Who better to recruit new nurses than a nurse? St. Joseph's/Candler in Savannah has taken this concept to heart, hiring registered nurses in the nursing resources department to do the day-to-day recruiting, from advertising placement to interviews and site visits.

"When a recruiter has worked directly with physicians and other staff in the type of job to be filled, she's much more familiar with the needs of that department and the type of person best suited to fill those needs," said Diane Hinely, RN, MSN, nurse manager for nursing resources at St. Joseph's/ Candler. "Because of the nursing shortage, we've really focused our hiring process for nurses. We function outside human resources, working one-onone with each department to find the right candidates for the positions."

Malissa Hutchinson, RN, works full time in the department. Kathy Cowart, RN, works there part time. Both are nurse/respiratory care professional recruiters who worked in a variety of clinical settings before moving into administration.

"It's important to have nurses in recruitment," Cowart said. "We have seen the floors and how they need to be staffed. When we do the pre-interviews with candidates, we can address both the clinical needs and the procedural requirements, because we've been there.

"It doesn't take long to pick up on what level of nurse you're dealing with."

Nurse recruiters frequently spend time on the road representing the hospital at career fairs, college campuses and conventions.

"We're the front line, the first person people meet," Hutchinson said. "Often we're giving the first impression of the system to candidates, and we serve as an ambassador for the hospital."

A nurse recruiter needs a different skill set than a nurse who works in a clinical setting.

"Computer skills, telephone skills and the ability to be really organized are really important," Hutchinson said. "You have to be able to keep track of a large number of people."

"Being intuitive is also vital," Cowart said. "You need to know what the managers want and be able to match personalities. Good interviewing skills are important, too."

The average salary for a nurse recruiter is between $55,000 and $60,000.

Hinely's department not only handles recruitment, it directs nurse resource programs, including clinical work for nursing students, classes for students, training for staff nurses and mentoring programs for new graduates.

"We're able to interface with the human resources department and bring best practices from nurse recruiting and human resources," Hinely said. "It's a good situation for everyone."