Welcome to the Healthcare Career Category where you’ll find information on career management, jobs and professional networking for nurses, physicians and allied health professionals.

5 Things that New Grad RNs and Experienced RNs Should Know About the Job Market

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A New Grad RN recently shared their frustration with us regarding the difficulties encountered in finding a first job. Having spoken to many New Grad RNs over the years, we know how frustrating it can be for them to land their first job with an acute care hospital. These days, many people point to uncertainty surrounding the Affordable Care Act as the cause. However, our experience indicates that New Grad RNs have been having this difficulty since at least 2006. While the problem has certainly been magnified since 2008, we’re not sure how much of it can be attributed to the Affordable Care Act. The poor economy and an overall misunderstanding of the “nursing shortage” are more likely causes. Understanding the issues at play can help New Grad RNs formulate a strategy for landing their first job in an acute care hospital. Read more

Sample Nursing Skills Checklist

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Skills checklists are self assessment tools utilized by healthcare employers and healthcare professionals for gauging a healthcare professional’s skill set within a particular healthcare specialty. Healthcare employers often require potential job candidates and new-hires to complete them. They are a standard requirement for employment with travel nursing agencies and healthcare staffing agencies of all types. Skills checklists can also be very useful for healthcare professionals interested in determining their own expertise within their healthcare specialty, for identifying areas of future career growth, and for getting an edge in the hiring process. BluePipes provides members with free access to over 100 comprehensive skills checklists which can be completed, saved, downloaded as a PDF file and utilized at the member’s discretion. Below is a sample BluePipes skills checklist for an ICU nurse. Join BluePipes today; it’s free and easy! Read more

6 Considerations about the Geography of the Nursing Shortage

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Geography and/or regional issues are often cited when referring to the nursing shortage. The idea is that certain areas of the country have a surplus of nurses while other areas of the country are faced with severe shortages. The net result is an overall nursing shortage. These regional imbalances lead to recommendations that nurses, especially those having difficulty landing a job, should seek employment opportunities in regions exhibiting shortages. However, others contend that such recommendations maybe without merit. Understanding the issues at play will help nurses form a clearer picture of the nursing labor market and possibly assist them with their job searches. Read more

Median Staff RN Salary VS. Top 10% by Specialty

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This Infographic displays a comparison between median Staff RN salaries and the top 10% of Staff RN salaries by specialty. Remeber, the median is the numerical value separating that higher half of the data sample from the lower half of the sample. In other words, 50% of Staff RNs make more than the median salary and 50% make less than the median salary. This is much different than the average Staff RN salary. Read more

Average RN Salary by Specialty 2013

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This Infographic shows national average RN salaries in the year 2013 for 11 common nursing specialties. It’s important to remember that these figures are estimates compiled from several different reporting sources and methods. However, the figures do provide a general idea of the overall market. Read more

4 Great Uses for Nursing “Skills Checklists”

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Healthcare professionals face a unique and difficult challenge when measuring and conveying their skill sets. This is largely due to the vast array of skills that encompass a given healthcare specialty. Consider the difference between the skill sets of a general professional, like a sales professional, and a healthcare professional, like an ICU nurse. While I’m sure that the sales professional could develop a nice list of desirable skills, I’m positive that this list would in no way compare to the voluminous list of diagnostic, equipment, medication, procedural, age related, and condition related skills that the ICU nurse must maintain. Attempting to measure and track these skills or convey them to potential employers may seem futile for the healthcare professional. However, “Skills Checklists” can be useful tools for accomplishing these goals. Read more