gets bombarded. It gets bombarded. So, you know, if they have a client portal or you're able to employ, you know, dashboards or anything that may work with your system, if your system does not have a client portal, you know, that's what we have done. And ours our particular system is in the process of getting a client portal. I have worked with some that did have one, but that client portal did not have all the automate auto automations that we needed in order to save time, if you will, and spend on actually just recruiting and doing what we need to do. We were so inundated in administrative things that that it was it was counterproductive in a lot of ways. So while we did that, we we really just had an interim fix, if you will, that while that's getting built out, we have a dashboard that we are able to, use. And we do have all the integrations with our system that works with emails and so forth as well. Because if you don't, communication gets lost. And if communication gets lost with your client, communication gets lost with your candidate and, you know, and it gets buried and pushed down. And then you have the AI. I mentioned AI. I'm not against it. I'm for it. But but in moderation and and where it makes sense, right, for us. So everyone has a different type of model and their own unique niche, their own unique model. And so you have to employ AI where it's going to work for you. So we have employed it. Of course, it's built in our system that we use for matching, but it's also we have employed on the outside, AI for engagement, like, with our website and so forth because nurses, one thing about it is, you know, when they're in that moment and they're thinking, you know what? I think this is what I wanna do. It's like fishing. You gotta catch them right then. And you've gotta you gotta have those conversations and and be able to dive in. So you don't want missed opportunities where the rate is. You know? And urgency has always been there, but because of the volume that we are seeing now, you know, just people just exploring all the way around. And it's great to have conversations with with individuals who are just exploring, and you find it turns into, you know, work they they end up taking an assignment. You know? And likewise, same thing works on the other side for finding new can for buying new clients, new facilities. It's the same way. You you have to be engaging with them because they they a lot of them have many many opportunities, all hours of the day, and others are just forgotten about. So we try to look in those little areas and use market research to find out who are the smaller guys? Who are the ones that could use us? So using the AI technology is is great in in helping those search and catch us if you will. I can imagine. And, probably one area where it can also, play a role too is, just with compliance and kinda helping to keep up with, you know, different credentials and, you know, we got everything changing just like even in, the macro with, you know, nurses being able to cross state lines and, you know, who's compliant to work there. So, kind of, you know, as we kinda turn the conversation and kinda talk a little bit more about, kinda compliance, kinda what are what are you seeing on the on the front around licensure and compliance? Kinda what's going on there. I know there's probably a lot there's a lot going on there. There's a lot going on there. That in our rep session. So Yes. I know, I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know This is like the onion with many layers. Right? And I'm compliant on top, compliance driven. But we'll just go with the with the superficial layer or, bullet points and hit on just a few, you know, of the other really high points here. So first of all, the compact license. Here. Let's talk about that. The EL and C. COVID really proved, how much it was needed to states. They were just not getting on board. We still have several states that do not want to be on board. But right now, we have, what, 41 participating states in the EOMC, several pending legislations. And then you do have a few, like, you know, New York, California that right now they're just not there. Okay. So it has helped us. It has helped the nurses. It has helped the staffing agencies immensely. You know, as far, as far as, you know, the paperwork, the the reimbursement, the meeting with streamline things more so, especially if you, staff across state lines. Right? You know, or you're beyond more than just a few states. It really helps whenever they have that compact. It you there's no delay for one. You know, you you don't have the delay of having to wait on the nursing board that licensed your board to grant reciprocity or get the actual state license or whatnot. You don't have the extra fees if you're an agency that reimburses for that type of thing. Mhmm. There's just so many different pieces and and so that compact is great for us in one way. On the flip side Yeah. There's also a downfall. Right? One of the downfall, I'll just say Florida, July first of this year. Part of this piece is because SDLE is a fingerprinting system that Florida uses. We'll just say that. And not only for whenever you go and get your multistate license, you have to to go through the finger printing process and everything just like you would on initial licensure. But also starting in July of twenty twenty five, you're