A Day in the Life of a Registered Nurse

The amount of variation between each shift as a registered nurse is incredible. New patients, new treatments, and new technologies dominate the ever-changing schedule of an RN; however, many of these nurses actually follow a similar pattern of tasks across the board. For anyone interested in taking on the role of registered nurse, here’s a peek into what your day might look like.

Communicate with Other Staff

When a nurse first clocks in to his or her shift, the previous nursing shift often gives a briefing on any important patient activities or incidents that might affect their treatment going forward. Then, the nurse will typically review the patient schedules for their shift, evaluate treatment plans for the day, and schedule any doctor’s visits or time slots for equipment usage. To wrap up the start of their shift, the nurse may check their work emails to see if there’s anything in their inbox that needs priority.

Make Patient Rounds

Once a nurse has settled into their shift, they’ll typically head out to make the first patient rounds of the day. This includes communicating with patients, actively listening to their needs, taking vitals, and recording everything in the patient chart. Patient rounds are also an important window for med passes, or the scheduled time to deliver medications to each patient. Depending on whether a nurse is working a morning or night shift, they may need to assist patients with their morning meal.

Take a Lunch Break

Lunch breaks aren’t a guarantee for registered nurses. They can certainly dedicate time to stepping away to reenergize with a meal, but medical emergencies always take priority. So, if any unexpected changes happen over a nurse’s lunch, they’ll have to address the situation and make time for meals at another point in the shift. Many nurses bring quick and simple snacks, like granola or protein bars, so they can take bites on the go.

Finish the Day

Wrapping up a nursing shift is similar to starting one. At the end of their workday, nurses often conduct their final patient rounds to check on any last-minute needs, conduct final med passes, and assist patients with their final meals if the shift ends around dinnertime. Typically, they’ll then brief the incoming nurses that will take over for the next shift and check over patient charts to make sure that every document is in order. The next shift can then fully relieve the nurse to head home and catch up on some well-earned rest.

Becoming a Registered Nurse

The role of a registered nurse is one of the most fulfilling ones on the job market. If you’re interested in taking on this challenging and rewarding career, partner with a healthcare recruiter that can pair you with the right facility. At HealthCare Support, we strive to place RN’s in the setting they’ll thrive in most, which is why we dedicate our days to understanding our talent force members and our partnering healthcare providers. If you would like more information or are interested in joining our growing talent force, call 407-478-0332.

6 Tips for Being a Leader in a Healthcare Workplace

Healthcare recruiters are trained to place even the most timid applicants in the roles that bring out their true potential as leaders. However, there are some candidates that need extra guidance to instill the right amount of confidence, so we’ve narrowed down six of our top tips to transform any healthcare worker into a healthcare leader.

Trust Yourself

A strong leader doesn’t just apply their skills and clinical expertise; they also consider the moral implications of their decisions. This type of mentality is what prevents leaders from turning the other cheek when they see inappropriate behavior coming from other staff members, and it’s what drives them to go the extra mile for their patients and peers.

Keep Learning

Even the most prominent leaders don’t know everything. The strongest healthcare leaders are those who take time to continue their education to improve the quality of care and overall performance. So, if you want to continue being an effective source of information, you’ll need to stay updated on everything changing in your industry.

Actively Listen

Leaders must possess the ability to direct others, but they also need to have strong listening skills. Beyond hearing what patients and staff are communicating, leaders in the healthcare industry must actively listen to uncover true solutions and improve the systems around them.

Ask Questions

The people around you might follow the direction you give, but you’ll never know what they think unless you ask. Consider asking your team how they feel about your leadership and if they have any feedback to improve your leadership style. By conferring with your team, you might even uncover new strategies or systems that can improve the everyday functions in your workplace.

Stay Positive

No matter how exhausted, annoyed, or upset they are, leaders are still the model for the team around them. If you want to step up into leadership, lead by example and show your coworkers that high-quality care takes priority no matter how many hours you are into a shift. As a leader, you should always strive to guide your coworkers by being a positive figure throughout every minute of your shift.

Find the Right Position

In the healthcare world, some people work best in specific areas, and finding these specific areas is essential to maximizing your capability as a leader. It might take time, but focus on landing the role in which you function best. To easily uncover the right position for your background, skills, and goals, partner with a healthcare recruiter.

The best leaders can function at maximum capacity when they’re in the right position, but finding that position isn’t always easy. With thousands of positions open at a time, it can be incredibly hard to narrow down your search. Fortunately, the healthcare recruiters at HealthCare Support can find the right positions and completely prepare you for the interview and onboarding process. If you’re interested in joining our candidate pool to find your niche in leadership, call 407-478-0332 today.

