Healthcare Recruiters and Hiring Managers, Start with Role Clarity

Healthcare Recruiters and Hiring managers who have clarity of the role of Nurse Practitioners (NPs) and Physician Assistants (PAs) can achieve their recruitment and retention goals. When there is role clarity for NPs and PAs in job descriptions during team interviews and when the provider joins the team,  the providers can choose satisfying roles  that provide a higher return on investment in the role. The roles of the NPs and PAs are integrated into the healthcare team to provide access to lower cost and higher quality healthcare, and  optimize healthcare models.  One of the challenges to recruitment and retention can be the lack of clarity of the role of the Advanced Practice Provider (APP including NPs and PAs).  Frequently, when APPs are hired into roles where either they or the team they work with do not have role clarity, the likelihood of a successful placement or longer term retention decreases.

APRN and PA Role Clarity, for Healthcare Recruiters

Effective hiring of NPs and PAs focuses on role clarity. The Canadian Academy of Health Sciences understand the importance of role clarity and utilization, With health care professionals at the frontline of service delivery, an examination of the utilization of health human resources (HHR) is required. This endeavor includes an investigation of the tasks and responsibilities outlined within each health profession; the configurations in which health professionals interact (referred to as models of care); and the educational, legal, regulatory, and economic contexts in which both scopes of practice and models of care are embedded. In response to the challenge of providing high-quality and accessible care, the scopes of practice of some health care professionals, such as pharmacists and nurse practitioners, have been extended and new professions and roles, such as pharmacy technicians and health navigators, have been developed in several jurisdictions across Canada. In some cases, however, these roles have been introduced without full articulation of how these new roles will be integrated into existing service delivery models or how they will impact the scopes of practice of existing health professions. Beyond extending scopes of practice for some health care professions, optimization of existing scopes of practice must be determined in alignment with the models of care in which they function.

Work with your Hiring Managers

Recruiters  who work closely with hiring managers to learn more about roles can feel rewarded when they meet their goals.  In another article by the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences they conclude that, In conclusion, our aim in this paper has been to gain a better understanding of role clarification processes in primary care teams in Quebec. Role clarification is a key determinant of interprofessional collaboration, with both an organizational and a professional component. As such, it is the responsibility of both the organization and the primary care team members. Interprofessional collaboration is a complex competency for clinical teams to acquire, and role clarification is one of the essential competencies they need to master.

Questions from Goal Oriented Healthcare Recruiters

Role clarity for NPs and PAs provides an opportunity for recruiters to produce higher acceptance and retention outcomes.  Meeting with hiring managers and  healthcare teams on a regular basis helps recruiters learn more about roles within each unit. Develop a specific set of  questions to discuss with hiring managers to build a job description as well as prepare the team for an interview.  Questions such as: To whom does the APP report? Do you believe the role is within the scope of practice? What are the responsibilities of the role? What is the role within the healthcare team? What is the relationship of the APP to the rest of the team? For an ambulatory role, does the practice provide an MA or LPN to take patient vitals for the APP?

Healthcare Job Descriptions

This information is then used to clarify the role when writing a job description to attract candidates who are looking for a work environment where they can practice to the top of their license. When coaching the team to interview the candidate, use this information to craft a common story about the team, their understanding of and support for the role, and the impact of  support from the team. This will attract strong candidates to the role. Attracting NPs and PAs to jobs can be challenging. DirectShifts works with recruiters and hiring managers to understand roles and team dynamics to find supportive healthcare work environments. APPs are attracted to work environments that value their contributions. When clinics and hospitals have role clarity, APPs feel supported, confident they have the opportunity to thrive in their roles. Contact DirectShifts to find job opportunities and to help healthcare recruiters find great candidates.

This article was originally published on Melnic by Jill Gilliland. Melnic was recently acquired by DirectShifts.