Work-life balance is essential in the behavioral health industry. In this blog, we’ll review the impact of clinician burnout, how telehealth helps support work-life balance, and what a day-in-the life of a virtual behavioral health provider looks like.

The impact of provider burnout

Provider burnout impacts well-being and makes it harder for providers to access the work-life balance they need. In a 2023 report, The Physicians Foundation outlines the following data points related to the current and future state of physician well-being:

• Six in 10 physicians often have feelings of burnout
• Only 31% of physicians believe their workplace culture prioritizes their well-being
• Half of physicians surveyed believed insurance requirements, documentation protocols, regulatory policies, and mandatory training requirements hindered their ability to provide quality, cost efficient care

In this climate, how can providers know if an organization values work-life balance and helps ensure providers have the support they need to succeed? Let’s take a look at the keys to finding the right organizational fit.

The key to finding the right organizational fit

In a study published in the National Library of Medicine, researchers discovered that 42% of primary care providers and psychiatrists considered their profession a true calling. Moreover, among those who experienced a stronger sense of calling, 31% reported a reduced level of burnout.

At Iris, we’ve found the following aspects as key components that set the stage for a healthy work-life balance and allows you to focus on what you do best:

Job matching: Finding the right organization to work for is essential to helping ensure work-life balance. That’s why, at Iris, we vet our partners to ensure they’ll be the best fit for our providers. We also take things like our provider’s desired schedule and the ideal population they’d like to work with into consideration. We focus on culture and values to find the best match possible.

“A really unique part of Iris’s approach is the job matching process. Iris holds a meet and greet with the Clinical Operations Manager, the provider, and the clinic. Everyone meets and discovers whether or not they’ll be a good fit. I couldn’t be happier with where they placed me.”
– Dale McQueeney, MS, RN, PMHNP-BC

Top-notch support: Working in a virtual environment comes with its own challenges. Thankfully, with the right organization by your side, these potential setbacks are minimized. At Iris, we have several teams in place to advocate for our providers and make sure they always have someone to call. From our Clinical Operations Managers to our IT team, you can focus on patient care without having to worry about all of the little things that might get in the way.

“One of the things I love about working with Iris is the support. For example, Drew Sadler, the Clinician Operations Manager, has provided amazing support and the IT team is always ready to help.”
– Nicole Bradbury, LCSW

Licensing and credentialing: Managing licensing and credentialing can be a tedious process. In fact, The Physicians Foundation study found that 80% of physicians found a reduction of administrative burdens helpful to their well-being. At Iris, our Medical Staff Services team monitors our provider’s files daily to ensure their licensing and credentialing are on track and renew current providers’ licenses as needed.

Click here to learn more about the work our MSS team does to help ensure ease for our providers.

A day in the life of a telehealth provider

Telehealth helps support essential components of work-life balance, including no commute times, flexible hours, and the ability to transition from your work into your life easier.

Here are a few ways telehealth providers at Iris have felt the positive impacts of telehealth work:

“It’s not only about the part-time job but also the fact that I don’t have to commute. I live in a very rural place in the mountains, so I can walk on my break after lunch, or if I have a no-show or finish on time with a patient, I can take a break and go for a walk and come back. That wouldn’t have happened in my prior job. I value that a lot. It makes a big difference.”
– Dr. Carissa Cabán-Alemán

“I just completed four years with Iris. I really enjoy having all this flexibility and ability to spend time with family and get everything I need to get done during my day and still work an eight-hour shift. That is definitely a good thing.”
– Dr. Manoela Denman

“It’s tremendously easier managing work-life balance from home because my commute is really short, and it’s incredible how much time and money goes into working at a distant site from your home.”
– Dennis Dodd, PMHNP

If you’d like to learn more about what life as a telehealth provider looks like, be sure to get your copy of our downloadable here.

Where Iris Telehealth fits in

Whether you’re a psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, or a therapist, work-life balance is a key component to your job satisfaction. At Iris, we recognize and work to support your well-being at every step of your journey. If you’d like to learn more about life at Iris, feel free to contact us today.

You can also stay-up-to date on combating burnout, news from the behavioral health industry, and insights into telehealth career opportunities and resources by signing up for our Behavioral Health Messenger newsletter – get all the info and subscribe here.

Quick links
Symptoms of compassion fatigue
How telehealth helps mental health providers combat compassion fatigue
Self-care tips for providers facing compassion fatigue
Compassion fatigue during the holidays
Where Iris Telehealth fits in

As a behavioral health provider, you’re on the front lines of America’s mental health crisis. But prioritizing self-care isn’t always easy, and working in mental health care can make you vulnerable to things like compassion fatigue.

So, what is compassion fatigue? Compassion fatigue can increase emotional intensity, decrease cognitive ability, and create a chronic activation of your stress response. Compassion fatigue can also contribute to provider burnout.

Fortunately, there are ways to prevent compassion fatigue and recognize signs early.

Symptoms of compassion fatigue

Developing compassion fatigue can create cognitive dissonance, causing you to do and say things that don’t align with your values. If you’ve experienced disconnection like this, it’s important to recognize that these behaviors aren’t coming from a place of malice – it might just mean you’re dysregulated.

Here are a few emotional and physical signs you might be experiencing compassion fatigue:

• Isolation: If you’re experiencing compassion fatigue, you might find yourself pulling back from people who don’t work in the same field because they may not understand your experience.
• Physical exhaustion: When you walk out of a psychiatric unit, do you feel like you have debilitating fatigue? This feeling might be compassion fatigue. On the physical side, you might also experience sleep and appetite disturbances.
• On-the-job challenges: Working with behavioral health patients requires emotional regulation. Compassion fatigue can increase emotional intensity and decrease cognitive ability.

To view a complete list of compassion fatigue symptoms, visit The American Institute of Stress’s website for more information.

If these symptoms sound like something you’re experiencing, you’re not alone. Thankfully, there are actions and solutions that can make your ability to do what you love easier.

How telehealth helps mental health providers combat compassion fatigue

One of the ways compassion fatigue can happen is by absorbing trauma, or experiencing what’s called secondary trauma. For example, as a provider, you may have one person come in and tell you stories about hard things they have experienced, they leave, and then the next person comes in and tells you their difficult stories. In turn, you may be absorbing this trauma.

