MFA urgently wanted - here's how Nelly can help with recruiting

200 calls a day, plus e-mail traffic and patients who increasingly react angrily if they can't reach the practice quickly enough - that's everyday life for MFAs in German medical practices. So it's not surprising that more and more medical assistants are turning their backs on the practices. But they leave a gap there that cannot be filled in many places.  

There is an acute shortage of staff in German medical practices

For several years now, practice owners have been complaining that they can hardly find well-trained non-physician staff. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the situation has worsened even further. The day-to-day work of MFAs has become even more challenging. In addition to the normal day-to-day business, there is now the organization of booster vaccinations, test regulations and thus even more paperwork. Some MFAs report that they can hardly manage to drink or go to the toilet in between. And that's with overtime without end and pay averaging around 2,500 euros gross per month. Doesn't exactly sound like a dream job, does it?

Staff quits or does not apply for practice positions in the first place

Many MFAs understandably no longer want to sacrifice their mental and emotional health for their job and quit. Or they may not even apply for positions in medical practices that urgently need to be filled. As a result, the staffing shortage is now so acute that physicians are forced to reduce their services or close their practices.

Current study confirms shortage of healthcare professionals

This threatening situation, which has been known for a long time, is confirmed by a study conducted by the Zentralinstitut für die kassenärztliche Versorgung (Zi). In the first half of 2021, the institute surveyed around 5,300 practice owners about their current staffing situation. The result: about half of the practices surveyed are looking for staff. One of the biggest difficulties is that no applications are coming in. And even when practices do receive applications, the applicants are often not qualified enough. As a reason for looking for staff, just under half of the practice owners say that existing staff have resigned.

Medical assistant is the most popular training occupation

Paradoxically, the MFA profession is at the same time the most popular among young people - especially women. More than 90 percent of trainees are female. Nevertheless, the number of young men wishing to learn the profession has risen sharply in the last ten years.  

However, this positive development does not change the fact that it is almost impossible to fill vacancies for trained specialists in practices. Even if practices train their own MFAs, this often does not change the overall situation. According to the study, around 25 percent of trained medical assistants do not accept the offer of a job from their training practice.  

Many MFAs migrate to the clinic after training

After their training, many medical assistants decide to work in a clinic rather than in the practice they are already familiar with. This is because the working conditions in hospitals are often more attractive. In most cases, the staff is not directly exposed to the rush of patients and, in addition, often earns better than in the doctor's office.

Spokesman for Virchowbund calls for more money for medical assistants

ENT physician and Virchowbund spokesman Dr. Dirk Heinrich believes immediate action is needed. In his opinion, MFAs would have to receive a state corona premium, which they are currently denied. In addition, health insurers would have to refinance higher salaries. Otherwise, a long-term death of practices in Germany is pre-programmed, Heinrich fears. 

With these tips, you can keep your medical assistants

So finding qualified staff has never been as difficult for medical practices as it is today. This makes it all the more important that you, as the practice owner, support your medical assistants as much as possible, motivate them and make their day-to-day work as pleasant as possible. Here are five tips on how to strengthen employee loyalty:

Tip 1: Organize regular team meetings

Communication within your team is key. Therefore, make time for regular meetings about once a week. Openly address problems here and try to find solutions together. After all, a good interpersonal relationship with you and with colleagues is an important factor for your employees to remain loyal to the practice.  

Tip 2: Be considerate of the needs of your medical assistants

The daily work of your MFAs can be very strenuous to almost impossible to manage. Therefore, be considerate if your staff cannot always respond to your concerns immediately. Respect break times even during stressful phases. Because even if the patients should be annoyed because of long waiting times: If your medical assistant quits because of too high a workload, you have gained nothing.

Tip 3: Ensure diversity within your team

Studies repeatedly indicate that diverse teams are more successful when they work together. Therefore, make sure that employees of different backgrounds, ages or even genders work together. For example, older professionals can share their wealth of experience with younger employees, while younger employees can drive new and innovative work processes.  

Tip 4: Pay premiums

The fact that nursing staff in hospitals receive a corona bonus while medical assistants go home empty-handed has caused a great deal of resentment - and rightly so. So make sure your staff are paid fairly. For example, with a bonus for the outstanding performance your employees delivered during the patient rush in the pandemic.

Tip 5: Value your MFAs  

But probably the most important tip: treat your employees with respect and appreciation. Be aware that your practice would not be able to survive without your medical assistants. Signal to them every day that you are satisfied with their performance and tell them so!

Reduce the workload of your medical assistants with Nelly  

In addition to all these tips, you can also make your MFA's everyday work easier and give her what she needs most urgently: Time.

This is possible with Nelly, for example. With the software, the medical history can be completely digitized and thus rapidly accelerated. The patient's medical history is taken quickly and easily on the patient's smartphone using a QR code. Your MFA does not have to print out the medical history sheet for this, nor does she have to scan it or shred it at a later time. This saves your MFA 90 minutes of time every day, during which she can take a deep breath for a brief moment. We will advise you on your individual case without obligation and free of charge!

Contact Nelly now!

The personal designations used in this article always refer equally to all persons. For the sake of better readability, we have refrained from using double or opposite names.