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7-Steps to Retention
A Key Part of Your Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Recruitment Plan
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Across the nation, efforts are underway by physician groups and hospitals to deal with the extreme shortage of physicians. Experts indicate that there is now a shortage of as much as 30% in primary care alone. Many believe that healthcare reform will result in even greater shortages.
One-way physician groups and hospitals are coping is by hiring more nurse practitioners. According to Time Magazine (August 3, 2009), nurse practitioner’s lower costs (the cost of an NP visit is 20-30% lower than the average cost of a physician visit), are more patient focused and have an emphasis on preventive medicine. They also fill a void when a physician cannot be recruited. In addition, nurse practitioners increase group productivity and free-up physicians to spend more time on higher-level patient care management cases.
With groups and hospitals scrambling to recruit specialized nurse practitioners such as PNP’s, the importance of incorporating a retention plan into your recruitment efforts has never been more critical.
There are many steps in retaining PNP’s to your practice. Here are several steps that will aid in your recruitment process.
Step 1 – Define: Retention efforts need to begin early in the recruitment process-even before you introduce the opportunity to your first candidate. Before you begin to look for candidates, define your opportunity. Define the qualifications necessary, work expectations, and compensation and benefits. Be sure to have your employment contract ready to present, adequate space for the new PNP’s office, and any support staff hired. Phone-screen candidates to rule out those that do not meet your ideal candidate profile.
Step 2 – Prepare: A full day is recommended for the duration of the in-person interview. Take time to plan your candidates’ interviews and specifically gear it towards their individual needs. The morning of the interview, introduce the candidate to your group members, staff and conduct an office tour. In the afternoon, the PNP candidate can job-shadow other PNP’s or providers in your practice. Provide information regarding your community including realtor contacts if the candidate will be relocating to your area. The more opportunities your candidate has to feel a personal connection with someone, the higher your rate of success will be.
Step 3 – Gather feedback: Once the interview is complete, gather feedback from everyone involved in the site visit. Candidates will sometimes share concerns with someone they feel comfortable with during the visit. Be sure to follow-up with the candidate to answer their questions and address concerns.
Step 4 – Follow-up: Once an offer has been extended and accepted, it is critical to stay in contact with the new PNP until they begin practice. Usually touching base with them every week to two weeks is appropriate.
Step 5 – Welcome: Once your new PNP arrives and is ready to start, celebrate his/her arrival. Hold a welcome breakfast or lunch with staff on their first day. Facilitate an open house and invite your patients and the community to meet the new PNP.
Step 6 – Orientation: It is critical to provide a thorough orientation to your practice and your affiliated hospital if the PNP will be doing inpatient work. Assign a mentor in your practice to oversee the orientation and onboarding of the new PNP. A nurse manager or senior staff PNP would be a good choice. Make it known that the new PNP can seek any assistance they may need from that point person.
Step 7 – Secure: Now that your new PNP has been successfully recruited and oriented, it is important to keep the lines of communication open. Ongoing follow-up with the new PNP weekly for the first month, monthly for the first six months, every six months for the first two years and then annually is critical. Make sure the position has met their expectations.
The key to PNP retention is to maintain regular contact with your PNP, staying abreast of how they are adjusting and anticipating any problems that may develop. For more information regarding the PNP recruitment and retention process, please contact Melnic Consulting at 800-886-7906. Visit our website at: www.melnic.com.
Copyright © 2011 Melnic Consulting Group
Telephone:: 800.886.7906 Email: Jill@Melnic.com