It’s a perception by some that healthcare temps are not as effective or of the same quality as traditionally hired staff. But problems can arise whether a person is a temp or not. For example, a nurse in Anderson, S.C., admitted to authorities that she worked for 27 years without a license, according to WYFF television.

The good news for the staffing industry is that the fact that the nurse, Denise Lynn Lollis, did not appear to work through a staffing firm. And there are those who claim that the lack of a license would have long been spotted if an agency had been involved. Compliance notwithstanding, the Lollis saga does not release the industry from the responsibility of providing quality workers.

A recent survey of staffing buyers by Staffing Industry Analysts found that 39 percent of healthcare buyers cited quality as the one thing they would most like their staffing providers to improve. Quality was the highest-cited response, beating even cost, which was cited by 22 percent. In addition, the buyers of staffing services in the healthcare industry gave their suppliers a grade point average of 2.89, compared with a GPA of 3.07 that buyers in all industries gave their staffing suppliers.

Obviously there’s room for improvement in the healthcare staffing world. A great opportunity to up your game is to attend SIA’s Healthcare Staffing Summit next week in Las Vegas. More than 450 are expected to attend. The event touches on best practices, what trends to watch, how to be compliant with state and federal laws, attracting high-quality talent, the healthcare reform — many things that can improve the performance of your staffing firm.

And in the meantime, Denise Lynn Lollis has been released on a $10,000 personal bond and pulled from patient care. Sometimes perception is not reality.