Natalie Palmer was a newly licensed vocational nurse (LVN) who needed work.
What she wanted was something more valuable.
“I wanted freedom,” says Palmer, 55. The divorced mother of three saw the power of nursing care as a child. Her mother was a nurse and would take her and her sister to the senior facility where she worked. “She would bake cookies and we’d pass them out,” Palmer says. “I don’t think of residents as being ‘residents.’ They’re people. I treat them like they are my own family.”
When she downloaded the Clipboard Health app, she found both.
Palmer’s move into her own career as an LVN came later in life, at a time when her children were grown up. She now had more time to work, to give back, but also wanted the freedom to build her own schedule. She found it all with Clipboard Health, an online marketplace that connects health care facilities and independent health care professionals.
Clipboard’s app allows health care facilities to post available shifts, and health care professionals to locate and book open shifts at facilities near them.
And she’s part of the workforce that leading skilled nursing facilities (SNF) are attracting through a worker-centric approach to staffing.
What today’s caregivers want: schedule flexibility and financial independence
For Palmer, the concept of freedom ties into her age and homelife. She moved two hours away from her hometown. “I did it on purpose,” she says. “I’m ready to live my life now.”
How she executes that concept of freedom ties into her work as an LVN and her relationship with Clipboard Health. She heard about the app from a friend who is a CNA and was able to begin booking shifts in less than a week. She found the app intuitive and welcoming and, crucially, empowering.
“I’m my own boss right now,” Palmer says. “That’s the ideal job for anybody: to come into work when you want to. I don’t have to ask for permission.”
Pay is easy too. The health care industry broadly is seeing a greater demand from part-time workers for faster, on-demand pay. Palmer is seeing that, thanks to Clipboard Health
“You can just grab a shift, get your money the same day, and you’re on your way,” she says. She has declined to use caregiver apps that don’t pay as fast and don’t have the shift autonomy she wants.
Besides, she’s already making more money by picking up shifts she finds on the Clipboard Health app rather than being a full-time employee, opening the door to new life and travel opportunities.
“I’m saving now because part of me wants to get an RV and take this show on the road,” Palmer says. Palmer has set up her children for financial freedom and wants to enjoy the freedom to work wherever she travels. And being away from her children? “It’s not too bad,” she says. “I’m just a phone call away.”
Travel plays a part in her pursuit of personal freedom and autonomy, in addition to having more money for things like eating out at restaurants.
For Palmer, the ease of pay isn’t just about when to get paid. There are two other elements. First, it’s a broader question of flexibility and control. Second, it speaks to the value she places on Clipboard Health as essentially a partner in her work. This is not an employee-employer relationship but a more equal give-and-take, where Palmer and other workers have much more say over their time. When she does have technical challenges with issues like booking shifts, she can easily talk to the Clipboard Health support team, which is always ready to assist health care professionals use the platform.
“When I call, they will not stop until the situation is resolved, and regardless of what it is, they will resolve it,” she says. “I love that about Clipboard Health: You have the support. You have a whole system that is standing behind you, that’s rooting for you.”
How Clipboard Health helps SNFs find the best health care professionals
Health care facilities that rely on professionals who are not their employees have found that they are not just competing with other care providers for workers — they are competing with a multitude of hourly employers outside of health care, too.
So when you have an opportunity for a top-notch caregiver like Palmer to work shifts at your facility, you’re already in the fortunate position of finding someone who is drawn to caregiving and hence in high demand.
With her life experience, training, and approach to caregiving, Palmer is exactly the type of health care professional who organizations want to attract. On the other side, what top professionals like Palmer want is a place that accommodates them while giving them a chance to deliver results for patients and their families. Clipboard Health is crucial in that pursuit.
“Once I caught on, and got to experience that freedom — which is very important to me right now — I was off and running,” she says. And after two years of booking shifts on the app? “I just wish I found Clipboard earlier.”
This Views article is sponsored by Clipboard Health. Interested in learning how to find the best caregivers by helping them take control of their career? Visit ClipboardHealth.com.