As a mental health professional, you understand that working somewhere that aligns with your values is essential. The mental health field comes with unique frustrations that can make doing what you love challenging. That’s why working somewhere with a supportive environment is critical for providers. You need work-life balance, flexible hours, and time for self-care to recharge. However, finding an organization that prioritizes these things isn’t always easy.
That’s where telehealth comes in. Telehealth sets the stage for meaningful work in a low-stress setting that helps you take care of what’s most important – you. In this blog, we’ll discuss the benefits of virtual care, how to find a people-focused telehealth organization that meets your values, and the importance of job matching.
The benefits of practicing behavioral health virtually
According to a report by Medscape, 24% of mental health professionals have changed their work settings to try and alleviate burnout. For some providers, this change may mean switching to telehealth. Practicing mental health virtually comes with many benefits, including:
- Flexibility: Flexibility is an essential piece of what makes virtual care a game-changer for providers. Not only does it allow them to work from wherever they want in the country, but it also frees up their schedules. With less time spent commuting, they can dedicate more time to their hobbies, spend more time with their friends and families, and prioritize self-care.
- Team-based approach: Even though telehealth providers aren’t on-site, they can still experience the same benefits of a team-based approach. For example, on-site teams can assist patients and help reassure them about the telehealth process. Some providers even have meetings with their on-site teams where they can bounce ideas off each other and connect.
- Low-stress environments: As a provider dealing with potentially high-stress settings, finding a low-stress job may feel impossible. With the computer screen as a barrier, telehealth can help providers manage compassion fatigue. Providers have an opportunity to step away after a stressful moment when they need to, take a breath, and ultimately experience a better work-life balance.
Among these benefits, our providers at Iris Telehealth have cited more control over hours and better work-life balance as reasons they chose to be telepsychiatry providers. Additionally, they said communication, staff connection, and clinical support were why they decided to work with Iris in particular.
When it comes to finding a job you love, you shouldn’t settle, and telehealth makes getting what you want and need possible.
Finding the right organizational fit
The value of working with an organization you connect with is essential. That said, things like culture, convenience, and getting licensed in particular states are all important things to keep in mind when looking for an organization that’s aligned with your values.
- Culture: At Iris, one of our core values is putting people over all else, and our providers are no exception. That’s why we provide top-notch support to all our clinicians. Whether that means making tech support available 24/7 or providing them with an advocate by their side to help navigate tricky situations, we ensure they’re set up to succeed and have the space to focus on their patients.
- Convenience: We value making things simple and easy for our providers. That means taking care of things like licensing and all the paperwork that comes with it. We take pride in creating a low-stress environment that lets our clinicians do what they love knowing we’ve got the rest covered.
- Job matching: This component is a central tool to help ensure providers are matched with an organization that’s aligned with their values. At Iris, we call this process “The Iris Match.” We use this process to help providers narrow in on the perfect fit by identifying the criteria that makes up their ideal job. These criteria might include their preferred working schedule or values. Organizations have standards they’re looking to fulfill, too. At Iris, we take the criteria of both parties and fit the two that work best together. You can learn more about this process in our behavioral health provider’s guide to job matching.
When a provider finds the right fit, it can help provide stability for their patients and the organizations they serve.
Telehealth connects you with the right patient populations for you
As a behavioral health provider, you likely spent a lot of time and dedication trying to figure out the specific population you love and value working with. However, you may live somewhere else and are unable to connect with these patients. Telehealth solves this problem. One of the many great things about providing behavioral health virtually is that you can work from wherever you want and still work with the population you love.
Not only is this access great for you as a provider, but it’s also indispensable for patients who need and value your help. Telepsychiatry provides an extensive reach and offers a more significant opportunity to help more people. Especially those in communities you feel connected to. That’s why, we highly value providing licensing and credentialing services and matching providers with their preferred population. By simplifying a typically tricky process, providers can live where they want while still getting to work with their population and a patient can work with a provider who can best meet their specialty needs.
Whether you’re trying to find a way to work with your preferred population or looking for the flexibility that allows you to have more energy to live a life you love, telehealth can set the stage for a work environment that aligns with your values.
Where Iris Telehealth fits in
At Iris, we believe telepsychiatry is the future of mental healthcare. If you’d like to learn more about our services or you’d like to learn how you can find a job that aligns with your values, contact us today.
