Recruiting Staff

BoopetteRN · Jul 11, 2007

We have had a hard time getting nurses to apply. Our main problem seems to be the hourly pay that we offer. Younger nurses are really not interested in the benefit package; they need the money because many of them are single parents, and insurance is the only benefit that they seem to be interested in. I feel that one downfall we face here is there is no shift differential or weekend rate for nurses, CNAs have it, and CNAs also get a uniform allowance that nurses do not get either. CNAs are members of the union, but nurses are considered supervisors so they are not in the union. Currently the county board is considering a raise for the nurses as we are the lowest paid facility in the area.

deleern · Jul 11, 2007

Do you offer benefits... If a nurse waves it do you offer to pay them the Difference I know that in a hospital in AZ they give you $3. more an hour when you do not take the insurance. a facility in a near by town pays $3. and hour more for Night shift. Sign on bonus.. is always good... Self Scheduling is another plus. Just some thoughts. I am a new Grad BUT my facility started me out at the 3 year RN rate I thought was great. if you are not able to recruit at the current rate of pay then you need to re-evaluate it.

mer_RN · Jul 11, 2007

i'm not sure how your recruitment is set up, but it maybe be that experienced nurses are in fact applying for the positions but their applications never make it past human resources!

CapeCodMermaid, RN · Jul 11, 2007

We pay more for no benefits, have a shift diff and a weekend diff, pay more than what we paid at my last 2 facilities,have refer a friend....I'm thinking of a job fair or open house to get some people in to at least look around. Lots of places around here have them and offer door prizes --some even offer a gift certificate just to fill out an application

I'll have to check with HR. When I say 'just started' I mean this is my third day and I've been out of the facility at corporate for two of those days!

Nascar nurse, ASN, RN · Jul 11, 2007

You implied you were looking specifically for nurse managers. Can these positions be flex time positions or are they "work the floor" type nurse managers and are part of staffing ratios?

If these are office positions, I would advertise those flexible hours. 3 nurse manager positions at 8 HRS each could just as easily be 4 nurse managers at 6 hours each (9a-3p great for the Mom w/ kids in school) or 2 nurse managers @ 12 HRS each (great for someone back in school for higher ed).

How does your differentials and bonuses and pay rates compare to other local facilities?

Good luck.. recruitment can be tough

mytoon38 · Jul 12, 2007

I've just taken a new job as DNS of a skilled facility. We have 3 units with 44 patients each. At the moment I am down 3 nurse managers. They tell me they have tried everything to get these slots filled.
So my question to all y'all is: What makes you want to go to a facility to at least fill out an application? What do y'all want as nurses? (Please be realistic---I'd love to pay nurses lots of money, but y'all know that won't happen any time soon.)
Thanks for your input.

CapeCod Mermaid,

You know the answer to your question, it is in your last statement! The number one thing that attracts most nurses that I know is MONEY! Sure we want good benefits, great work environment etc., but we want to get paid what we are worth! Until all the facilities start realizing this, they are gonna have a difficult time attracting nurses! I am a dedicated nurse, but I did not struggle through years of school to make a low salary!

What made me go and apply for my current job is that they listed a retention bonus in the paper and they also listed the salary range.

Good Luck,

Mytoon38

marjoriemac, LPN · Jul 13, 2007

The pay is not a problem here in the UK as it is generally better than in NHS but we in LTC seem to have low status amongst nurses, we also have more stress, a lot of backstabbing and of course the big problem is heresay. Folk hear what a home is like from people on the street and make their judgement there and then

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jul 15, 2007

I think if you really look at a generic description of what an RN does and then compare it to what staff nurses actually do, you'll find a lot of it lacking. I think that contributes to the disappointment that eventually starts playing around in nurses minds. We were trained to be more than give basic nursing care and work under stress. We have other skills as well.

One of the things that kept me going back to LTC time and time again (I primarily worked in acute care hospitals although I started in LTC) was the autonomy. When I went into a LTC to work I was often allowed (after discussing what I saw needed with the DON) to get actively involved in organizing the way the CNA staff was carrying out the care. I'm talking about setting up the patient and CNA daily assignments that were done on a daily basis, organizing the lists of which patients got vital signs and showers and on what days, creating pre-printed fax forms for myself and the other charge nurses to use when notifying doctors to help save time writing, reorganizing and labeling the medication cart, and my big project was often getting the doctor's orders organanized (every chart having the necessary standing orders for certain things and orders for other stuff long since unnecessary cleaned out). That is a form of patient and staff management that I found attractive and went a tad beyond the day to day nursing tasks. One of the problems plaguing most staff nurses is the amount of work they have to do, usually involving patients, for which they get no recognition. For people who are creative and good at organization LTC that allows them to spread their wings like this and will make them a happy niche for them to fly.

I also felt that while I was initially trained as a supervisor in the acute hospital, my skill to deal with difficult (probably should reword that as challenging) people, and I'm specifically talking about CNAs, was really honed in LTC. Most acute hospital RNs do not have the opportunity to participate at all in the yearly evaluations or the discipline of the people they supervise.

If anything, I think LTC is a proving ground for staff nurses who are looking to get their feet wet at being in charge with eventual movement into management positions. I think LTC downplays the importance of the power and importance that the charge nurse position holds. It's not "just" a charge nurse job; it's really an important leadership position that is not given it's due importance because the actual nursing duties override it. However, the true training of RNs is to be in leadership positions.

deleern · Jul 15, 2007

Daytonite... Well said. I stay in LTC because of "autonomy" Fexability of my Schedule. I worked full time and went to school full time and the worked around my school Schedule. so i was able to advance to an RN.

Its not all about money... (it helps) be creative. you will be surprised

banditrn · Jul 20, 2007

CapeCod - what on EARTH were you thinking of, girl?!! I thought you had enough of that!

Well, good luck to you - wish I could come work for you!

Simplepleasures · Jul 20, 2007

I dont know if your post is asking about nurse managers only, but a definate plus to a floor nurse would be a good working relationship between mangement and a good union .