Fortunately, virtual care modalities like telepsychiatry and teletherapy can help.

Here are a few benefits of remote behavioral health work:

• A barrier to stress: The computer screen facilitates a bit of protection that allows providers to create more distance between themselves and their work. The screen provides a barrier allowing providers to make more informed choices from logic, rather than from emotion.
• Safe, comfortable environment: Because you’re in your own home and space, you have more control over how you’re spending your time in between clients or after your appointments. Those regular on-site stressors are removed from your daily life and you’re in your safe space. However, it’s also important to be mindful of any stressors you might pull into your space. Taking a mindful approach when transitioning from work to life is essential.
• No more commutes: When you don’t have to worry about an extensive commute, you can spend more time doing what you love. Working from home makes transitions into your personal life easier and creates more opportunity to relax, take meaningful breaks, and keep a more manageable pace in your day-to-day life.
• Top notch support: At Iris Telehealth, we help ensure our providers have everything they need to thrive, not only in their work lives, but in their personal lives, too. That’s why we encourage our clinicians to take breaks throughout the day, provide a generous PTO policy, and ensure they get matched with an organization that aligns with their needs and values.

Want to learn more about life as a remote provider? Check out our Clinician Corner series to hear first-hand experiences from Iris’s own behavioral health clinicians.

Self-care tips for providers facing compassion fatigue

We’ve seen first-hand how compassion fatigue can lead to burnout in mental health professionals. What are you doing to help yourself get back to your baseline after you sign off for the day?

Here are our top four actions you can take to prioritize self-care:

1. Practice mindfulness: Exercises like meditation, mindful walking, and gratitude can play a big role in helping you steer clear of compassion fatigue. You can also try setting aside dedicated time for deep breathing. For example, when your computer is booting up in the morning, let this process act as a queue to take four deep breaths. This technique can help you re-center yourself and prepare for the day.
2. Get active and eat well: Find a way to move your body every day – whether that’s a five minute walk, an hour long workout, or more mini breaks throughout your day. It’s also important to make sure you get outside for at least five minutes every day and fuel your body with things you know are going to help you feel better, like eating a balanced diet.
3. Seek out support: Having a community to lean on is essential to your well-being. This strategy can be met by joining a support group or talking with a person in your life who understands what you’re experiencing and can empathize and sympathize with you. Investing in therapy is also a good option for providers in the mental health space.
4. Delegate responsibility: You don’t have to take on the world alone. Delegating responsibility and finding people you can ask to help is key. For example, is there someone who can help out with housekeeping? Or, someone who can help out with school pick-up? Figuring out where you can pull in help can be a game changer.

Compassion fatigue during the holidays

Compassion fatigue doesn’t take a break during the holidays, but it does provide a good opportunity to check-in. Here are a few things to keep in mind as we approach the holidays season.

As we head into the holiday season, ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you using your break to look for a new job?
• Are you finding it difficult to meaningfully connect with loved ones?
• Do you have a lack of desire to do what you love?
• Are you overindulging in things like alcohol or food? These can be used to mask what you’re actually feeling.
• Are you using your time off to sleep instead of doing things you love?

If you answered “yes” to most of the questions above, you might be experiencing compassion fatigue. If this sounds like you, consider the following:

• Create a plan to completely turn off during the holidays, and create a separation between yourself and your work
• Create a plan to reset – close your computer down and move your chair away from your desk, or close the door on your office to create separation for yourself
• Do something that brings you joy and find a way to connect with someone else
  Say no and set boundaries
• Download the Calm app, check out online workout videos like Yoga with Adrienne, or try out some new mindfulness techniques from Positive Psychology

Where Iris Telehealth fits in

At Iris, we believe our providers should be applauded and celebrated for their work. That’s why we help ensure they have what they need to succeed – less paperwork, a low-stress environment, and great benefits. Want to learn more about what life at Iris looks like? Contact us today! We have opportunities available now for psychiatrists, PMHNPs, and LCSWs.

Making the move from private practice to working for a telehealth group comes with a lot of benefits and considerations. In this blog, we’ll outline the pros and cons of making this switch and offer recommendations for making this transition seamless.

Are you looking for something specific? Use this table of contents to jump where you need to go:

Table of contents
Why you might consider a transition to telehealth
The benefits of working for a telehealth group
How to make your transition to telehealth seamless
What life at Iris looks like

Why you might consider a transition to telehealth

Owning and operating your own practice comes with many benefits and challenges. On the one hand, you can choose your clientele and the type of care you want to provide and create a schedule that aligns with the type of practice you wish to have. On the other hand, being in charge of everything can be demanding.

For instance, running your practice requires you to book and bill your clients, manage your paneling, licensing, and credentialing, and pay for an electronic health record. It may also feel like you always have to be available to patients. When working in a hospital, community mental health center, or federally qualified health center, patients have a line to call for emergencies – but in private practice, you are that line.

While there are several challenges to private practice, let’s take a close look at some of the benefits telehealth offers.

The benefits of working for a telehealth group

While private practice requires a significant amount of time and attention, working for a supportive telehealth group can take a huge weight off your shoulders.

Here are a few of the biggest benefits of working for a telehealth group:

Less overhead: Telehealth groups like Iris Telehealth pay providers based on hours scheduled, not volume seen. In a private practice setting, you might schedule seven clients in a day, but if only three show up, you’re only paid for that three. Additionally, in certain organizations like Iris, we provide all the necessary equipment and you don’t have to worry about billing.

Multiple layers of support: With a telehealth group on your side, you have someone to walk your entire journey. At Iris, you are supported by a full cycle recruiting team who walk alongside you from your first phone call through your placement at a hand-selected partner group.

Help with licensing and credentialing: If you’ve worked in mental health before, you understand how laborious it is to keep up with licensing, credentialing, and paneling. That’s why working with a telehealth group that takes care of these processes for you is invaluable. For example, once you are matched with an Iris partner group you are provided the support of a medical staff services team who takes care of these logistics and helps maintain these things for you.

Unique perks of telehealth: With telehealth, you’re not at risk of running into patients when you’re out and about in your community. In many cases, you will be a couple of states away from where your clients live. Additionally, telehealth also takes away the stressful commute, the need to do your own marketing, and provides a comfortable work from home environment. With telehealth, you can expand your experience and maintain your work-life balance in a way you may not have been able to in a private practice setting.