Finding Your Career with a Healthcare Recruiter

If you’re a job-seeking medical professional, you know the struggles of sending out applications. Because, no matter how familiar you are with finding the right opportunities, tailoring your resume, and waiting to hear back, you might still struggle to get your foot in the door.

Fortunately, there are professionals who dedicate their careers to helping others find theirs. Healthcare recruiters can provide you with professional tools and services to guide you to the right job opportunities. Here’s a closer look at how they can help you take the next steps in your career.

Save Time and Money

Stop spending hours searching through job openings and let a professional recruiter find the best ones for you. A healthcare recruiter matches you with the positions that fit technically and personally, which allows you to focus on perfecting interview skills and researching employers. You’ll also receive instant alerts when employers post relevant job listings.

And, the outstanding services and resources provided by recruitment agencies typically come at no cost to the applicants. So, there are no membership fees, additional expenses for specific resources, or extra costs to help you find the right job.

Find Your Best Advocate

Healthcare recruiters don’t only work with job-seeking candidates; they also work with actual employers. Recruiters partner with employers to match them with candidates that fit into their culture and meet their specific professional requirements.

If your resume fits a job posting provided by one of your recruiter’s partners, they’ll be your biggest champion in recommending you for the position and fully preparing you for an interview.

Develop a Mentorship

Before every interview, a professional recruiter coaches you on how to handle the conversation. The recruiter asks practical questions that could appear in your interview, and you’ll receive guidance on how to best answer each one.

Once you start working in the right position, you can still count on your recruitment agency for support throughout the hiring and employment process. Whether you need help preparing for your first day on the job or want some feedback down the line, the right agency is always on call.

Join Our Talent Network

Recruiting agencies want you to succeed as a candidate, because it’s what grows their business. Placing the wrong candidate in the wrong position reflects poorly on recruiters, so they strive to put you in the perfect position that matches your skills, qualifications, and goals.

At HealthCare Support, we strive to help our candidates make the biggest and best steps in their careers. And our recruiting professionals are available with additional advice and encouragement long after you’ve settled into the right position. To join our talent network or speak with one of our healthcare recruiters, call us today at 407-478-0332.

The Importance of Screening Candidates

Your employees are the heart of your medical center, which means that each person on your team must be a valuable and qualified asset. But, finding the right applicants is an incredibly time-consuming task that you may not have time to properly prioritize.

The best way to prevent the wrong candidates from ever settling into your workforce is to work with a healthcare recruiter that knows how to find and recommend the best candidates through applicant screening. During these preliminary phone calls, recruiters assess the capabilities and personality of each applicant to determine the strongest ones to recommend for an in-person interview. Here’s a peek at how this process works and the areas it will improve around your healthcare facility.

Employee Performance

By understanding an applicant’s experience, qualifications, and salary requirements, a staffing agency determines if he or she meets the initial requirements of the position. This is the most crucial step in the phone screening process, because it eliminates unqualified candidates from ever reaching a face-to-face interview at your facility. A staffing firm evaluates if an applicant is qualified by asking questions such as:

  • “Can you describe your educational background?”
  • “Can you describe your professional experience?”
  • “What active medical certifications or licenses do you currently have?”

Company Culture

During initial phone screenings, a staffing consultant also asks a mixture of open-ended questions and questions provided by your facility to understand if the candidate fits in with your company culture. Behavioral questions to determine the candidate’s workplace preferences determine whether he or she is compatible with the mission, vision, and values of your center. A staffing firm evaluates personality by asking questions such as:

  • “What type of leadership style do you respond best to?”
  • “Are you looking for long-term employment or short-term?”
  • “Are you interested in growth opportunities in your workplace?”
  • “Do you plan on furthering your education?”

Facility Operations

A staffing agency will properly screen applicants to alleviate the need for your human resource department or medical executives to scan resumes and conduct wasteful interviews with unqualified candidates. By referring this responsibility to an experienced healthcare recruiter, your employees can put more focus on their own operations, improve the functions of your healthcare facility, and effectively evaluate the recommended applicants during the final interview.

Employee Turnover

Because staffing firms only recommend qualified and personally relevant applicants to your facility, you are more likely to hire candidates that will excel in their positions and completely fulfill their short- or long-term requirements. And, when less employees are shuffling in and out of your facility, you’ll notice a decrease in costs that come with additional training, temporary hires, and job advertisements.

Experienced Healthcare Recruiters

Perfecting your healthcare facility starts with your next hire. Luckily, the HealthCare Support team can place the perfect professionals in your healthcare facility through employment verification, reference checks, education verification, and more. Thanks to our multi-step screening process, you can feel confident that each applicant we recommend is qualified to excel in his or her job duties and blend in with your existing team of medical professionals. To learn more, visit our website at www.HealthCareSupport.com.