implementing not only on initial licensure, but also on all subsequent renewals. Because so many nurses, you know, and individuals, we we move. Right? We get to a place and we may find a place that we like for a few years and we move. So along with that also comes the update residency requirements for the compact licensure. So that was effective January second of last year, twenty twenty four. That basically what happens is it it aims to ensure that nurses maintain appropriate licensure corresponding with their state of residence. So it enhances compliance and public safety. So what that means is wherever their primary state of residence is within sixty days, they must change their multi state licensure. So let's say I was licensure in Georgia and I moved to South Carolina, I have to change my primary licensure state to South Carolina. So it's part of that that piece. And that's because of the different state requirements too. So along with that, we have the enhanced, background screening protocols. You know, with like I mentioned, one of those is is, Florida that's coming up. So partnering with a really good firm, background screening firm, one that maybe perhaps integrates with your system or is already integrated with your system is is good. We certainly do. The one that we partner with does not integrate with our system yet, but they're in the process of being integrated. So that's huge for us. And then, of course, there's going to be an emphasis on continuous license monitoring with with all of this because, you know, nurses aren't just in one place anymore. Right? Where they're becoming more and more mobile. And now we have what we call this interstate run, you know, if you will. Also, we can go all over the place. So it's a means of really keeping up with what's going on in one state. So some things may happen in one state, and not be quite reported to the other state. So it's a way of reporting to and keeping safety at the forefront as well as compliance. Mhmm. Yes. And really just to follow-up on that is, like, how are you managing all of that multistate thing, which is probably the million dollar question here is, like, it's kinda just like this game of, like, okay. This changed here, and now this changes over here. So how do you keep it all straight and, you know, make sure that, you know, everything stays, you know, smoothly on, your end and, you know, for the nurses too? Well, personally, I'm gonna be honest with you. I, I have a very close relationship with my background on screening company, and it's it's a smaller one. It's a smaller one that does all the same things that the big guys do. And so they have more of a personal touch. I don't have to call into a number that these types of things. You know, and they're all about the same price regardless of where you go because they all have to meet the same type of criteria. But, I work with them heavily to say, hey. These these are the new this is what I know that's new. Tell me what's new on your end. You know? How can we work together to make Mhmm. Right, to to make this to make this go? And so I think once we have that integration complete with our system, it's gonna be amazing. But I really do need that that business to business human touch there to to help us alone because there's so many different changes so rapidly. So that was very important to to myself and and my agency, and what we're doing. But it doesn't necessarily work for everyone. Some is going to need the bigger, you know, moving group because they may be using VMSs or or whatever the case may be. So you again, that's gonna be a personal preference. But that's how one of the ways that we are managing. The other ways is, of course, we as agency owners, and individuals in management, we must stay abreast of what's happening. Right? And we have to bring it to the forefront. And you have to work with your your system, you know, your your CRM and your ATS system. I mean, your ATS is your huge one. You you've got to have a personal relationship with those guys as well, and you've got to work with them and say, hey. These are the new things we are seeing on the forefront. Can we get this loaded in the system so that we know that we're gonna have to monitor this? And and and how do we keep up with those monitoring? So having a really good ATS system that does that, is huge. And and a team that's helpful and listens to help us integrate. And I have been very fortunate in in the one that we that we're with now, which is which is Ceipal. I love Ceipal. That is my system. But they they have been huge in helping us with the compliance piece in getting all those right fits in there. Outside of that, you know, you really just have to keep your ear to the ground. You really do, and find out, especially if you're across state lines in multiple states because the layers of the onion that I talked about, we have the federals, we have the states. Right? You've got the CMS, you've got the new facilities. And you also have the Federal Trade Commission that's even put their nose in the things of as far as staffing agencies go to make sure there's not price gouging and there's caps on on safe staffing agencies in some states. So, you know, I have a amazing little cheat sheet that I've made for state specifics, if you will, just to refresh my myself. If you do cross state lines and and do not start staffing in states until you are a % sure of all the requirements of of that state and and how it's going to impact your business would be my big takeaway there. Yep. Yeah. Okay. Sounds like it comes down to the power of technology, communication, and human relationships too. It really does. Back to the basics. Right? We just added in the technology that we have to keep up with, but the human relationships and and keeping up with things and and reading, you have to read the fine print. So no matter how good technology is, we still have to be able to read and understand and digest, what what is being driven to us. Totally. Totally. And then keeping with that theme of kind of the human, experience, let's talk about, like, the nurses themselves. And, you know, I know you've been saying this and kinda we've been seeing in research. You know, obviously, there's a need for some more flexibility, better benefits, or, you know, assignments that match value some more. So how have, expectations for travel nurses kinda shifted in recent years? There are different priorities that kinda you're seeing, kinda what's going on there from your perspective? Yeah. And we touched on this on the first, so we'll dive in a little bit more. But like I said, the first very first and foremost is flexibility and autonomy. Nurses want flexibility and autonomy. And flexibility is huge, I think, for this day and age almost in any sector, to be honest with you. And nurses have a flexible middle name, if you will. But let's talk about the autonomy part. The autonomy part is nurses work under their own professional licensure. And so there was a push And when they're being pushed and then you guys have seen the news, you guys know what happens out there. And, you know, they're they're more aware of, hey. This is a reality of one of the risks that I take. I'm on top of all the other risk. So one of the pushes, they want a good they want a good contract. They want a good safe environment. They wanna know that facility is is gonna be supportive of them. So that's one of the things. We mentioned the work life balance and mental health. They're demanding it now. They are demanding it now. You know, it used to be they would work until they dropped. There is very much more by demanding. Bids. They love to shop around and bid and bid and bid. And, you know, one of the things as a staffing agency that you can do to help with that is to help educate. What what are you looking for? What is your specialty? Do you understand how that, payment reimbursement structure works for that particular specialty? One of the things that we've experienced with hospitals and and home care, the individuals that work critical care making, you know, $35.80, $80 an hour, they all of a sudden wanna switch over to home care to go take care of the hospital's patient in the home, and the hospital does not pay that. The reimbursement rates are vastly different. And so there's culture shock, you know, they only may only get 40 or $45 over there. So it just depends. But they really have to as an agency, you have to help close that gap on that education piece. So one of the things that we do is we actually offer the education, to webinars, to q and a talks, helping them get a shadow day or, being able to have just a conversation with nurses that are already in that field so so that they can really understand. The other thing is that goes along with the specialization in continuing education because there is a demand for that and not enough supply, you know, to to meet that demand. So one of our jobs as well is to try to educate nurses to say, hey. There are other options out here. If you're tired of doing this and you wanna do something different, but you're not sure what, let me tell you what else I have over here on the back burner that our clients may work with you as a new nurse coming in. So those are part of these things. On top of all that is, of course, always compensation and benefits. You know, it's having agencies we've had to navigate not only with the caps, but also having to offer, you know, convert over to w twos and, offer the benefits and and all the things to go along with it, which is more cost for us. Right? We have to get the insurance, all the things. So there's a there's a there's a balance there, and you really have to look at all all of that $3.60. And, you have to look at nurses as another business partner, and you have to have those business to business relationships because many of them are again, they're they're working. They're they have an entrepreneurial mindset, and they wanna they wanna negotiate, and they can. They wanna go they have negotiating power. They wanna negotiate the pay rate. They wanna negotiate the terms of the contract. They wanna negotiate. So, you know, if you have a rigid contract, you know that's probably not gonna be for them. Let's talk about the ones that aren't so rigid that are a little bit more negotiable and talk with your clients and let's work together. And you have to learn how to be a liaison, if you will, between the and that's different than what used to be. Right? Like, here here's the here's the job that you know, there's always been a little sense of the liaison piece, but now it's more so than ever. I think our recruiters spend more time negotiating than they do, you know, with a lot of things on their behalf. But you have to have a fine line too. Right? I mean, you know, some