How to effectively recruit nurses

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a shortage of available nurses. It is becoming increasingly to attract and hire nurses, especially from the younger generation. According to the report published by the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, nurses represent the largest profession in the healthcare sector but there are not enough people to fill available positions. The main reasons for the shortage of nurses are:

The rapid ageing of the population – older nurses retire and there are not enough younger nurses to replace them.
Having to decline qualified applications because of inadequate facilities or insufficient funds to run programmes for nurses at nursing schools.
Many nurses deciding to pursue careers as counsellors or teachers rather than in hospitals.
The growing rates of chronic illnesses.

Recruiting highly qualified nurses is essential to provide patients with the help and professional assistance they need. Still, these challenges are difficult to overcome. That is why recruitment strategies have to be carefully planned and have to address matters important to nurses. Thanks to the specific strategies discussed in this guide, the recruitment of nurses can be more effective.

Key strategies to recruit nurses

Have a look at the table below to find out what some of the most successful strategies for recruiting nurses are:

Placing ads in nursing outlets	If you want to connect with nurses, you should reach out to them during nursing conferences or place ads in medical journals online and offline.
Offer career advancement opportunities	You should explain to potential candidates what their opportunities regarding career progression will be. By telling candidates about residency programs or speciality training apprenticeships, you can attract more nurses.
Offer counselling	Balancing personal and work life as a nurse can be challenging and many people who consider a career in nursing worry that it will be too stressful. You should promote self-care for nurses and tell them about tools available to them to help them deal with job stress.
Offer good compensation package	Working as a nurse is not an easy job so it is important that nurses receive good compensation packages. You can also encourage them to become nurses by offering tuition reimbursement or assistance with repaying loans.
Use social media	By being active on social media, you can reach out to many potential candidates. You should share visual content that highlights the benefits of working as a nurse to encourage people to visit a nursing career page.
Create a sense of nursing community	You should let candidates know that their voices are being heard and that if they become nurses they will be a part of a big nursing family where people respect and support each other.
Make sure nurses feel safe	Many people decide against pursuing a career in nursing because of safety concerns and fears of violence at the workplace. You should explain to candidates that there will be policies in place to prevent unpleasant incidents from happening.

All of these strategies directly target nurses and touch upon things that matter to them. They also send a personalised message to them, explaining how important their occupation is and how many benefits they can expect if they follow through on becoming nurses.

How to create a great nursing job ad

Choosing the right strategy to reach out to nurses is important but creating a detailed, thought out job advertisement is also essential. When people look for a job, they browse hundreds or even thousands of job ads each day. That is why it is important to make sure that our job ad stands out from the rest. If the ad is not well-written and unique, it will most likely be unsuccessful. A great nursing job ad can be crafted by following these few simple steps:

Prepare an intriguing nurse job description.

A good job ad should explain exactly what the role is and what the responsibilities of a successful candidate will be. It also needs to state what qualifications, skills, and experience are needed for the role. There are many nurse jobs and specialities that candidates could be interested in, for example:

ER Nurse
Neonatal Nurse
School Nurse
Nurse Educator
Care Home Nurse
Nurse Practitioner.

Hence, a successful nursing job ad should not just state that an organisation is ‘looking for a nurse’.

In addition to that, a good job ad should explain why candidates should consider working for a certain organisation and what makes this workplace attractive.

Connect with nurse candidates

The strategies mentioned before are the best way to reach out to nurse candidates. Nevertheless, there are also other ways to attract top nursing talents, for example:

Employee Referral Programs – a strategy where, through rewards, the existing nurses are encouraged to refer their friends and former colleagues that could be suitable for the job.
Certification Classes – many highly skilled nurses frequently attend advanced classes so going to such events is a great way to network and interest them in the available nursing positions.
Second-Place Candidates – if someone applied for the job in the past but did not end up getting it, maybe now they have more qualifications and experience and could meet the requirements of the job opening. Reaching out to these candidates is a good idea when trying to recruit nurses.

Conduct interviews

Talking to candidates in person before offering them a job is essential to find out more about them and see how they behave. Sometimes even if someone has great qualifications, their character might not be suitable for the job. During the interview, it is possible to find out what the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates are. That makes the process of choosing those who are the most qualified for the job easier.

A few questions that are worth asking the candidates are:

Why do you want to become a nurse?
What are your long-term ambitions?
Do you enjoy working in teams?
How would you handle a rude patient?

Want to find out more about recruiting nurses or maybe becoming a nurse? Contact If You today!