How to make your switch from private practice seamless

If you think telehealth might be the best fit for you and your needs, here are a few ways you can begin your transition from private practice.

1. Create a transition plan: Consider how you will transition your clients and where they can go for treatment after your time together ends. It’s essential to be mindful of your time and ensure you’re not overworking yourself with additional private practice work once you transition to telehealth.
2. Think through lifestyle changes: Transitioning from working for yourself to working for someone else can take some getting used to, so it’s important to consider what that change will be like. There might also be new assessments, documentation, and specific therapeutic engagement and approaches that you might have to become familiar with as you transition to telehealth.
3. Consider your working space: Working for a telehealth group means you’ll be working from your home. With that change comes a few different considerations. First, you should ensure your space is HIPPA compliant and has good lighting, acoustics, and a strong internet connection. It’s also important to check that your internet has adequate upload and download speeds.
4. Determine how you’ll manage work-life balance: Another consideration for working remotely is how you’ll manage work-life balance when your office becomes a part of your home. It’s important to think through how you’ll separate the two and the structures you can put in place to help transition from work to life with more ease.

What life at Iris looks like

At Iris Telehealth, we believe our providers should be applauded for the incredible work they do each day. By partnering with us, you can feel good about working with a group that since 2019, has been accredited by the Joint Commission for behavioral health.

We can’t wait to see how we can work together to create a better world through healthy minds. Contact us today to learn more about open roles at Iris!

Providing a virtual behavioral health solution for your patients can offer many benefits to your organization. Telehealth provides access to many treatment techniques that translate well to a virtual platform and treat a broad range of speciality mental health conditions.

Keep reading to learn the benefits of telehealth for specific populations, how providers build rapport virtually, and different ways providers are using telehealth to increase engagement during appointments.

Table of Contents
The unique benefits of telemental health
How to build rapport through telepsychiatry
How providers facilitate specialty care remotely
Where Iris Telehealth fits in

The unique benefits of telemental health

Because of telehealth’s expansive reach into communities with few providers, patients have access to specialty treatment and care they otherwise wouldn’t be able to access.

Let’s take a look at three other unique benefits of telehealth for mental health care:

1. Condition-specific treatment: Providing a virtual option for care delivery, either in your clinic or from a patient’s home, can open up care to people who may experience nervousness traveling, patients with agoraphobia, or someone with general anxiety about meeting a new person in a new place. Allowing someone to take their appointment from a place where they’re familiar can help them feel more comfortable and assist in establishing rapport. Telehealth can also help patients with trauma feel more comfortable processing and disclosing information.
2. Increased privacy for patients: Meeting in a private location can help patients feel more comfortable and less worried about running into people they know in the waiting room or their providers in the community. This great sense of privacy can help patients feel more comfortable and allow them to engage and feel more at ease during their sessions.
3. Traditional psychotherapy capabilities: For the traditional therapeutic encounters that happen within the office setting, telehealth providers can conduct them just as well via telepsychiatry as they would in person. Delivering remote care isn’t a barrier to establishing therapeutic rapport, providing medication management, or providing traditional psychotherapies.

When considering implementing a virtual behavioral health solution, it’s important to note that the typical diagnoses that translate well to telehealth are with patients with who you can easily engage individually or as a family system.

How to build rapport through telepsychiatry

Building rapport with patients is essential to implementing a virtual behavioral health solution. Even though society has primarily adjusted to telehealth during the pandemic, it’s important not to assume that patients have engaged with telehealth before or prefer telehealth over in-person.

To help determine how a patient feels about telehealth, you can check in with them, ask how they feel, and learn whether or not telehealth is their first choice. You can also ask them what they think are the negatives and positives about the platform. Sometimes, the patient might decide they want to do in-person care. Regardless of their preference, it’s essential to be open and honest to understand how the patient feels.

Another critical piece of building rapport is educating the patient on the parameters of a virtual appointment. For example, even though the appointment is not being held in an office setting, the patient should still be in a secure place and communicate their location to the provider. Some patients may have questions about where the provider is located and whether or not their door is shut. Transparency is important, especially since the patient and provider can’t see each other’s space.

How providers facilitate specialty care remotely

Telehealth is the great connector between people and the specialty care they need. This platform opens up the pool of providers with specialty expertise patients otherwise wouldn’t be able to access. Without specialty care, patients may experience delayed and ineffective treatment, the risk of worsening symptoms, and the need for a higher level of care. Accessing specialty care remotely allows patients to get the right care and make the treatment gains they need to feel better.

Therapists leverage telehealth creatively to help engage patients and provide their needed treatment. For example, some providers working with children will draw with the patient, play games, and have show and tells. Therapists will also provide homework and worksheets.

One of our LCSWs here at Iris Telehealth, Nicole Bradbury, spoke about her experience providing care virtually to her patients:

“There are a lot of different benefits to telepsychiatry. For one, I love finding new ways to engage with the kids. I’ve found websites where I can interact with them virtually, like “Let’s play Uno and talk about feelings!” It’s fun to find new ways to explore engaging with the children, especially the younger ones.”

Where Iris Telehealth fits in

Our team of psychiatrists, PMHNPs, and LCSWs, work with your care team to provide holistic, specialty care to your population. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help reach more people in your community with specialty care, contact us today.

According to a study done before the pandemic, over one-half of physicians and one-third of nurses experience symptoms of burnout. Following the pandemic, we’ve seen an unprecedented rise in the prevalence of burnout among clinicians due to demanding hours, lack of work-life balance, and higher demand for providers.

Burnout generally refers to physical and emotional exhaustion coming from chronic stressors. For many providers, it can feel like they can’t provide their highest quality of care or that they’re not functioning in a high-quality system.

The state of clinician burnout

In 2020, the clinician burnout rate was reported to be around 25%. Over the past couple of years, that number has only increased. It can be challenging when providers balance raising a family, longer work hours, personal life, and their mental and physical health.

Many behavioral health providers are on the front lines of the mental health crisis. Providers across the country are having a hard time handling many patients, especially when there are few resources to provide quality care to patients.

