Here’s how to sell’ your ED to nurses
Are you finding that even with hefty sign-on bonuses, you are losing nurses to competitors? The way you interview can mean the difference between a nurse choosing your facility or another, says Patti R. Zuzelo, EdD, RN, CS, assistant professor at La Salle University School of Nursing in Philadelphia, and per diem nurse in the emergency trauma care department at Abington (PA) Memorial Hospital. "Effective interviewing skills are critical for successfully recruiting desirable nurse applicants," she stresses. "Nurses may participate in multiple interviews and have several job offers from which to choose."
Given the highly competitive workplace, declining numbers of available nurses, and the aging of the nursing work force, you must put your "best foot forward" during interviews, says Zuzelo. "Treat each interview as a critically important event in the process of attracting qualified nurses to the ED," she urges.
Tell them you help nurses grow
Here are ways to use the interview process to recruit nurses:
• Make it clear that you value nurses. Nurses want to know that if hired, they will be seen as a critical contributor to quality patient care, says Zuzelo. Experienced nurses are interested in professional opportunities that include support for certification and trauma education, says Zuzelo. "They want to participate in multidisciplinary working groups, engage in research, and contribute to decision making within the context of their practice environment," she adds. Ask applicants about their interests in those areas, and be prepared to candidly discuss professional growth opportunities, says Zuzelo.
• Demonstrate support for inexperienced nurses. Newly licensed nurses and nurses without acute-care experience often are interested in ED nursing, but believe that they first need a generalist medical-surgical practice experience, says Zuzelo. "You should be aware of this ambivalence and discuss the support systems available in the ED for new nurses," she says. She points to mentoring relationships, classroom and clinical orientation time, and a gradual increase in patient responsibilities, but warns that these supports must actually be in place. "Otherwise, the organization will spend significant dollars recruiting and orienting a new nurse, only to lose him or her due to overwhelming clinical situations, clinician disappointment, and discouragement," she says.
• Send thank-you notes. Immediately after an interview, send letters to applicants thanking them for their time and interest, says Zuzelo. "The letters should be personalized and should mention the mutual benefits of an employment arrangement," she explains.
• Keep unique needs in mind. For some nurses, work flexibility and scheduling control are more important than salary, says Zuzelo. "For others, compensation issues, performance bonuses, tuition reimbursement, and educational opportunities are key variables when considering employment opportunities," she says.
Focus on the applicant’s individual priorities and interests, says Susan Conn, RN, MS, director of clinics/emergency services for Denton (TX) Regional Medical Center. "When I am interviewing a prospective nurse, I try to determine exactly what he or she is seeking in the new position," she says. Conn asks nurses what they liked about their previous job and what they would have changed. "Then I try to offer them information regarding those issues rather than bombard them with generic information that they are not interested in," she says.
• Have the applicant speak to other nurses. Conn suggests having prospective nurses speak with nurses working in your ED. "I introduce them to the nurses and doctors who are available at the time," she says. "Often, that introduction leads into other discussion."
Recently, a nurse Conn was interviewing mentioned that she was homesick. "I asked her where she was from, and it turned out to be a small town in East Texas," she says. Coincidentally, three ED staff members also were from that area, so Conn introduced the nurse to those individuals. "She was very excited to meet people who were very familiar with the area that she was from and even knew some of the same families," she says. Conn acknowledges that this was an unusual experience, but ED nurses often will engage the applicant in conversation. "If nothing else, it lets the prospective employee see folks other than the director and get a feel for how it might be to work here," she says.
Zuzelo suggests having an ED nurse contact potential hires and establish preliminary relationships. "Naturally, this should be a positive employee who is sincerely interested in this activity," she cautions.
Nurses who have been with your ED for years are the best people to "sell" it to the prospective applicant, says Conn. "Additionally, it sends a message to the applicant that something must be OK here for all of these people to stay for such a long time," she says.
Sources
For more information about incentives for nursing staff, contact:
• Susan Conn, RN, MS, Emergency Services, Denton Regional Medical Center, 3535 Interstate 35, Denton, TX 76210. Telephone: (940) 384-3505. Fax: (940) 384-4710. E-mail: [email protected].
• Patti R. Zuzelo, EdD, RN, CS, La Salle University, School of Nursing, 1900 W. Olney Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19141. Telephone: (215) 951-1904. Fax: (215) 951-1896. E-mail: [email protected].
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