some things are reasonable, some things are just not. Yeah. So those are some of the things that we have done. Yeah. Absolutely. Very interesting. The thing that we are seeing. I know. So much to see too. And, I'm also speaking of seeing seeing some questions roll in, so I'd love to I am. Ask one more question, kinda allow you to be clairvoyant for, a few minutes. And kinda tell us when you're thinking about this industry over the next year or two, kinda what's the one thing that excites you? Where do you see things going? Where do you see things headed? Kinda pretend that you have that crystal ball and, you know, fill us in on your thoughts and then, we'll grab a couple of these questions in the q and a. Well, I'm gonna say this. No matter which way it shifts anyway, economically up or down, you know, AI, taking over or not. One thing about the nurses, we they cannot be replaced. They cannot be replaced. The robot is not gonna be that personal touch for those those individuals, you know, and they will need a whole lot of robots and a whole lot of maintenance staff to to manage that. Number one, technology breaks. Right? But, you know, as far as being in the industry, we have to learn how to pivot and navigate all the other pieces. Right? All all the noise is what I call it. Right? Of course, the the the the compliance and all the pieces that we have to stay abreast of. But when it comes to nurses, nurses are adaptable. And while you may get some resistance right now, especially from COVID, because what happened is everything was great and then COVID happened and everybody came out, the live work and started working, then COVID kind of rescinded a little bit, and then we started getting pushback. Right? You know, you know, I want the COVID rates for the day to day, that kind of thing. So but they do adapt, and they do come around as a whole as a whole. There's always individuals that just are individuals. But as a whole, the industry is still lucrative. It's still a great industry to be in, but you have to get creative as an agency. And what we have done is we've moved beyond the walls. You know, you have to go outside of the walls, outside of the brick and mortar. So if if you're getting hard nose or a hard time within, look in your community, look in your state, and start there at your state to really try to do what you can for your own community to take care of yourselves and then branch out from there. So that would be my crystal ball takeaway of how you navigate this. Great. So then What's that? Yeah. We got some good questions here. Okay. See, first one for you, apart from nurses, what are the other widely used platforms for verifying licenses? Apart from nurses so anyone that's professionally licensed, licensed, whether it be nurses or not, is going to have something with that particular state. So CNAs have a registry in that state, that attracts their pieces. If it's a professional licensure, whether it's a, you know, nurse or or cosmetologist or licensed EPA, whatever, they're all with the secretary, state board. Nurses is great for nurses, but and I'm sure many, are aware of that. However, not all states are on board with nurses. So you still have to go in and track. But that is gonna take me back to partnering with that background screening company, the smaller ones and and I mean, the bigger ones do it too. But making sure that they have they have software in place and companies that do this. So whenever you enter what you need, they have the ongoing monitoring for you guys as well as the initial compliance. So that's that's how we monitor. I mean, I have the ongoing monitoring set up for mine. Great. And then a question from a fellow nurse. Many times when my recruiters call RNs, they are skeptical and don't believe we are legitimate. What's the best way to make them trust that we are a genuine staffing agency and not scammers? And then we'll address part two of this question. I'm just going to say get out of recruiter mode and go to RN mode. And that's what I've had to do too because it it it is that landscape sometimes. There's, you know, RNs can be tough. RNs can be tough. Being with myself and and I will say that, they like it they like you to shoot it to you straight, you know. They can be they can be very rough and and direct in a lot of ways. They're not salespeople for the most part. They they just want straight, simple, to the point. And that's the best way to, handle those and ask them, you know, what questions do they have, you know, as far as the scammers. And, you know, one of the things is I know a lot of them demand, you know, where is this facility or what is and, of course, we don't disclose that. Right? You know, because they go around us. And you tell them that. You just tell them that. You know, this is your livelihood and this is what you do right now is confidential until you are onboard and we can have a deeper conversation about it if you were interested. But really gauge their interest and and, you know, they they they're they're used to the worst of the worst. So you can certainly do it in a very tactful manner, and professional manner with your recruiters. And that's what my recruiters do. I also see that she said another common issue, about the right to represent. Yep. Many candidates say they are tired of acknowledging right to represent emails, especially when they don't receive any positive