Jennifer Fuicelli, CEO of Advanced Medical
Years in staffing: 15
How did you get into the staffing industry?
Looking back, it seems as though my entire career has been in staffing. I started out in staffing in 2001, at Medical Express in Denver, CO. I then worked as a Sales Recruiting Manager at Preferred Nursing, where I helped grow the business substantially, and then a Recruiter for AMN.
Knowing I wanted to have an even bigger impact on the healthcare staffing industry, Kara Lynch (our current VP of Sales) and I started DHC Connections. As a consulting company, our mission was to help diversify staffing companies into healthcare and aid in positive growth trajectory.
One client project with DHC was to dissolve Advanced Medical. In working on the project, I quickly realized the value in DHC’s database. So instead of dissolving the company, I acquired it. Those assets were used to start up Advanced Medical, our new travel therapy-focused company,
Over the years, we’ve had much of the same leadership and have expanded our company with locations in six cities.
If you could give advice to your rookie self in the industry, what would it be?
Realize the power of positive energy. I believe I’ve always been a positive person, but through the years I’ve learned how to utilize the power of a positive attitude to create an environment that is both competitive and progressive. And while it can be contagious, it can’t be forced. Channeling attitude is key.
You champion women in the industry and have achieved an equally balanced senior leadership team in terms of gender. Why is this important to you?
My goal has always been to create an environment where employees’ skills and talents are utilized in the best way possible. Beyond equality, gender-balanced senior teams help to close the skills gap, and with fifty percent of our potential talent workforce being women, it allows companies like us to more accurately reflect the talent we are attempting to purse. A company’s ability to compete and grow depends on how well it utilizes its women, who make up one half of the overall workforce.
How would you describe the culture you’ve built at Advanced Medical and how does that impact results?
Going back to the power of focusing on positive energy, the culture at Advanced Medical is relentless, in a good way. We surround ourselves with people who are never satisfied and who are tirelessly focused on creativity, positive energy and the tech projects that give us the edge to grow and compete. That positive energy and relentless focus means we need to have a little fun too. Whether it’s Beer Cart Friday, volunteer days, charitable givings, lunches or outings with the team—we take the time to connect as individuals.
What keeps you excited about the staffing industry? What’s next for you?
Our industry isn’t going to stop growing anytime soon, and I’m excited to be a part of it. As our industry grows, we’ll need to find new ways to leverage technology and create more comprehensive workforce solutions. This is one aspect that has always interested me—finding the edge over our competition and leaving the antiquated ways of our trade in the past. Doing so will make our industry more resilient.
