On Monday, we talked about the different types of medical specialties that you’ll need to be familiar with as a recruiter.
What you may not have realized, however, is that there are a variety of nursing certifications and positions, too! And as a recruiter, you’ll have to be familiar with them in order to deliver the sort of high-quality performance that we expect here at RTG Medical.
You’ll need to have a basic understanding of dozens of subspecialties, like “nurse anesthetist,” “labor and delivery nurse, “pediatric nurse,” and many more. While this can seem complicated to learn at first, it’s all essential knowledge for any medical recruiter.
Here are a few basic terms that any recruiter for RTG Medical should know about nursing:
- What nursing is: According to the American Nurses Association, “Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations.” As a recruiter, you’ll learn about many subspecialties and certification levels on-the-job, but regardless of the titles of the positions you’re placing, you’ll know that nursing is always about direct patient care.
- Registered Nurse (RN): A registered nurse is what most people probably think of when they think of the term “nurse.” An RN is an individual who has graduated from an accredited program at the college or university level (associate’s or bachelor’s degree) and who has also passed the NCLEX-RN licensing exam. Education requirements are more extensive for an RN versus other types of nurses, and RNs can carry out the care instructions determined by physicians, and may even supervise co-workers in other nursing positions.
- Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)/Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN): As a recruiter, you’ll place nursing professionals who are not RNs (or not yet RNs), but who nevertheless also work under the direct supervision of physicians. They also sometimes work under RNs. LPNs, like RNs, are educated and licensed. LPNs, however, train for their profession through a vocational training program, and then must pass the NCLEX-PN licensing exam before being allowed to practice.
- Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA): A CNA works under the direct supervision of an RN or LPN, and as a recruiter at RTG Medical, you may place them in positions that go by many different names. Depending on the healthcare facility, CNAs may be called “patient care assistants”, “nurse assistants”, “care technicians” or “nurse aids.” A CNA—by any name—assists with day-to-day patient care activities. Becoming a CNA, which does not require licensing but does involve training and certification, is often an entry-level healthcare position; many RNs and LPNs began their healthcare careers as CNAs while pursuing a nursing degree.
We’ve only covered the very beginning of what recruiters should know about nursing, but nonetheless, this is a good start. By becoming familiar with the different types of nurses, and the many different nursing education levels, you can provide a better experience for the nurses you interact with as an RTG Medical recruiter.
Do you have any questions about the kind of knowledge you’ll need as a recruiter for RTG Medical, or about the types of nurses we deal with? Don’t hesitate to contact us in the comments or on Twitter–we’d love to hear from you!
—
Leave a Reply