Nursing recruitment: do health care managers gear strategies to the appropriate audience?
Senior management at Guthrie Healthcare System, a regional referral center located in rural Pennsylvania, discovered several fascinating findings in its nursing recruitment research. Anticipating the consequences of the nursing shortage and seeking to avoid the entrapments of lucrative short-term recruitment enticements, Guthrie directed its recruitment efforts toward developing a supply of new nursing resources. Through the development of a career opportunity program that underwrites baccalaureate nursing education for qualified individuals, Guthrie management uncovered a vast supply of interested, potential nursing student candidates. Intrigued by the possibility of developing this market in the face of a dire nursing shortage, Guthrie Healthcare System management conducted an investigation to analyze the characteristics of these prospective nursing students. The findings of the study identify a large existing pool of qualified potential applicants. Most important, these individuals possess a true interest in nursing. This investigation suggests that removal of financial barriers to a nursing education uncovers a large market of nursing student candidates. Thus a reexamination of recruitment strategies is required to refocus efforts toward reaching this identified market.
Meyer
R H
RH
Guthrie Healthcare System, Sayre, PA.
Mannix
M N
MN
Costello
T F
TF
D002321:Career Choice; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate / Q000191:economics*; D004510:Education, Nursing, Diploma Programs; D004649:Employee Incentive Plans; D004651:Employment; D009042:Motivation; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010414:Pennsylvania; D010557:Personnel Administration, Hospital / Q000639:trends*; D010560:Personnel Selection / Q000639:trends*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014146:Training Support