And, due to the provider shortage, there is enormous pressure and insufficient providers to combat the mental health crisis.

What providers can do to identify burnout

Burnout can be hard to identify, but physical exhaustion and the need to recharge and self-care can be early signs. Sometimes burnout can show itself in emotional exhaustion as well. Pay attention if you feel you cannot emotionally engage in your relationships with your family and friends or are having difficulty enjoying your hobbies. These can be early red flags that you are suffering from acute burnout.

It can be hard to take time for yourself as a provider, especially when you want to meet the needs of your patients. Taking time out for yourself and engaging in self-care can help mitigate and alleviate burnout.

Ways telepsychiatry can alleviate provider burnout

When implemented properly, telepsychiatry can help address the challenge of provider burnout. According to Physician’s Weekly, 20% of providers said greater flexibility in their work schedules could help avoid burnout. Here are just a few of the ways telepsychiatry can help decrease burnout:

1. Telepsychiatry can help clinicians to have a better work-life balance, decreasing burnout. Through telepsychiatry, providers can have a sense of control and autonomy over their schedules. Providers can have the ability to spend more time with their family, engage in self-care, and take appointments from the comfort of their own home.
2. No more long commutes. Providers can skip the commute and conduct remote visits with the help of telepsychiatry. When providers can work from home, they no longer need to worry about wasted time or the expense of a commute. This is especially true in rural areas where they might have to travel further to see patients.
3. Practicing from a setting where you are more comfortable improves patient quality of care. With telepsychiatry, providers can provide optimal care from the comfort of their own homes.

How can organizations help their providers?

As an organization, you should make sure your providers aren’t isolated during difficult times. Here are a few ways you can help your providers:

1. Remind them about employee assistance programs and other places to get mental health help. Ensure they know who is on their team and who they can talk to, especially when they are virtual. With a culture of open communication, encourage your providers to talk about their concerns.
2. Monitor your provider’s mental wellbeing. Check in with your providers about their mental health. Sometimes, when taking care of their patients and their loved ones, it can be challenging for providers to take a step back and think about themselves. Burnout can be mitigated by creating an environment where a provider’s mental health is a priority.
3. Give your clinicians ample time for their personal lives by not overscheduling them. Make sure you’re giving your providers as much flexibility as you can. Reinforce safety practices, monitor their stress, and provide support for your providers. And, remember to encourage your providers to take their PTO.

Resources to support providers and looking towards the future

According to a study on physician suicide before the pandemic, an estimated 300 physicians die by suicide every year, and that rate has continued to increase. It’s becoming more important to keep an eye on depression and anxiety for physicians during this difficult time. Many providers are leaving the profession or retiring early, which is also contributing to the provider shortage. By ensuring our providers are feel mentally and emotionally well, we can keep more people in the profession and provide the best quality possible.

There are a few resources that can help you manage clinician burnout from an individual level and organizational level. These toolkits, TEDTalks, and guides can help you prevent burnout for yourself and advocate for a healthier workplace culture. Here are a few resources:

1. TEDTalks: TED has a list of TEDTalks that can help you mitigate burnout. They share great information on how to bounce back and get you back in the groove of everyday life through various tips and tricks.
2. The American Psychiatrist Association Toolkit for Well-Being Ambassadors: This slide deck can help you support, advocate, and spread awareness about burnout in your organization. The APA also has a toolkit, manual, and flyer to help you address the burnout needs in your workplace.
3. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): AHRQ’s guide on physician burnout shows the causes of burnout and lists research-backed interventions for clinician burnout.

Where Iris Telehealth can help

At Iris Telehealth, we strive to make implementing a telepsychiatry solution for your organization as easy as possible. We take care of the paperwork, credentialing, and licensing for providers. Iris can work alongside you every step of the way to help take the burden off of providers and your organization. Contact us today to see if our telepsychiatry services can help your providers and organization provide high-quality care for your patients.

As a mental health professional, helping patients get the care they need is essential to your work. However, for clinicians living in states with greater barriers to practice, connecting patients with the right resources and care isn’t always possible. Whether you’re bogged down with administrative tasks, restricted by red tape, or frustrated with access issues, you may feel the strain of not being able to practice at the top of your license.

Thankfully, telehealth makes it easier for patients and providers to connect, regardless of geographical and regulatory barriers. This level of access allows patients to get the best care possible and enables providers to practice at the top of their licenses.

Keep reading to learn more about the challenges of working in restrictive states and how telemental health can help you operate at the top of your license.

Top challenges for providers working in restricted states

So, what challenges might you encounter if you’re a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) practicing on-site in a restrictive state? Let’s take a closer look at a few:

• Maintaining collaborating physicians: If you’re a PMHNP working in a state that requires a collaborating physician, you understand there’s always a chance they might suddenly be unable to provide oversight that would allow you to practice at the top of your license – and leaving patients without access to proper care. In some cases, finding a new collaborating physician can take months.
• Minimal patient resources: In certain states, there are more restrictions and fewer resources for patients. These limitations can keep a provider from practicing to the full extent of their license and inhibit their ability to do more for patients.
• Potential for burnout: Working on-site in a restrictive state can be bad for morale. While the goal is to provide the best possible patient care, some patients may have little to no options based on state restrictions.

Practicing behavioral health remotely removes the limitations placed on providers based on where they live. For example, if you live in a state with a highly restricted practice environment, telemental health allows you to live where you want and still have autonomous practice, without the need of a supervising or collaborating physician. Additionally, when working with an organization like Iris Telehealth, you’re ensured a collaborating physician if necessary.

Along with these benefits, it can also help you work with a population you love.

Help the population you love without limitations

As a behavioral health provider, you’ve likely spent a lot of time figuring out what population you wanted to work with. However, depending on where you live, making the most of your education and providing care to the specific population you love might not always be an option. Remote behavioral health work makes it possible for you to work with the communities you’ve always wanted to impact, regardless of where you or your patients are in the country.

Additionally, some organizations, like Iris Telehealth, offer job matching services that keep your clinical preferences in mind, letting you choose what population you want to work with and whether or not you want to work in an autonomous state. So you don’t have to choose between working with the communities you love and working at the top of your license.

Want to learn more about the job matching process? Check out our guide for all the details!

