106 EHM | RECRUITMENT
Joelle Lofaso, Director of Talent Management, Staffing and Recruitment at Cleveland Clinic, gives us her thoughts on the issues currently facing healthcare recruitment.
Staffing appropriately in challenging times
What are the main recruitment challenges currently facing the US healthcare sector? Joelle Lofaso. The main challenges for nursing recruitment are to ensure a balance of experienced nursing staff along with the new nurses and to be equipped with experienced staff when the seasoned nurses start to retire. The projections show there are not enough new nurses in the nation’s pipeline to replace our seasoned staff that may be leaving the workforce in the next 10-15 years. Nursing recruitment was particularly hit by the recession, with new graduates often fi nding it hard to fi nd the jobs they wanted last year. What is the current situation at Cleveland Clinic with regard to recruiting nurses? Cleveland Clinic is continuing to hire nursing staff as needed for patient care. We have had an increased focus on hiring experienced nurses for many areas to ensure we have the right balance of seasoned staff for our high acuity patients. We also have positions for new graduates once they obtain licensure. Because of the number of new graduates applying, managers are able to interview a number of candidates to select the highest caliber new graduate. How much of a challenge is it to find more experienced nurses, who may have been unwilling to switch jobs during difficult economic times? JL. At times it has been challenging, but we have developed some creative approaches to this. We have been using social media more: we have a specialist on our team who focuses on utilizing social media channels to recruit. We are also using video job advertising which gives us a different way to market our positions on the web and on cable TV. These have positioned us to be successful in fi lling positions in needed areas such as ambulatory nursing and cardiothoracic surgery. How much emphasis do healthcare organizations place on developing staff internally rather than hiring externally? Has this changed due to the recent economic conditions? JL. Cleveland Clinic has always had a strong emphasis on developing our internal staff and hiring from within. We continue to support our internal staff by providing strong tuition reimbursement for those returning to school. For both employees we develop from within or
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“The main challenges for nursing recruitment are to ensure a balance of experienced nursing staff along with the new nurses and to be equipped with experienced staff when the seasoned nurses start to retire”
bring in externally, we offer a variety of benefits including flexible working arrangements for our nurses and a generous tuition reimbursement program, and we pay for nurses’ certifications. What do you see as the future direction of recruitment within the healthcare industry? JL. Organizations will need to stay on top of looking at the mix of hiring experienced nurses and new graduates. Hospitals and other healthcare organizations will need to look at workforce planning as the economy turns around and as the average age of nurses increases to be certain they are poised with trained staff when seasoned staff begin to change status or retire.
14/07/2010 15:47