Helping Healthcare Workers Every Day: Gerby Malanay
Thinking about joining a healthcare staffing agency but unsure how you will get shifts? Carecor proudly serves over 90 healthcare facilities Ontario, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island where your opportunities are endless.
We asked some of our staffing coordinators to share what its like behind the scenes. Gerby Malanay shares her insights about teamwork and how she builds strong relationships with our healthcare workers every day.
Q: Did you have a background in healthcare before you started with Carecor?
A: Yes, I worked as a medical receptionist for three years before joining Carecor. I booked appointments and learned a lot about health care, so I had some background in the industry.
Q: Why do you enjoy being a healthcare staffing coordinator?
A: I love dealing with different kinds of people very day — and solving problems for the healthcare workers is really fulfilling.
Q: Why is your job important to the Carecor healthcare workers?
A: We’re the first point of contact between the field staff and the administrative office. We talk to our field staff almost every day, so we get to know them and what they need and we can look for the shifts they want. They all have different skills and specialties, so we can book them on shifts where they’ll excel. Some of our staff does better in long-term care compared to acute care and vice versa, so getting to know them personally make a big difference.
The staffing coordinators always talk with each other. Sometimes we get special requests, so we’ll designate one staffing coordinator who will work on that request while the others work on more immediate needs, like answering the phones and emails. We always make sure we communicate what we’re going to do that day, and it’s really a team effort. I like being able to work independently and also as a team.
Q: Do you feel like you’re building relationships with the healthcare workers?
A: Absolutely. Building a good work relationship with our healthcare workers is an essential part of our role as staffing coordinators. And as I said, knowing each worker’s preferences and specialties will help us find the right shift for them. When the workers know we can help design their work schedule, it builds up a level of trust with us. That’s one of the advantages of working for Carecor; you get to pick the shifts and the dates you want to work.
Q: Is there a staffing situation with a caregiver that you’re especially proud of, a story you could share?
A: Yes, definitely. You know, with the COVID-19 pandemic, things change so fast, and we have lots of patient attendant needs on our system. Sometimes an attendant might not be able to sit with a patient if the patient is COVID-19 positive because the attendant is immunocompromised; we understand that situation and we’ll contact everyone and just shift them to a different patient. And so all of the patients will still have someone to sit with them.
Q: When did you come home from work bursting with stories and feeling enthusiastic and excited? What was it about?
A: We’ve gotten calls from the units telling us that the patient’s family thanked us personally. Sometimes the patient attendant who sat with their family member is really great and worked above and beyond his or her duties. Stories like that from the patient’s family mean so much.
Q: What does your best day at work look like for you?
A: It’s a best day if I feel like I’ve met all their needs. That’s definitely a great day! If I know that I’ve sent great staff and met their needs, it gives me and the other staffing co-ordinators so much peace of mind because the unit won’t be short-staffed and the patients will have people to sit with them.
I really enjoy my job; it’s so fulfilling, especially these days with the pandemic. There’s so much demand for nurses, so when we’re able to help all the hospitals that contact us, it feels amazing.