Nine Selling Points to Attract NPs and PAs to Your Hospital

In a competitive job market, it pays to stand out! We have nine selling points you can use to show candidates what's so great about working for your hospital or clinic.

We love helping hiring managers win the hearts of talented Advanced Practice Providers. If you're looking to attract the best, here's how to set your organization apart from the competition.

1) Support Autonomy and Full Practice Authority for Your NPs and PAs.

Career-minded nurse practitioners and physician assistants want opportunities to practice to the fullest extent of their education and training. If your organization is in a Full Practice Authority state, that's a big selling point. You can also highlight the ways your hospital bylaws and leadership structure give your NPs and PAs autonomy to evaluate patients, diagnose, order and interpret tests, and initiate and manage treatments within their allowable scope of practice. During the interview process, explain to candidates how your organization handles management and oversight, bylaws, HR practices, and other operational business functions in ways that help them practice to their full scope of authority.

2) Highlight the Financial Strength of Your Organization

More and more hospitals are shifting to incentive models and bonus structures to compensate their APPs. Some adopt merit-based models tied to APP contributions and others base their bonus structure on relative value units (RVUs). Empower your NPs and PAs with the information they need to be productive and profitable for your organization. For example, are your APPs able to bill independently of a physician? What are your expectations for billing and coding? Do you provide your APPs with visibility into their RVUs, billings, and collections? Are they privy to the financial strength of your organization? The more financial transparency your organization provides to your APPs, the more effectively they'll be able to contribute to your bottom line.

3) Show Off Your Advanced Practice Structure

Having an Advanced Practice Structure at your organization is a big selling point. This is a staffing and management model that is designed to formally recognize and support APPs in leadership roles. Don't be shy about selling the ways your reporting structures, leadership roles and hospital processes are designed with the needs of your APPs in mind. Studies show that Advanced Practice Structure leads to greater job satisfaction among APPs, improved productivity and better patient care. For more, including 11 Signs of a Successful Advanced Practice Hospital, check out our APRN & PA Leadership page.

4) Open Up About Your Strong Orientation Program

NPs and PAs are essential to a healthcare team as leaders and decision-makers. They appreciate employers that help them grow into the role with support, a gradual patient load, and a deliberate orientation program. Does your organization have a strong orientation program? If so, talk it up in your interviews with candidates. They'll want to know that during the first three to six months you'll help clear a path for their success. This might include providing a mentor, encouraging socialization with peers, introducing them to key decision-makers, allowing for professional time, and a formal plan for helping them achieve their professional goals.

5) Push Opportunities for Professional Development

Prove to your NP and PA candidates that their professional development is your priority. In what ways will you help them achieve their career goals and keep honing their skills and knowledge? Maybe you have an APP council and leadership roles set aside for APRNs and PAs. Or perhaps you offer a formal leadership program with opportunities to serve on cross-functional teams. How about funding for continuing education and professional conferences each year? What about opportunities to publish or take a faculty track? Of course, patient care comes first. However, it's also important to show your APPs you value other aspects of their role. Clearing a way for them to participate in activities like performance improvement, medical education, training, committee work, and research is a great way to show your support.

6) Tell Them About Your Team Approach

Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants want to be recognized as key players on your multidisciplinary healthcare teams. That's why they'll love an opportunity to shadow or round with your team during an interview. Allow them to see the mutual respect and professional courtesy colleagues have for one another. Share ways your leadership fosters bi-directional communication among staff, administration, and leadership. Perhaps most importantly, help them see that there is a clear role definition for Advanced Practice Providers and that their autonomy and authority is supported at all levels of the organization.

7) Don't Compromise on Your Compensation Package

If your organization offers higher than average starting salaries, that will naturally be a key selling point for any candidate. In reality, most employers are limited in what they can offer. That's why it's important to highlight the total compensation package with your candidates. In general, benefits are worth an additional 22-30% over the base salary. A savvy candidate will weigh the value of your retirement package, paid vacation, protected time, health insurance, and reimbursements - as well as the cost of living - before accepting an offer. Help them appreciate all the tangible and intangible benefits you have to offer.

8) Share Their Concerns Over Schedules

Your scheduling practices can have a positive or negative impact on Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants who want to have flexibility and a positive work-life balance. Discuss your organizations scheduling practices and policies, specifically as it relates to understanding your practitioners needs for flexibility. For APPs in managerial roles, protected time (sometimes called administrative time) is a huge selling point. This is time set aside to during the workday to accomplish managerial and professional development responsibilities. APPs who receive protected time are more engaged and happier at work than their peers.

9) Location, Location, Location

Candidates who are considering relocation want to know as much about your city as they do about your job. As part of their on-site interview, we suggest that you set them up with a local realtor for a tour of the city, including reputable neighborhoods, shopping districts, and community centers. This will provide a great impression and help your candidate envision their new life when they accept your job offer.

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

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