How to hire a home care nurse

How to hire a home care nurse, step by step

Here's a step-by-step home care nurse hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a home care nurse job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new home care nurse
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a home care nurse do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a home care nurse, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect home care nurse also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   Here's a comparison of home care nurse salaries for various roles:

   Type of Home Care Nurse	Description	Hourly rate
   Home Care Nurse	Registered nurses (RNs) provide and coordinate patient care, educate patients and the public about various health conditions, and provide advice and emotional support to patients and their family members.	$16-40
   Registered Nurse Med/Surg	The job of registered medical-surgical nurses is to care for patients with either surgical or non-surgical conditions. They are responsible for aiding patients to cope with their illness, prevent diseases, and promote good health... Show more	$23-69
   Licensed Practical Nurse	Licensed practical nurses are considered leading front liners in the clinic or hospital setting. They assist nurses and doctors in conducting various activities related to sick or injured patients... Show more	$17-35

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Home Health
   • CPR
   • Companionship
   • Social Work
   • Primary Care
   • Quality Care
   • Rehabilitation
   • Compassion
   • IV
   • Wound Care
   • Physician Orders
   • In-Home Care
   • Community Resources

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage patient care monitoring vital signs, performing physical assessment, checking patients medications for effectiveness.
   • Enter the nursing profession working in an ICU step down unit, with medical and surgical patients.
   • Care for many patients with complex issues with compassion and care and enhances the standard of care within the clinical area.
   • Provide care for pediatric patients with chronic illnesses and pediatric ventilator and tracheostomy patients.
   • Provide home dialysis services to patients receiving rehabilitation in a nursing home setting utilizing NxStage machines.
   • Monitor cardiac rhythms and treat per ACLS protocols

   More home care nurse duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your home care nurse job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A home care nurse salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, home care nurses' average salary in south carolina is 62% less than in oregon.
   • Seniority. Entry-level home care nurses earn 60% less than senior-level home care nurses.
   • Certifications. A home care nurse with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a home care nurse's salary.

   Average home care nurse salary

   $53,762yearly

   $25.85 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level home care nurse salary

   $34,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average home care nurse salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Oregon	$91,199	$44
   2	New York	$86,551	$42
   3	New Jersey	$81,165	$39
   4	Massachusetts	$78,821	$38
   5	Arizona	$69,370	$33
   6	Michigan	$66,702	$32
   7	Washington	$64,533	$31
   8	Delaware	$63,694	$31
   9	District of Columbia	$63,355	$30
   10	Colorado	$61,481	$30
   11	Pennsylvania	$60,934	$29
   12	Nevada	$60,666	$29
   13	Minnesota	$58,680	$28
   14	Illinois	$52,933	$25
   15	Vermont	$52,887	$25
   16	Indiana	$46,373	$22
   17	Ohio	$45,820	$22
   18	Texas	$44,315	$21
   19	Florida	$40,966	$20
   20	Iowa	$36,428	$18

   Average home care nurse salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Overlake Medical Center & Clinics	$86,612	$41.64	42
   2	Methodist Health System	$81,405	$39.14	109
   3	PROFESSIONAL NURSING SERVICES	$80,418	$38.66
   4	Northeast Rehabilitation Hospital Network	$80,085	$38.50	6
   5	BridgePoint Healthcare	$79,888	$38.41
   6	Sutter Health	$79,326	$38.14	319
   7	Children's Minnesota	$78,543	$37.76	21
   8	Fallon Health	$78,359	$37.67	24
   9	Alameda Alliance for Health	$77,348	$37.19
   10	Highland General Hospital	$76,401	$36.73
   11	ExeterHospital	$75,531	$36.31	33
   12	Hospice of the Western Reserve	$74,867	$35.99	40
   13	Vidant Health	$74,524	$35.83	87
   14	Mohawk Valley Health System	$72,799	$35.00	6
   15	PeaceHealth	$72,113	$34.67	154
   16	Parkview Community Hospital Medical Center, Inc.	$71,456	$34.35	18
   17	Sharp HealthCare	$71,357	$34.31	21
   18	Dignity Health	$71,310	$34.28	770
   19	Palomar Health	$70,666	$33.97	23
   20	Columbia University in the City of New York	$70,212	$33.76	12

4. Writing a home care nurse job description

   A job description for a home care nurse role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a home care nurse job description:

   Home care nurse job description example

   Adobe Care & Wellness is an organization whose culture is based on inclusivity, and ensuring that our team members can thrive and work in an environment that brings them joy and allows them to do the best work of their careers. We provide top-tier and meaningful medical services while taking into consideration the nuisances of cultural and regional dynamics. Our woman-owned business is recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in Arizona and is proof that necessity is the mother of innovation. We believe that our values are crucial not only to our growth, but the future we want to build for the medical industry as a whole .
   
   Summary: During an in-home visit that can last up to one hour, Adobe Care and Wellness providers review member s current health status, medical history, medications, social determinates, and other risks. By completing the comprehensive visit in their own home, we are able to get more insight into a member s overall health that can be difficult to capture during routine office visits.
   Ability to Make Your Own Schedule!!! $125 per visit
   
   DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
   
   Travel up to 90%; regions are identified and updated based on business needs.
   Conduct in-home assessments on identified patients, following established guidelines.
   Formulate a list of current and past medical conditions using clinical knowledge, judgment, and current findings.
   Identify urgent and emergent situations for proper intervention.
   Educate members on topics related to health conditions and the continuation of care.
   Identify diagnoses to be used in care management and active medical management.
   Develop positive relationships with members, caregivers, providers, and other care team members as needed.
   Communicate gaps in care to the member s primary care physician if needed.
   Identify internal and external referral needs when available.
   Interact with peers in a collegial manner, supporting efforts to improve outcomes.
   Compliant with all HIPPA regulations and maintain the security of protected health information (PHI).

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find home care nurses for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any home care nurses they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level home care nurses with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your home care nurse job on Zippia to find and recruit home care nurse candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with home care nurse candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new home care nurse

   Once you have selected a candidate for the home care nurse position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new home care nurse. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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