The challenge of finding qualified nurses

Finding qualified nurses today is difficult for many hospitals and healthcare organizations. Though there is an ever-increasing number of patients and new medical advances, these factors make hiring high-caliber nurses consistently more difficult.

According to a report from the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice, these factors are coupled with “existing shortage of nurses, an aging nurse workforce, a shortage of nursing faculty members and prospects of a worsening nurse shortage. In addition, new models of overall healthcare delivery are being developed that will impact the workforce and care delivery.”

Is your organization looking to hire qualified nurses?

With the expansion of healthcare services and opportunities, there are many more jobs available, causing higher levels of job market competition. Now, organizations must fight against each other more often to draw in the best talent.

Frequently, nurses are comfortable at their current hospital or healthcare entity and are not looking for other jobs. To attract these nurses, hiring managers must be diligent about pursuing innovative and untraditional methods for recruitment. Social media advertising is one effective way to appeal to potential hires without being too pushy.

“Facebook advertising for recruitment is a great solution for reaching passive candidates,” Will Thomson wrote at Work4 Lab. “You can target specific profiles based on their location, connections, interests, current employment and more. Since the ads are mobile-friendly, it also matches their busy, on-the-go lifestyle and allows you to get in front of candidates without interrupting their day.”

Another way to attract new nurses is to seek employee referrals. Nurses who have been in the field for a long time may know several excellent former colleagues that may be interested in a better or higher paying position. Furthermore, developing a close knit community of nurses who are friendly both at and outside of work ensures that they will stay dedicated to your organization.

Healthcare organizations across the country are having to change their hiring approach to not only draw in talented nurses, but to retain them in the long-run. Employee turnover continues to be a struggle for the industry as a whole.

“People are just a lot more mobile in their ability to move from job to job,” Nicole Christensen, the chief nursing officer at Essentia Health in North Dakota, told Patrick Springer at Prairie Business News. “Nurses, especially, have so many more opportunities available.”

Finding the right candidate for an open position is a challenging and time-consuming process. To eliminate wasted hours spent interviewing unqualified applicants, integrate pre employment tests into your hiring process to weed out those who do not have the skill sets required for the job. Contact EmployTest today to learn more about how we can help you find the best nurses for your healthcare organization.