How to Choose the Best Nursing Jobs?

Choosing the best nursing jobs can be a complex process. When looking for jobs, it is essential to consider the employer’s comprehensive health and benefits package. For instance, compensation, health insurance, death benefits, tuition assistance, morale, and welfare.

*I may earn a small commission from affiliates listed in this article. Please review their privacy when you visit their pages*

It is vital to consider the employer’s performance, local and global impact. Besides, nurses should evaluate the prospective employer’s plan for physical security, psychological safety, morale, and welfare. Staff development and salary are also crucial because they impact employees’ commitments to employers.

Make an Impact on the Best Nursing Employer

Healthcare is the biggest employer in the United States. According to labor statistics, nurses make up a large percentage of the job market. When choosing the best nursing jobs, nurses should understand their added value to the organization. The best nursing employers are willing to negotiate salaries to hire and retain experienced nurses with expertise in their respective specialty. 

Evaluate the Performance of the Best Nursing Employer

Nurses should conduct some research on the prospective nursing employer. For example, look up financial statements or local and global impact on the healthcare industry. Nurses can obtain financial statements directly from the company’s website.

A financial statement validates the organization’s performance and ability to allocate resources to support its vision and mission. A healthcare organization with a strong financial report is most likely able to invest in innovation and staff development. 

Identify the Best Nursing Employer’s Vision and Mission

It is essential for nurses to identify prospective employers’ vision and mission. For example, vision and mission guide organizations’ strategic planning. If the vision is to be a highly reliable or trusted institution, then you should expect resource allocations to promote a Just Culture environment.

Those organizations will provide nurses robust training about patient safety initiatives based on National Patient Safety Goals – NPSG and professional accountability. A patient safety program is vital when looking for the best nursing jobs.

If the mission is to provide excellent care to all patients, nurses should expect the healthcare employer to invest in the delivery of care. Thus, an employer might invest in clinical documentation innovation, staff retention program, hiring campaign and safe staff to patient ratios. 

Identify Local Impact of the Best Nursing Employer

It is very important to obtain significant information about the best nursing employer. For instance, nurses can obtain clinical performance data at hospital compare to compare the organization’s rank among competitors. For other entity like nursing homes, rehab, home care, you can look up data in accreditation website or Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services- CMS

• Local Impact: Nurses should identify the employer’s involvement in the community. This information is usually disclosed on the healthcare employer’s website. When organizations engage with local citizens, residents will start building trust in that employer. For instance, some local hospitals offer free health screening and access to care for a low fee or at no cost. Community involvement can also influence external investments and donations. 
• Healthcare Access: Some residents might not have access to healthcare, so a free community health screening can have a significant impact on them. Thus, the customer’s voice is also valuable when choosing the best nursing jobs. It is essential to ask local residents their impressions about the prospective employer or review local business reports for feedback.

Evaluate Employer’s Global Impact

• Global Impact: Nurses can look up data about the prospective employer’s national rankings, publications, clinical research, and national contribution. In addition, nurses should review performance awards, accreditation survey performance, magnet status are also important.
• Clinical Services and Level of Care: Nurses should decide if they want to work at a teaching hospital or non-teaching facilities. Teaching organizations support staff development. For instance, a group of medical students, interns, medical residents, fellows, and Attending Physicians are often present around the clock. This staffing model will enable nurses to address patients’ issues promptly.

Assessment of Subacute and Other Level of Care Settings

The subacute setting is a step down from acute care, so providers are not always in the facility. They are often available remotely. In addition, ambulatory care is an outpatient setting, and there are specific criteria to receive outpatient care. Those patients are often less complex and able to commute to receive care.

Some employers establish a maximum weight for outpatient populations. Therefore, labor might be less intensive in comparison to inpatient and long term care settings. The best healthcare employers prioritize staff and Patient Safety. Home care and other settings have fewer restrictions. Therefore, nurses can evaluate the advantages before choosing the best nursing jobs.

Physical Security and Psychological Safety

Nurses should drive to the location days before an interview to assess the geographic location, traffic and security. Moreover, they can assess building appearance, accessibility, visitors access, patients flow, parking, roads and walkway conditions.

For psychological safety, it’s important to know if the organization has a plan for emergency management. For instance, active shooter, inclement weather and other threats.

