Since 1991, every first Tuesday in June is recognized as National Healthcare Recruiter Recognition Day. This holiday marks a time to celebrate and recognize all the work healthcare recruiters do for nurses, organizations, and patients.
Over the last three years, healthcare recruitment has faced numerous challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the nurse staffing shortage. Despite these hurdles, you and your colleagues have demonstrated perseverance and ingenuity to create solutions to these recruitment challenges and more.
From prioritizing nurse safety to adapting interviews and events to a virtual format, you have shown your dedication to nurse leaders, colleagues, and applicants. After over three decades of celebrating this day, we want to show our appreciation for all you do to support healthcare staffing.
It’s important to remember that it takes talent to find talent. You possess a unique skill set that embraces the strengths and sees the potential in every candidate and applicant you encounter. The work you do in recruiting and staffing is what makes your role essential to health care.
Many responsibilities
Your role is very involved. You work full time, part time, and often overtime to fill roles in different settings. Whether small rural hospitals, large healthcare systems, or home-based care, you remain committed to recruitment and retention in any setting.
You’re also responsible for a multitude of tasks and functions. From establishing annual recruitment plans and budgets to working with your leadership team, you take the lead to ensure you’ve covered all aspects needed for effective recruitment. You also review resumes, set up interviews, and work on certifications and trainings as you evaluate each applicant for each job.
You’re also involved in onboarding, employee engagement programs, information sessions, and town halls. Most importantly, you’re a central source of support for new hires, nurse managers, and preceptors.
Many hats in recruitment
You’re a liaison, colleague, marketer, researcher, and brander. You’re tasked with setting up media-advertising campaigns, coordinating orientation plans, and staying current on technology and trends.
You’re also responsible for supporting managers and upper-level leadership. You counsel, listen, and sympathize. You encourage professional development and guide those uncertain about their career paths. You serve as a beacon to every level of your organization.
Among your many functions, you’ve also mastered the ability to pivot under pressure. In the early days of COVID-19, many recruiting processes were disrupted. But you moved swiftly and adapted old procedures into new ones. For example, in the past, you would conduct in-person interviews, but you modified these meetings to be virtual, considering the health and safety of those around you. Even now, you use your best judgment when planning and executing in-person activities to ensure the health and safety of all involved is top of mind. You navigate every obstacle with grace and resourcefulness to achieve the best outcomes.
Healthcare recruitment is integral
The need for nurses has grown over the last few years and has only continued to increase due to COVID-19. And this need is predicted to grow even more in the years ahead.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the job outlook for nurses is now expected to grow 6% from 2021 to 2031. As this growth continues, so will the need for healthcare recruiters. In fact, BLS projects nearly 1.9 million job openings each year from 2021 to 2031 in health care. From these numbers, your role will continue to be vital to the future of healthcare recruitment.
And let’s not forget the impact your professional organization — the National Association for Health Care Recruitment (NAHCR) — has had on your field. The role it plays in providing leadership, support, advocacy, education, professional development, and networking for you and your colleagues is invaluable.
No matter how you’re recognized — whether it’s a phone call from a recent applicant or a thank-you note from a nurse manager, administrator, or leader, celebrate all your accomplishments, and remember how necessary your work really is.
Your role is integral to not just the nursing profession but to all of health care. We at Nurse.com want to thank you for what you bring to healthcare recruitment. Happy National Healthcare Recruiter Recognition Day!
Editor’s Note: This post was originally posted in May 2022 and has been updated with new content.