Gain more support for top of license work

Working in telemental health can help eliminate everyday tasks that keep you from working at the top of your license and give you a leg up in areas that will help support your practice. Here’s how:

• Care team collaboration: Having a care team of professionals you can lean on for expertise is essential. At Iris, our provider network is expansive and creates a resource for advice and support. This access to other psychiatrists, case managers, and social workers ensures you always have the support you need and lets you focus on appointments and follow-ups. It also means you don’t have to worry about other tasks that fall outside your scope.
• Less admin work: Licensing and credentialing takes a lot of time and attention. That’s why working with an organization that takes care of that process is highly beneficial. At Iris, we help our providers get licensed in the states where they want to work and take care of all the tedious parts of that process. That way, you can focus on what they do best – providing quality patient care.
• Diversify your skill set: When you work remotely, you can work with populations you may not have had the opportunity to work with otherwise. This access gives you more diversity in your patient panel work, allowing you to tap into different demographics and expand your knowledge and skill set.
• Connect with top organizations: When working with a telehealth solution like Iris, you can trust that you’re getting connected with the leading organizations in the country. We ensure all our partner organizations are aligned with our standards for appointment times, have thought through how telehealth will work for them, and will support our providers.

Additionally, if the organization is strictly remote, we ensure they’ve thought through how their patients will get things like vitals and weight measured if they’re being seen from home, what their route to care will be like, and have whatever they need for appointments.

Where Iris Telehealth fits in

At Iris, we believe that our providers should be celebrated and applauded for the work they do. If you’re an LCSW, PMHNP, or psychiatrist interested in telemental health work, contact us today.

Remote behavioral health work has many benefits, like flexible schedules, self-care opportunities, and no commute, leaving you with more time to do the things you love. Remote behavioral health work, like telepsychiatry, offers psychiatrists, LCSWs, and PMHNPs the chance to make a real impact on the communities they love, from wherever they are in the country.

But what does a career in telehealth look like? We’re breaking down all the commonly asked questions providers have as they get started in their telehealth careers. Keep reading to learn what documentation in a virtual space looks like, how telehealth can help you meet your clinical preferences, and how working with the right organization can help you streamline the licensing and credentialing process.

1. What does documentation look like in a virtual environment?

The type of electronic medical records (EMR) an organization uses varies site-to-site. But, regardless of what kind of documentation they’re using, you should have support and training that sets you up for success. When looking for a telepsychiatry provider to work for, ensuring they can provide top-notch support is essential.

At Iris Telehealth, we ensure you have a telepsych champion on-site at the healthcare organization where you’re placed to help answer any questions you may have. We also provide ample training and support to ensure you feel confident and comfortable with your EMR.

Additionally, as a behavioral health provider, you’ve likely used several EMRs before and may have preferences for which ones you like using the most. Your experiences matter, and at Iris we take them into account when matching you with the right organization.

To learn more about this topic, check out our EMR best practices for remote providers blog.

2. How does telepsychiatry meet provider preferences?

Good conversations upfront are critical to ensuring an excellent organizational match. And, if the telehealth company you’re interviewing for isn’t getting to know your needs, it’s likely a red flag. Considering what your dream job looks like, determining your negotiables, and defining your deal breakers are all things you should be having conversations about before getting placed at a new clinic.

At Iris, we get to know provider preferences by asking about the days they’d like to work, their time zones, their preferred setting, and what population they want to work with. We also want to know how much time our providers want for documentation and notes.

We know from experience that when our providers are happy and have found a healthcare organization that meets your clinical preferences, patients get higher quality care. So, ensuring you’re working with an organization that keeps all your wants, needs, and considerations in mind is critical.

3. What does remote work look like?

Flexibility is one of the most significant benefits of working remotely. Stepping outside after a long session, cutting out your daily commute, and having more time for family and friends are all things remote work can provide.

As a remote behavioral health provider, you may be working in one state and remoting into another. That’s what makes the clinical environment so important.

At Iris, placing you somewhere you love is our priority. If you want to work in a state where you’re not licensed, Iris will cover the costs and provide the support you need to work where you love.

4. As a PMHNP, will I be provided with medical supervision?

Working with a telehealth provider that’s got your back with all the support you need is essential. That might take shape by way of a top-notch IT team, supportive supervisors, and help with paperwork. For PMHNPs, it also means making sure you’ve got medical collaboration in states where it’s required. At Iris, we ensure you’ve got a collaborating physician (usually another Iris provider).

5. What does the licensing and credentialing look like for teleheatlh?

Going through the process of licensing and credentialing can be challenging. That’s why working with a telehealth organization that does the lion’s share of the work can be a game changer.

At Iris, we take care of that process for you. We gather all the needed information, like fingerprints and documents, to licensing and credentialing as easy for you as possible. While the licensing and credentialing timeline is variable, once you’ve determined the healthcare organization you want to work with, we lay out all relevant timelines so you’ll know what to expect.

Get started in telehealth today

Whether you’re considering telehealth for the first time or just getting started in your career, Iris is here to help you get started. If you’re looking for more information about a job at Iris, check out this recording of our recent virtual career fair. If you’d like to chat with someone at Iris, contact us today.

Table of Contents
How does the ED telepsychiatry process work?
Can telepsychiatry integrate within any health system?
What type of equipment do health systems need for telepsychiatry?
How long do we have to wait for the doctor?
What makes for a successful ED telepsychiatry program?
Get started with ED telepsychiatry today

Access to prompt, high-quality care is of the utmost importance for psychiatric patients seeking treatment in the emergency department (ED). However, with a nationwide psychiatrist shortage, patients are left waiting for care in EDs across the country. Fortunately, implementing ED telepsychiatry can help.

Telepsychiatry is a seamless solution that helps health systems provide timely care to psychiatric patients while increasing throughput for EDs. Read on to learn the five common questions organizations consider when investing in emergency telepsychiatry for mental health care.

How does the ED telepsychiatry process work?

Initiating a telepsychiatry consult is similar to calling any other consult in the ED. Here’s how it works:

Step one: A clinician evaluates the patient and determines whether or not they need a psychiatric consultation.

Step two: If they do, the clinician enters the essential information into a paging system. After that, an assistant in the ED takes a telehealth cart into the patient’s room.

