Dive Brief:
- Providence is hosting a three-day virtual hiring event at the end of August and beginning of September in a bid to hire more full-time registered nurses to work at its Portland area facilities, according to a Linkedin post.
- Experienced and early-career nurses are welcome to apply and will go through a 30-minute virtual interview with a panel of nurse managers, according to the post.
- Applicants will be able to discuss their preferences for specialty, location, shifts and scheduling during interviews, and sign-on bonuses of $5,000 to $10,000 will be granted to eligible new hires.
Dive Insight:
Ongoing nurse shortages have spurred some systems to boost benefits to attract needed staff. Last year, some hospitals advertised sign-on bonuses of up to $30,000, with stipulations new hires would commit to their roles for at least two years.
Washington-based Providence is now holding the hiring event as staffing shortages continue.
Some qualifications needed among RN resident applicants include a nursing degree or diploma upon hire, a bachelor’s degree in nursing or higher within three years of hire or equivalent experience, state licensure and completion of a pre-licensure nursing program, according to the Linkedin post.
Applicants with 20 years of experience or more will not be required to obtain a BSN, according to the post.
Providence, like other systems across the country, has grappled with staffing challenges throughout the pandemic that are continuing to weigh on financials. Fitch ratings said the outlook for nonprofit hospitals is “deteriorating” on Aug 17, revising its sector outlook from neutral as hospitals are squeezed by pricier labor and more expensive supplies due to inflation, among other items.
Providence posted a $424 million operating loss in the second quarter of this year, citing higher labor costs, among other items like weak investments and inflation. Operating expenses ticked up slightly year over year for to $13.6 billion, driven mostly by higher salaries and benefits expenses like increased temporary labor expenses and overtime, according to the system.