How to hire a registered nurse

How to hire a registered nurse, step by step

Here's a step-by-step registered 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 registered nurse job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new registered nurse
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a registered nurse do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the registered nurse you need to hire. Certain registered nurse roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A registered nurse's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, registered nurses from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents registered nurse salaries for various positions.

   Type of Registered Nurse	Description	Hourly rate
   Registered 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.	$21-56
   Pediatric Nurse	A pediatric nurse is a registered nurse who offers medical and health care for children in hospitals and clinics. Pediatric nurses educate caregivers and parents on the effective methods of child health protection... Show more	$21-56
   Staff Nurse	Staff nurses are registered nurses who are usually assigned to work in a care home, a company, or in a clinical setting. They advise the physical assessments of patients, employees, and residents... Show more	$20-52

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • BLS
   • CPR
   • Acute Care
   • Acls
   • Home Health
   • Surgery
   • Quality Care
   • Rehabilitation
   • Direct Patient Care
   • Compassion
   • Critical Care
   • Infection Control
   • Discharge Planning

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage patient care for individuals with multiple diagnoses including COPD, diabetes, stroke and cardiac issues.
   • Organize and manage regular clinics involving external physicians, including ophthalmology, ENT, Med/Surg, orthopedics, and podiatry professionals.
   • Manage surgical recovery patients including vascular, ENT, GI urological and neurological cases, coronary bypass surgery patients.
   • Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
   • Provide care for cardiac patients in arrhythmia critical care unit, providing patient education and monitoring telemetry
   • Re-Cover surgical patients immediately after heart and vascular surgery until transfer out of ICU.

   More registered nurse duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the registered nurse job description is a good way to get more applicants. A registered 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 a registered nurse in Kansas may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level registered nurse. Additionally, a registered nurse with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average registered nurse salary

   $73,349yearly

   $35.26 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level registered nurse salary

   $45,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 29, 2025

   Average registered nurse salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$108,619	$52
   2	Oregon	$91,845	$44
   3	New York	$91,220	$44
   4	Massachusetts	$89,470	$43
   5	District of Columbia	$87,954	$42
   6	Washington	$87,094	$42
   7	Maryland	$85,221	$41
   8	Nevada	$83,653	$40
   9	New Mexico	$79,629	$38
   10	Pennsylvania	$79,282	$38
   11	Arizona	$77,810	$37
   12	Texas	$77,559	$37
   13	Virginia	$77,161	$37
   14	Michigan	$76,779	$37
   15	Maine	$74,641	$36
   16	Minnesota	$74,169	$36
   17	Illinois	$72,247	$35
   18	Georgia	$72,138	$35
   19	Wisconsin	$72,115	$35
   20	Colorado	$71,819	$35

   Average registered nurse salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	NORCAL Ambulance	$111,499	$53.61	3
   2	Soliant	$108,127	$51.98
   3	trustaff	$106,023	$50.97	1,899
   4	Ambulnz	$105,988	$50.96	8
   5	The Citadel	$104,879	$50.42
   6	Stability Healthcare	$104,781	$50.38	1,499
   7	Jackson Nurse Professionals	$103,736	$49.87	1,168
   8	Westways Staffing	$101,855	$48.97
   9	Goodwin Recruiting	$101,581	$48.84	2
   10	MAS Medical Staffing	$100,976	$48.55	623
   11	Staffworks Group	$100,070	$48.11
   12	Travel Nurse Across America	$99,799	$47.98	11
   13	American Red Cross	$98,767	$47.48	3
   14	Fastaff Travel Nursing	$97,760	$47.00
   15	Small Business Services	$97,118	$46.69
   16	Tact Medical Staffing	$97,047	$46.66
   17	University of California-Berkeley	$96,749	$46.51	2
   18	Howard University	$96,650	$46.47	1
   19	Huntington Hospital	$95,932	$46.12	16
   20	Advanced Recovery Systems	$95,215	$45.78	29

4. Writing a registered nurse job description

   A registered nurse job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a registered nurse job description:

   Registered nurse job description example

   The Registered Professional Nurse at Northside Hospital independently plans and provides professional nursing care to patients in accordance with physician orders and established guidelines, and in accordance with the scope of practice as defined by the Georgia Nurse Practice Act. The American Nurses Association's (ANA) Nursing: Scope and Standards of Nursing Practice, 3rd Edition (2015), provides a definition of nursing as: "Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, facilitation of healing, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations." Furthermore, the scope of practice of the registered nurse and the corresponding standards and competencies are dependent on the nurse's education, experience, role and population served (ANA, Scope and Standards of Practice, 2015, p 2.). The practice of professional nursing at Northside Hospital utilizes ANA's Scope and Standards Practice: 1. Clinical Knowledge and Practice . Assessment, Diagnosis, Outcomes Identification, Planning, Implementation, Evaluation; Clinical Information Systems; Patient Care Technology. 2. Professional Practice . Communication, Culturally Congruent Practice, Ethics, Professional Practice Evaluation and Resource Utilization 3. Leadership . Collaboration, Community Involvement, and Environmental Health 4. Professional Development . Education of Self and Others, Expansion of Knowledge, Advancement of Practice, Contribution to the Professional/Clinical Specialty 5. Evidence-Based Practice, Quality and Research . Evidence-based Practice, Nursing Research, Quality of Practice, Patient Satisfaction Scores, External Reporting/Benchmarks Northside Hospital Staff Registered Nurse positions are based on a sequential progression from a novice nurse to an expert. The job descriptions for Staff RN I to Staff RN VI therefore imply that a nurse who is employed at a specific level possesses the knowledge, skills, competencies and critical thinking abilities of all prior levels.
   REQUIRED:
   1. Must be a graduate of an accredited school of nursing and licensed as an RN in the State of Georgia in good standing without limitations. 2. Less than one year of experience as a registered professional nurse. 3. Certified in American Heart Association's Basic Cardiac Life Support (BLS). 4. Other REQUIRED cardiopulmonary resuscitation certifications (ACLS,
   PREFERRED:
   1. BSN degree preferred 2. Other preferred RN attributes are unit specific. Please refer to the specific clinical unit.
   
   License/Certification Requirements: No
   
   Work Hours: 7p-7a
   
   Weekend Requirements: Yes
   
   On-Call Requirements: No

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find registered 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 registered nurses they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level registered 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 registered nurse job on Zippia to find and recruit registered nurse candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with registered 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 to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to 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 registered nurse

   Once you have selected a candidate for the registered 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.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new registered 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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