The current health care staffing shortage has created considerable competition for qualified nurses and other clinical professionals. Many hospital executives regard today’s shortages of qualified personnel as one of their chief concerns. Due to the urgency in meeting staffing needs, HCSS firms may often streamline the application process by taking application information by phone and accepting verbal references. One of the nine principles identified by the American Nurses Association (ANA) Board of Directors for nurse staffing indicates: “All institutions should have documented competencies for nursing staff, including agency or supplemental and traveling RN’s, for those activities that they have been authorized to perform.” The Joint Commission’s 2007 Comprehensive Hospital Accreditation Manual states in standard HR.1.20: “Staff qualifications are consistent with his or her job responsibilities.” Additionally, standard LD.3.50 states: “Services provided by consultation, contractual arrangements, or other agreements are provided safely and effectively.” Reputable staffing services understand that a part of the service they provide is to supply documentation on their staff. Sound quality assurance guarantees that staff supplied by health care staffing services meets government and accrediting body standards. Specific regulations may differ from state to state; however, some basic requirements for health care staffing employees generally apply. Health care staffing firms that provide patient care staff must therefore be able to demonstrate due diligence in assuring their staff’s competence and ability to practice safely and legally.

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• American Nurses Association
• American Staffing Association

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• The Joint Commission. 2007 Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals: The Official Handbook. Oakbrook Terrace, IL: Author. 2007.
• American Nurses Association. ANA Applauds Nurse Staffing Bill Introduced In U.S. House of Representatives. http://www.nursingworld.org/pressrel/2003/pr1209.htm/.
• American Nurses Association. Safe Staffing Bill Introduced in the Senate: Much more than a numeric ratio. The American Journal of Nursing, 2003;103(7). http://www.nursingworld.org/ajn/2003/july/wawatch.htm.
• American Nurses Association. Principles for Nurse Staffing,1999. Retrieved http://www.nursingworld.org/readroom/stffprnc.htm.
• Contract Staff and Patient Safety. Oakbrook Terrace, IL; Joint Commission Resources, 2005.
• Shoemaker, P, Schuhmann TM. Trends in Hospitals’ Use of Contract Labor. Healthcare Financial Management, April 2007.
• Shoemaker, P, Howell, DH. Trends in the Use of Contract Labor among Hospitals, 2004, American Hospital Directory, Inc. http://www.ahd.com/LaborStudy050721.pdf
• Stiehl, RR. Quality Assurance Requirements for Contract and Agency Nurses. JONA’s Healthcare Law, Ethics, and Regulation, 2004;6(3): 69-74.
• Taylor, LE. Life as a Traveling Nurse. AJN, 1998;98(7): 62-63.

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