Step three: From this point, the consult is nearly identical to a standard in-person consult. After the evaluation, the telepsychiatrist promptly calls a designated individual (such as a social worker) to discuss the basics of the patient’s presentation.

Step four: Next, the telepsychiatrist connects to the telehealth cart and speaks with the patient in real-time. The psychiatrist develops a treatment plan that typically includes a disposition and communicates this plan with the attending ED doctor.

Step five: Finally, the psychiatrist writes a note directly into an organization’s EMR, and the consultation is complete.

With five simple steps, telepsychiatry can facilitate a seamless process for providers, patients, and the organization at large.

Can telepsychiatry integrate within any health system?

One of the telepsychiatry benefits that’s helpful to organizations is how it can be seamlessly implemented into an organization’s existing equipment, including their EMR, prescribing system, and protocols for managing operations. At Iris Telehealth, we’ve found this is a crucial step to help minimize disruption. We act as a technology-neutral addition to an organization’s team by becoming familiar with and integrating into their existing systems and workflows. We ensure all staff are trained on best practices for using technology and are comfortable with it.

What type of equipment do health systems need for telepsychiatry?

The equipment required for telepsychiatry is relatively simple. The person-to-person nature of psychiatry makes it well-suited for telehealth. This perk is a central telepsychaitry benefit as there’s not much equipment needed beyond a computer.

If you already have equipment like telehealth carts, laptops, or tablets, you’re implementation will likely be seamless. Iris can implement within your current systems without any additional work and without your care team needing to learn new tools.

How long do we have to wait for the doctor?

In most cases, the wait is less than 30-minutes. That estimate includes the start of a consultation to the psychiatrist being at the patient’s bedside. Timing is essential in all areas of medicine, but it is critical within emergency telepsychiatry. For high-quality patient care, things must run efficiently to allow the timely delivery of services to your patients.

A good telepsychiatry partner should have systems in place to initiate a telepsychiatry consultation as quickly as possible. With an active and dynamic call pool of dedicated psychiatrists or other appropriate behavioral health providers (including LCSWs and PMHNPs), organizations can ensure a system that consistently puts a provider at the patient’s bedside in under 30-minutes.

What makes for a successful ED telepsychiatry program?

Cultural fit can make a significant difference in the success of your emergency telepsychiatry program. That’s why it’s essential to partner with a telepsychiatry vendor who aligns with your vision and values. This compatibility is vital at every level, from the leadership team to clinicians.

In fact, at Iris, we’ve discovered that provider match is essential to the success of a telepsychiatry program. Our process connects healthcare organizations with providers, thoughtfully, based on experience and need. This process allows us to ensure an organization’s population get’s the specialty care they need. It also allows providers to work within their specializations – allowing everyone to get the most value.

Telepsychiatry groups are only as good as their providers. We work with the best psychiatrists, PMHNPs, and LCSWs in the field. Our providers learn the needs and goals of an organization’s ED. Over time, we’ve found that our providers can build authentic relationships with an organization’s staff and truly become integrated members of their treatment team.

Get started with ED telepsychiatry today

At Iris, we ensure your ED is set up for success and help facilitate an implementation process that’s smooth and straightforward. Once complete, your patients will have 24/7 access to a behavioral health provider. Most importantly, they’ll spend less time in the ED waiting for care.

Telepsychiatry benefits the entire organization. It is a powerful platform that delivers quick access to the high-quality care patients need when they need it – whether at home, in an outpatient clinic, or a hospital.

If you would like to learn more about how you can optimize your behavioral health strategy in the ED, contact us today.

While the job market for behavioral health providers is full of opportunities, finding the perfect fit can be challenging. That’s why working with an organization that delivers job matching services is invaluable for you and your patients. So, what is job matching?

The job matching process looks at what a provider wants in a job (think culture, values, schedule) and matches it with what an organization is looking for in a mental health professional (think specialty and experience). This match making process helps both parties attain what they want and need, increase provider satisfaction, and ensure quality of care for organizations and their patients.

How to determine the perfect fit

As a provider, knowing your non-negotiables can help you make the most of the job matching process and help determine what exactly you’re looking for in your next role.

Here are just a few things to consider when reflecting on your non-negotiables and wants as a provider:

1. Flexibility: As a provider, greater flexibility with your time can help prevent burnout. Many providers want a better work-life balance so they can spend more time with their families and engage in self-care.
2. Schedule: By knowing how many hours and what type of clinic you want, you can get the most out of your next career move. For example, some providers may only want to work 20-hours a week or may want to work in a particular type of clinic. An organization with your best interest in mind will work with you to find your perfect schedule and preferred work setting.
3. Location and time zone: Some providers will prefer to work in a specific time zone depending on where they live. If you have strong preferences around when you want to work, a telehealth organization that helps match that preference might be the best fit for you.
4. Patient population: By having an idea of what type of patient population you want to work with, you can get closer to your dream job. Do your patients speak another language? Do you want to work with children? Adults? Whatever your specialization, job matching ensures you’re set up to work with the population you love.

What the job matching process looks like

Having an idea of what the job matching process looks like can help you prepare for all the necessary steps throughout the experience. One thing to keep in mind during the process is what organizations are looking for in a new team member.

To narrow in on the right team member, organizations will review the provider’s experience, learn about their personality, see if they’re a good cultural fit, and check references. Additionally, organizations are interested in learning if the provider has experience with their patient population and a background in treating the common diagnoses they see at their organization.

At Iris Telehealth, we help ensure that both the organization and the provider get their needs met. To make those happily-ever-after matches possible, we take a thorough approach to the interview process. After the internal interview process, we also set up meet and greets between the provider and the organization to ensure cultural fit. During this time, the organization gets to know your practice philosophies, scheduling preferences, and other specifics you would like to discuss. If there’s a match, then next steps with placement and licensing begin.

The timeline for job matching varies depending on things like regulatory barriers. For example, in certain states, nurse practitioners might need more supervision than other types of behavioral health providers. Regardless of what regulatory barriers you encounter in the job matching process, working with an organization that helps with licensing and credentialing can help move things along smoothly.

