What hospitals can do to attract, retain quality nurses
Hospitals are looking for the best health care professionals, especially when it comes to hiring nurses to their medical teams, in order to provide optimal patient care. A technology-driven industry that also requires excellent interpersonal skills and intuitive, thoughtful bedside manner needs individuals with extensive training, education and experience.
And with more patients thanks to the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, and with a large number of Baby Boomer registered nurses (RN) ready to retire in the next few years, hospitals are looking for quality nursing employment to fill their current and anticipated needs.
But how do hospitals attract these dependable, composed and well-trained professionals? Nursing is extremely demanding, and burnout can easily happen. Holding onto good nurses and having them stay in the team means hospital management teams need to focus on the specific needs of its nurses. Here are a few ways they can do this:
- Provide career development services– Encourage your nursing staff to continue their medical education. Nurses who continue their education while working tend to feel more content and remain with employers whose values match their own.
- Give them a voice; let them know they are appreciated– Nurses, who can sometimes play second fiddle to doctors, want to be heard. They know how to improve patient care, as they work the front lines of the field. Nurses appreciate when they can easily talk to supervisors to voice their concerns. Listen to and implementing the suggestions of your nurses will help to empower your nursing staff as well as provide better patient care.
- Offer flexibility– Even though nursing is the most in-demand occupation in health care next to surgeons and doctors, it is a tasking and energy-sapping field. Providing flexible schedules allows nurses to get some rest in-between long shifts. It also lets nurses take continuing medical education courses, which is a benefit both to the nurse and hospital. Additionally, nurses with young, growing families at home appreciate more flexibility. Keeping nurses well-rested aids patient care, as well.
De Vore Recruiting is one of the nation’s top medical recruiters. Our mission is to find the most tech-savvy and ambitious nursing candidates for your health care facility. We do the heavy lifting for you, finding the best candidates who are usually currently employed. We use nurses’ references to gauge their worth ethic, dependability and their ability to deal with high-stress situations. We find RNs with real world experience and extensive training to help hospitals avoid high turnover and additional costs in the future.
If you are interested in having De Vore help you with your nursing employment needs, call us at 877-411-4358 to speak with one of our health care recruiters.