It is crucial for nurses to ask the prospective employer about plans during inclement weather. Most nursing positions are essential. Thus, inpatient nursing staff must often report to work in hazardous conditions and during inclement weather. Some organizations will allow staff to shelter in place, provide meal and moral support to their staff during inclement weather.

Morale and Welfare Program

Moral and welfare can significantly impact nurses’ performance. On the job, welfare program promotes staff social engagement and involvement at work. For example, some of the best healthcare employers, establish dates for staff to celebrate the holidays with their peers. Some other organizations host an annual gala, picnic, and other group trips.

There is evidence in the littérature supporting that most nursing staff leave the workplace because of leadership. Thus, many people value morale over salary. Free gym access can have a positive impact on nurses.

Preparing to Interview for the Best Nursing Jobs

Nurses are valuable members of the healthcare industry, and the best nursing employers strive to retain outstanding nurses. When a nurse receives an appointment to interview, it means that leadership has some interest in the candidate.

It is crucial for nurses to prepare themselves to interview well and make the best impact on the interviewers’ panel. Therefore, it is important to review the data that you collected above.

It can be embarrassing when an interviewee does not have any knowledge about the future employer. Thus, it shows some lack of interest in the employer. It can be beneficial to practice an interview with a friend or someone prior to the interview date. Moreover, you should rest the day before and avoid stressors when possible.

Interview Strategies When Choosing the Best Nursing Jobs

It is often overwhelming to prepare for a nursing job interview. There are many successful strategies that can facilitate a successful interview for the best nursing jobs. Nurses should follow the following:

• Time: Punctuality is very crucial to many nursing employers because it validates the nursing candidate’s time management and respect for other people’s time.
• Appearance: It is no surprise that first impression matters, thus nurses should take advantage to promote themselves by dressing to impress – professional attire is highly recommended. (avoid wrinkled and dirty clothing)
• Communication: Nurses should introduce themselves and articulate clearly and professionally. ( avoid using jargon when speaking)
• Listening: Listening skills promote successful communication, thus nurses with listening skills possess the ability to process information before they engage in a conversation.
• Interview the interviewers: It is clever to ask the interviewing panel a few questions about the organization. For instance, ask about training and staff development, staff level, career advancement and nurse to patient ratio. Lastly, ask the panel how do they expect you to impact the organization. How do they rank themselves in the local and national markets?
• Closing Remarks: Nurses should close the interview professionally by thanking the panel for the interview. It is also vital to reassure the interviewers that you look forward to hearing from them. In addition, nurses should provide personal contact or additional information about themselves if necessary. Please avoid discussing your family, pregnancy, and transportation.
  

Negotiating Salaries for the Best Nursing Jobs

When negotiating salaries, nurses should consider all key elements in the job description. For instance, work hours, clinical versus non-clinical position, expected stress level and supervisory versus non-supervisory. Furthermore, nurses should discuss responsibilities i.e will you be available 24hr/7 days a week or will you be working off duty when you leave the job.

If the employee benefits package is attractive, nurses should professionally discuss salaries with the Human Ressources. However, nurses should focus the proposal on the workload and individual skills. It is best to discuss salary changes in writing. Thus, leadership will evaluate the information that you provided to support a request to increase your salary.

Nurses should highlight some of the unique skills that they possess to convince leadership. In addition, nurses should consider the cost of livings, commute, job attire and more. Please omit irrelevant information when negotiating for the best nursing jobs.

When negotiating a nursing salary, nurses should understand that leadership can reject the proposition. However, most of the best nursing employers will invest in nurses with outstanding clinical skills. It is acceptable to seek between eight to ten thousand when transitioning to a new job. Overall, nurses should negotiate salaries based on market research and data. (Bureau of Labor and Statistics)

Final Thoughts

choosing the best nursing jobs remains a complex process for most nurses. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, nurses should consider their physical security, psychological safety, morale, and welfare programs. The best nursing employers strive to recruit and retain nurses with exceptional skills and professional commitment.

Lastly, nurses should make a positive impact on interviewers. They can also negotiate nursing salaries based on job description requirements and professional experience. Please visit nursesophieconsulting to request career advice.

Job Hunt Checklist

Resume Template