Benefits of job matching

Providers, organizations, and patients can all benefit from a proper match. These benefits could include things like improved morale and less provider burnout. On the organizational side, a perfect match looks like better wait times, more patient engagement, and improved team satisfaction. For patients facing a national mental health crisis, having a happy provider who meets their specific needs is crucial.

Some benefits of working with Iris during your job matching process include:

1. Assistance with licensing and credentialing: Wherever you are placed, Iris has you covered by handling the paperwork. We create an environment where you can focus on providing the best care possible while we take care of the forms and stressful documents.
2. Ensuring everyone is on the same page: With a supportive supervisor, you have someone that checks in with you, ensuring you’re comfortable with your new organization and care team. At Iris, we’ve got your back and help ensure a safe and supportive practice environment for providers.
3. Support through tricky situations: At Iris, we help ensure that your integration into the care team goes smoothly. We also help you navigate any tricky conversations that may arise.
4. Clinical support: When you join our team, you get the support you need. Whether you need an advocate to answer questions or help from our top-notch IT team, there will always be someone here to guide you.

The Iris Match

At Iris, job matching is one of the most important parts of our mission. We are committed to helping our providers match with an organization that considers both the provider’s needs and the organization’s. Check out our behavioral health providers guide to help learn what job matching looks like in action and how it can set you up for long-term success at the organization of your dreams.

Contact us today if you’d like to learn more about Iris and our approach to forever matches.

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.

Over the past few years, child and adolescent psychiatrists have experienced a surge in demand due to the pandemic’s impact on children’s mental health. While many parts of the country have suffered from a shortage of child and adolescent providers for many years, the disruptions of COVID-19 have led to an unprecedented mental health crisis. Only last year, the surgeon general declared a national emergency for child and adolescent mental health.

Given this landscape, there are ample opportunities for child psychiatrists to provide help to patients across the U.S. With so many career and development opportunities, it’s critical for you to choose the position that is the best fit for you and your goals.

However, finding a fulfilling, flexible, and impactful job as a child psychiatrist can be difficult. That’s why, we’re here to help you get off to the right start and set yourself up for success (while preventing burnout). Read on to learn how you can find the best culture, setting, and organizational fit for you.

Finding the right care setting for you

There are some environments and work settings that will always have a high demand, like outpatient mental health centers, for example. Many providers go into outpatient care because of their interest in child development. With outpatient work, you can often see a child until they’re an adult and cultivate a long-term relationship with them.

Knowing what type of child and adolescent patient population you want to work with can help you narrow in on what care setting will work best for you.. However, this insight might develop over time. As you go through your career, clarity about whether you want to provide care for a specialty population, a specific age group, or specific diagnoses will become clearer. You might even have a good idea of your preference as early as your residency or medical school rotations. While you’re still early in your child psychiatry career, it’s okay to not have it all figured out yet.

Finding a good organizational fit

Securing a good organizational fit with a telepsychiatry vendor should be one of your biggest priorities as a child psychiatrist. By finding the right fit, you’ll be well positioned to deliver high-quality services to your patients while achieving long-term job satisfaction. However, finding the right position is more than just getting a spot on someone’s team.

When it comes to finding the right position for you at a healthcare organization or telepsychiatry company, asking detailed questions about the systems already in place for their clinicians is key to understanding the type of support and resources you’ll have available.

Here are four questions to ask your next employer to determine whether they’re a good fit for you:

1. What support structures are available? Knowing what support structures are available to you is crucial to understanding how a given organization treats their providers. Support at a company or organization can look like having someone available to answer your questions, providing equipment for your practice, or even offering PTO and other benefits to their providers (we provide all of that and more for our Iris clinicians).
2. What is the organization’s turnover rate? A high turnover rate can be a red flag indicating the organization is not meeting their providers’ needs – or, for a telepsychiatry company, making suitable matches for their providers. A low retention rate can raise questions about the workplace culture and values.
3. Who is responsible for licensing, credentialing, and malpractice insurance? These administrative tasks can seem daunting to do alone. Working with an organization that handles or supports these tasks can make your work life a little easier, giving you time back to be the best child psychiatrist you can be. At Iris Telehealth, we tackle all the licensing, credentialing, and burdensome administrative work so our providers can focus on what they love most – providing exceptional care to their patients.
4. How does placement work? Here at Iris, we provide matches based on experience, schedule preferences, prescribing philosophies, personality match, and much more.

How telepsychiatry can set you up for success

Telepsychiatry can help close the mental health care gap in rural areas for adults and children alike. For some youth experiencing mental health conditions or increased stress, it can be difficult to access appropriate, effective mental health care.

However, especially early in your career, it is important to learn how to use telepsychiatry effectively – whether or not you’re interested in a position as a full-time telepsychiatrist.

If you are using telepsychiatry with your patients, these tips can help you effectively provide care to your patients:

1. Establish parameters with parents. When working with children and adolescents, it is vital for child psychiatrists to ask parents to agree to confidentiality rules before treating their young patients. Confidentiality is key to providing effective treatment as it can help build a relationship between you and the patient. The same expectation for confidentiality for in-person visits should be adhered to during virtual appointments.
2. Check in with the child and parents. It is not safe to assume that adolescents are immediately comfortable with telepsychiatry, even if they are accustomed to technology through video games or social media usage. By checking in with them to see how they’re feeling about this modality, you can alter the method of care as needed and build a strong relationship with your patients.
3. Adjust your camera setup. It can be helpful to zoom in and out with your equipment to observe kids play. By having the same vantage point as if you were in the office, you can provide better care.

Resources and training opportunities

Continuing medical education (CME) is important to facilitate life-long learning as a provider. By developing your skills and expanding your knowledge as a child psychiatrist, you can improve patient satisfaction and outcomes.

Here are some resources that can help you as you continue your journey as a child psychiatrist:

1. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Telepsychiatry Toolkit: This toolkit covers a broad range of topics related to the implementation of mental health services for children and adolescents. Some areas include legal and safety issues, setting up your practice, telepsychiatry with children and adolescents, and working with special populations.
2. AACAP’s Online CME Courses: The AACAP offers multiple self-study courses that can help your individual educational needs through videos and lectures. They also provide a test to gauge your learning.
3. Medscape’s CME Learning Center: Medscape offers a comprehensive list of resources for child and adolescent psychiatrists. Various topics include telehealth, clinician burnout, management, and providing care to specific populations.

