How to hire an oncology nurse

How to hire an oncology nurse, step by step

Here's a step-by-step oncology nurse hiring guide:

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

What does an oncology nurse do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your oncology nurse job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find an oncology nurse for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

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   Hiring the perfect oncology 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.

   This list shows salaries for various types of oncology nurses.

   Type of Oncology Nurse	Description	Hourly rate
   Oncology 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.	$19-61
   Nurse Coordinator	A nurse coordinator is primarily in charge of overseeing all nurses and their activities in a hospital or clinic. Their responsibilities include managing and rotating schedules, assessing nurse performance, organizing nursing programs, and developing strategies to optimize procedures... Show more	$29-49
   Registered Nurse Charge Nurse	A registered charge nurse is responsible for supervising nurses' workflow in a particular department or area, ensuring every patient gets the proper care that they need. A registered charge nurse has the discretion to direct tasks, arrange schedules, and monitor patients, such as in the aspects of admission and discharge... Show more	$22-52

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Chemotherapy
   • Medical Oncology
   • Patient Education
   • Hematology Oncology
   • Patient Outcomes
   • Symptom Management
   • IV
   • Direct Patient Care
   • Quality Care
   • Clinical Trials
   • Community Resources
   • Treatment Options
   • Supportive Care

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
   • Gain significant experience in diverse areas of nursing process for oncology and transplant patients; administer chemotherapy and blood products.
   • Initiate CPR on nonresponsive patients.
   • Provide intravenous therapy in a home bound setting to include simple chemo therapy and PICC care along with other VADS.
   • Provide professional nursing care for patients as it relates to provider orders and chemotherapy administration and education.
   • Provide care to rehabilitation patients on rehab unit assist in activities of daily living, occupational therapy and physical therapy.

   More oncology nurse duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the oncology nurse job description is a good way to get more applicants. An oncology nurse salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for an oncology nurse in North Dakota may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level oncology nurse. Additionally, an oncology nurse with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average oncology nurse salary

   $72,372yearly

   $34.79 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level oncology nurse salary

   $41,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 30, 2026

   Average oncology nurse salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$129,518	$62
   2	District of Columbia	$106,572	$51
   3	New York	$103,063	$50
   4	New Jersey	$90,143	$43
   5	Massachusetts	$88,505	$43
   6	Oregon	$88,075	$42
   7	Maryland	$82,362	$40
   8	Nevada	$81,507	$39
   9	Washington	$80,171	$39
   10	Arizona	$76,284	$37
   11	Pennsylvania	$72,396	$35
   12	Texas	$71,696	$34
   13	Georgia	$70,703	$34
   14	Minnesota	$69,287	$33
   15	Maine	$68,697	$33
   16	North Carolina	$68,259	$33
   17	Illinois	$67,875	$33
   18	Missouri	$66,298	$32
   19	Colorado	$66,018	$32
   20	Ohio	$63,726	$31

   Average oncology nurse salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Washington Hospital Healthcare System	$161,975	$77.87
   2	Capital Health	$161,406	$77.60	28
   3	Baptist Health Care	$153,145	$73.63	26
   4	Kaiser Permanente	$150,591	$72.40	520
   5	UT Health East Texas	$146,985	$70.67
   6	University of Maryland Medical System	$142,677	$68.59	229
   7	Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center	$140,449	$67.52	15
   8	Dignity Health	$138,542	$66.61	697
   9	Atrium Health Floyd	$136,121	$65.44	864
   10	AstraZeneca	$132,507	$63.71	4
   11	Children's Hospital of Michigan	$131,673	$63.30	30
   12	Hca Hospital Services Of San Diego	$129,528	$62.27	17
   13	Erlanger Health System	$126,525	$60.83	128
   14	University Hospitals	$126,386	$60.76	49
   15	University Health System Inc	$126,330	$60.74	80
   16	UCI Health	$125,403	$60.29	19
   17	Providence Health & Services	$122,530	$58.91	290
   18	Beaumont Health	$120,430	$57.90	5
   19	Geisinger Medical Center	$119,810	$57.60	445
   20	Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation Inc.	$119,725	$57.56	103

4. Writing an oncology nurse job description

   A job description for an oncology 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 an oncology nurse job description:

   Oncology nurse job description example

   Clinical Nurse Oncology Outpatient Center- TGH Cancer Institute - - (2200019X) Description
   
   Facility Profile
   TGH is the area's only level I trauma center and one of just two ABA-verified adult & pediatric burn centers in Florida. With five medical helicopters*, we transport critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. The hospital is home to one of the busiest solid organ transplant centers in the country. TGH is a nationally designated comprehensive stroke center, and has a 32-bed Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit. Other outstanding centers include cardiovascular, orthopedics, high-risk and normal obstetrics, urology, ENT, endocrinology, and the Children's Medical Center, which features a nine-bed pediatric intensive care unit and pediatric kidney transplant services. As the region's leading safety net hospital, Tampa General is committed to providing area residents with world-class and compassionate health care ranging from the simplest to the most complex medical services.
   
   Tampa General Hospital was named the #1 hospital in Tampa Bay by U.S. News & World Report, 2020-2021, and recognized as one of America's Best Hospital's in five medical specialties: Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Gastroenterology & GI Surgery, Nephrology, and Orthopedics. Tampa General Hospital has been designated a Magnet Hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the highest recognition for nursing excellence, for the fourth consecutive time - an accomplishment that fewer than one percent of hospitals nationwide have earned. TGH is accredited by The Joint Commission and was awarded disease-specific certification in five medical specialties. TGH is also accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). *Air transport provided by Metro Aviation, Inc.
   
   Job Summary
   
   Under general supervision, following established policies, procedures, and professional guidelines, delivers nursing care to patients.Plans and implements nursing care; documents nursing assessments; identifies and reports situations requiring further intervention; formulates and communicates goal-directed plan of care; assures patient rights.Responsible for performing job duties in accordance with the mission, vision and values of Tampa General Hospital and principles of quality improvement.
   
   Qualifications Required Skills
   Graduate of an accredited School of Nursing; licensure to practice as a Registered Nurse in the State of Florida; BSN required; ONC preferred, chemotherapy/biotherapy certification required.
   Primary Location: TampaWork Locations: TGH Main Campus 1 Tampa General Circle Tampa 33606Job: Nursing (LPNs, RNs) Organization: TGH - HospitalSchedule: Part-time Shift: Day JobShift Hours: 7:30- 4:00pmJob Posting: Sep 2, 2022, 3:37:55 PM

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5. Post your job

   To find the right oncology nurse for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with oncology nurses they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit oncology nurses who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your oncology nurse job on Zippia to find and attract quality oncology nurse candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit oncology nurses, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   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 oncology nurse

   Once you've found the oncology nurse candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new oncology nurse. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

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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