I need your help with recruting ideas.

[HarryPotter]

Hi. I am not a new Nurse, but can relate to what many of you have said on this thread. It was hard for me at first, too, but I was lucky and had great people around me to help me learn what I needed so that I could do a good job and feel inspired about what I had accomplished at the end of the day.

Having those great people who worked with me was really wonderful.

What I need your help on is this. I am doing a survey for the company I work for on recruiting nurses.

For some people, its the salary, for others its the retirement, for others its a chance for advancement, or location, or development.

What I would like to know, as new Nurses, what are the most important things that would be an incentive for you to hire on with a particular company or hospital. And, why would those things be important to you.

Thank you all so very much.

Harry

[MIA-RN1, RN]

i,too, like harry potter, need all of the creative ideas that i can get for nurse recruitment and retention. compound that need with a post katrina mississippi gulf coast and you see the problem facing our nursing management team. we have many nurses who stayed with us post katrina and they deserve much praise and now much help (pemanent not continually depending on agency staff). so please, everyone, send in your best ideas:idea:

what i love about the hospital i work at:

self-scheduling

nurses there are happy and many are long-term.

100% tuition paid if you choose to go on in school

the general environment. management knows my name. and not just my nm. people in the education department, hr etc. its very very friendly.

shift differentials

they feed us often and its good! we had catered meals a couple weeks ago, the hospital had a cookout, cake to celebrate something or another, etc. the hospital in general is very nice to its nurses.

what i don't like:

tuition bennies are great but try to find the time to go to school!

we don't wear white pants on my floor.

what i really don't like:

offers tuition reimbursement up to $3000. but, i went thru a program that paid my tuition. so i get a big fat nothing while others got two 1500 checks. i told them they should think of something nice for the rest of us. there is no hiring bonus as the tuition reimbursement is billed as the hiring bonus. but its not fair.

[RNnewgrad]

I am looking at the programs with the most precepting. The first year out of school is scary and good training is the most important thing to me.

[healer27]

Honestly, I would have to agree with the past poster, sure $$ is important BUT even more important to me as a new grad is having a EXCELLENT education where preceptors are willing to teach and not just expect you to KNOW everything. I really feel like your initial experience as a nurse can make or break you so a GOOD orientation where you are encouraged and guided is and would be the most important to me. thanks

[travel920]

As a soon to be new graduate (Dec.) I am looking for training. I do not want to spend two years doing Med-Surg. I want to go directly into Women's Services. I know that some of the bigger hospitals have programs like that.

I would take less pay initially in exchange for training. That is the most important part to me.

I just completed an Externship here at our local hospital. I learned a lot, and it was fun, but I got very frustrated with the limitations that they placed on us. Even though I understood the rationale behind it, it was very frustrating not being allowed to even start an IV.