How Iris Telehealth can help

At Iris Telehealth, we take provider placement very seriously. Our matching process is set up to make sure you get placed at the best healthcare organization for your long-term goals, patient preference, and schedule. Your dream job could be here at Iris Telehealth.

We provide equipment, 24/7 tech support, CME credit, and malpractice insurance for our clinicians to support and help them thrive. In addition, we connect our clinicians with providers who can offer long-term career advice. Contact us today to see if our telepsychiatry services are right for you.

Job hunting can be a stressful process, and there’s a lot to consider when navigating your next career move. As a psychiatrist, finding a job that prioritizes your well-being is essential. After all, being a mental health professional is tough, and provider burnout is a serious issue affecting 78% of psychiatrists. While the psychiatry field is full of opportunities, it’s crucial to pick the right one to ensure you avoid burnout and love your work.

So, how can you find a fulfilling, flexible job that gives you ample time with family and friends? Read on to learn how you can find that perfect fit.

Know what you want

Psychiatrists spend an average of 48 hours at work per week, and 60% of that time is spent with patients. Additionally, psychiatrists report above-average stress related to their work environment and the complexities of their jobs. That means ensuring your work environment encompasses what you want is essential whether you’re onsite seeing patients or conducting telepsychiatry appointments from home.

As you search for the right fit, consider the following:

• Time zone difference (telepsychiatry)
• Patient population
• Patient volume
• Work/life balance
• Amount of paperwork
• Flexibility

Most importantly, be honest with yourself and realistic about what you want. Whether that’s your desired schedule, patient volume, or team culture — you shouldn’t have to settle. Creating a list can help identify what you need from a position and help you stay true to what’s negotiable and non-negotiable for you. These boundaries can help create longevity and happiness over time.

Questions for a potential employer

The job market for psychiatrists is rife with opportunity, and it’s projected to grow by 13% in the next decade, significantly outpacing other healthcare professions like pediatricians, surgeons, and anesthesiologists. Simultaneously, the U.S. is also experiencing a provider shortage, and the need for psychiatrists is great. That surplus of opportunity makes it all the more important to find the perfect fit that will help you thrive.

The following questions can help you narrow in on the right position.

Compensation

• What’s their pay structure?
• What’s their no-show rate?
• Will you be paid fee-for-service?
• Who is responsible for taxes?

Administrative

• What type of electronic medical record do they use?
• Who is responsible for their licensing? Credentialing? Malpractice insurance?

Growth

• How many partners do they work with?
• How long has the company been in business? How have they grown?

Culture

• What does their company value?
• Is the organization mission-driven?

At Iris Telehealth, we make our values clear from the beginning. From creating a culture that promotes a positive work-life balance to ensuring less administrative paperwork and excellent benefits — we prioritize people over all else.

Telepsychiatry companies and the importance of job matching

If you’ve ever worked for a medical group, telepsychiatry company, or staffing agency, you’ve probably witnessed good and bad job matching. How an organization approaches job matching can make a big difference in quality.

For telepsychiatry companies, a provider might be matched at random — or they might be matched thoughtfully based on experience and need. If you’ve only worked for healthcare organizations directly, you’ve most likely not dealt with job matching, but if you’re considering working with a telepsychiatry company to expand your options, it’s something you should be aware of.

Acknowledging red flags

As a mental health professional, chances are there have been times when you’ve felt undervalued. Or, maybe you’ve worked in a healthcare system that didn’t prioritize quality care. Whether you’ve dealt with long commutes, troublesome work politics, or disorganization, you know a job can quickly turn stressful.

Being able to identify and acknowledge red flags is an integral part of the job search. Below are three common red flags you should take note of during your job hunt.

1. They’re not getting to know you: The company you’re talking to should try to get to know you as a person, understand what you like about a job, and understand your personality. When companies take this extra step, it shows they care about making sure their providers are placed somewhere that aligns with the work they want to do and the values they hold.
2. They’re not giving you information about your placement: If the company isn’t giving you information about your placement, chances are they might take a “plug and play” approach. This approach makes matches based on age and licenses, without regard to a provider’s preference towards things like desired schedule or population. That said, it’s also important to make sure you have the specialization to serve the population they’re asking you to see. All of this can make a big difference in whether or not the company can provide longevity.
3. They have a high turnover rate: Does the company have a swinging door or providers coming and going? If so, this can be indicative that the telehealth company or staffing agency isn’t making suitable matches. If you suspect their retention is low, it could be helpful to ask how often their clinicians switch jobs or change sites. Additionally, it’s always best practice to check out a company’s Glassdoor page. Company review websites like Glassdoor can provide insights into turnover rates, culture, and whether they live up to their mission and values.

Transparency is key. That’s why at Iris, we get to know our providers first to ensure we can find the right job or clinic placement for them. We pride ourselves on being upfront with all of the necessary details that will affect your day-to-day and job satisfaction. From the clinical setting to the scheduling details to our prescribing philosophy, we are committed to ensuring the role is the right match for you.

Finding the perfect fit

The perfect fit means that you’ll be able to do great, meaningful work and have time for the important stuff. The right job should also include excellent benefits, have a great culture, and allow you to enjoy the work-life balance you’ve always dreamed of. At Iris, we surveyed our providers to determine why they saw Iris as the perfect fit, and four reasons stood out among the rest.

1. Communication and organization
2. Staff connection
3. Iris’ match commitment
4. Unparalleled clinical support

The benefits of working somewhere that aligns with your goals and values is indispensable. Where you spend your time matters, and for providers at the frontlines of the country’s behavioral health challenges, making sure you have the work/life balance you need to make time for yourself and your family and friends is of the utmost importance. As a mental health professional, you should be respected, valued, and applauded for your work, and finding an employer who aligns with that mission is essential.

Love your work and save the world

At Iris Telehealth, we prioritize the wellbeing of our providers over everything else. Work-life balance is a top priority, and we create a flexible, fulfilling culture that helps you spend more time caring for patients and less time on paperwork — we take care of that for you.

Through our telepsychiatry services, Iris providers deliver care to the patient populations who need it most and help healthcare organizations achieve their goals through clinically sound and financially sustainable psychiatry programs. If you want to learn more about working for us, contact us today.