Hiring plan development and implementation

¶ … strategy for recruiting nurses for the acute care units.

is facing a particularly acute shortage of registered nurses (AACCN, 2011). This is especially true for the specialized and highly trained nurses who work in the intensive care unites, emergency rooms and operating rooms. This trend has been noted to threaten to significantly decrease the level of access as well as undermine the quality of healthcare provision in the nation. Since 1999, the nurse vacancy rates have been noted to have increased to over 60% in all hospitals (AACCN,2011; Upenieks,2003).

Health care is also noted to be an integral element of a country's economy and this is likely to continue for the next couple of years as the population of the country continues to age and the demand for the specialized healthcare services grows. Trained and registered nurses are an integral element of nation's health care delivery process and its should be the primary responsibility of the health care providers to attract, recruit and retain the most qualified nursing staff with the necessary knowledge and experience to provide clinical care as well as emotional support to all patients. Nursing recruitment is therefore an important element of the nursing profession.

Determine the differentiating factors that are necessary for meeting the needs of candidates

In order to recruit the most suitable nurses for acute care units, it is important for the recruiting agency or body to have an in-depth understanding of the merits and demerits of the work environment as compared to the available options. It is necessary to conduct surveys in order to gather information about the work environment. The information can be gathered through meetings and focus groups as well. Formal surveys musty be carried out among the nursing candidates as to assess their perceptions on the available employment options as well as to help in the adequate identification of the gaps that the given organization can focus on in order to improve the gaps as well as how they are perceived in the marketplace.

Identification of the communication outlets

For the nursing recruitment to be effective, the employed recruitment strategies must be an efficient method of connecting with all the nurses. An effective communication channel must be identified. The initial step involves the identification of all the characteristics of the appropriate target audience (such as the area of specialty in nursing, years of experience as well as the types of facilities that the nurses have (social media and trade journals ) in regards to cost and outreach (the number of likely candidates who may see the messages).

Formation of strategic partnerships

Schools as well as trade organizations may be used as perfect opportunities for establishing relationships that can be used in raising the awareness of various nursing employment opportunities. The provision of clinical settings for the nursing students as well as sponsoring of educational as well as training programs is important in ensuring that a strong bond is established with the nursing students, who with time will become part of the nursing workforce. The provision of internship opportunities as well as educational learning opportunities is important in the provision of experience as well as useful insights for the various organizations (Lopez-Bushnell et al.,2010).