response from a client afterward. So look at your process there. You know, as far as the right to represent, that is you as an agency. They are giving you as an agency the right to represent them on their behalf to seek out what it is that they are are needing and wanting in their box. Right? So that is for you. And it you really you're you're not just you as the owner, but you and your recruiters. Right? You really have to stay on top of those clients and ask for an answer, and it should be in your contract terms, hopefully, you know, of when you expect that answer. And as the leader, you may have to reach out to that client individually and have a conversation and say, look. You know, we're we have people that are interested and you have needs. What's going on? We're not getting a response. And it could just be that they have a personnel problem or it could be a technology problem. I have had that happen. All of my stuff was going to their catch all folder. You know? So there you still have to pick up the phone. You still have to pick up the phone as well. So that would be how I would navigate that. Alright. And then we also have, how much travel distance is okay for travel distance so that those nurses aren't stressed? I guess this would be depending on what you're staffing for. If you're staffing in a facility for, facility to facility travel that's all in the contract, they shouldn't be stressed and they should agree to that. Right? That's part of the package deal. But I can relate because I am in the industry that we staff would travel for hospice and home health. Okay? And and that is traveling. And how much distance? Depends on the individual. I will tell you I have one hospice company that we staff for that is 13 counties. It is in Georgia. I am in Georgia. It's in the Atlanta area. And so you can imagine the traffic and and how stressful that can be just day to day for any individual, and then when you're trying to work and get the patient to patient. So they have to understand that patients may be spread out, although they they try to be grouped together, but piece of find out what those nurses want, individual ask that question directly, and document it in the profile. And I think we have last question here. With all the changes going, the shift in requirements, rates, let's say that will be there for the next couple years. What should we keep in mind to deliver quality and maintain that quality? That's a big one, and that's really what it's coming back to. CMS has a push for quality of care and, you know, there is been taught, you know, you hear it but you but nurses aren't really feeling it and don't really see it in in many of the settings that they work in. Some of the settings they they do very well in. Other settings, it's a struggle for for the nurses to see the quality there. They're seeing the numbers there and and the shuffle and bustle. A lot of that is gonna come down to staffing and and this is one of the things that we all experience. You know? The nurses say, we have no help. And then the facility says, we don't need any staff. We're good. We're fully staffed. Right? But that just means that they're staffed to budget. They staffed to matrix. Right? And nurses, you have to understand when they say they don't have any help, what does that not help mean? Does that mean that, that they don't have enough nurses, or does that mean that they're also being the CNA, the janitor, and the transport? Because all of that takes away from bedside nursing. And case in point when I was in the ER and COVID, I was a transport person. I was my own janitor. I was my own everything. And when you've got all these patients, you don't wanna leave all those patients to go transport one to another floor. So you really need to understand what their problems are and their dynamics. You kinda have to act as a social worker, if you will, to to understand what's going on and understand that client too. Like, you know, you need to know what's happening with that client. So that's one trend. You always keep up with your clients and keep a pulse on what's going on with those clients. And then as far as the pay rates go, that's all gonna be contingent on what happens in health care, ups and downs, and reimbursement rates as far as CMS sets forth. So keep your eye on that ball and know what's coming, you know, down the pipeline so you can adjust revenue up. Awesome. Good advice. Well, Karen, thank you so much for your optimism, your energy, your perspectives. It was really great chatting with you here and just kinda hearing your take on, you know, what's going on in the industry, where we're gonna go from here. So it would certainly be interesting to see how it all plays out. And to every to all of our attendees, thank you for joining us. Thank you. We appreciate your time. Again, you will get a recording of today's session shared via email. If you'd like to connect with Karen, feel free to do so, over LinkedIn. And if you would love to, you know, keep connecting with us, feel more than free to to subscribe to our podcast and newsletter. Links are in the chat. And, otherwise, thanks again, Karen, for everything. You've been great, and thank you everyone else. Enjoy the rest of your day and evening, and we'll catch you on the next one. Thank you for having us. Bye, everyone. Have reached out to me on LinkedIn. I'm happy to help. Alright. Take care.