People pursuing a nursing career may decide to seek employment at any stage of their career, whether a healthcare assistant, support worker, staff nurse, or ward manager. Nursing recruiters responsible for staffing may be located internally, such as at a doctor’s surgery or in a hospital. Ward managers may recruit employees according to the needs of the department or the ward. Nursing recruiters may also be located at independent recruitment nursing agencies or act as third party recruiters.
The role of the nursing agency
Nursing agencies may specialise in the nursing roles or nursing environments that they promote. The aim of nursing agencies is to match the needs of businesses, health trusts and organisations and healthcare professionals with nursing candidates seeking employment. The employers detail their staffing needs while nursing candidates list their preferences for work, their qualifications and experiences. Nursing agencies offer services that may include:
l recruitment
l job vacancies
l placement
l training
l healthcare industry updates
Nursing recruitment as an industry means that nursing agencies or internal recruitment departments in healthcare settings may be approved for healthcare recruitment practice by the Department of Health (DoH), Care Quality Commission (CQC), the REC Nurses and Carers Specialist Group, and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).
Online nursing recruitment
Many nursing agencies or nursing recruiters have websites with online facilities to advertise and apply for nursing jobs in specific locations or nursing environments. Other search criteria may be by specialism, by contract or by salary expectation. Specialisms may include health visitors, neonatal nurses, general nurse, practice nurse, registered nurses (RN), and nurses with specific skills such as aesthetics, IV Therapy, cardiology, or theatre. Contracts may be temporary, permanent or assignment.
Registering with nursing agencies or nursing recruiters online makes it easier for organisations to recruit and for candidates to apply for a number of roles that may be of interest or within their specialist field. Large employers, such as the NHS, have a careers website through which individuals can register their nursing interests. Interested parties may choose to register not by agency but by employer through their website.
Becoming a Nursing Recruiter
Depending on skills and experience, people interested in a career as a nursing recruiter may opt to either do so independently, such as with a recruitment nursing agency, or internal within a healthcare setting, such as a hospital or social care environment.
Nursing recruiters have certain competencies, such as attention to detail, organisation, communication skills, flexibility, healthcare knowledge, research and marketing skills. Qualified and experienced nurses sometimes opt to become nursing recruiters because of their understanding of the healthcare environment. Those with only recruitment backgrounds need to have training in the healthcare industry to recruit effectively.
Nursing recruiters also may work in different environments to achieve employment outcomes. For example, a recruiter working in a Health Centre may only work day hours while a recruiter in a hospital setting may be required to work shifts to be able to liaise with Ward Managers.