How to hire a surgical nurse practitioner

How to hire a surgical nurse practitioner, step by step

Here's a step-by-step surgical nurse practitioner hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the surgical nurse practitioner you need to hire. Certain surgical nurse practitioner 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

   Hiring the perfect surgical nurse practitioner 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.

   The following list breaks down different types of surgical nurse practitioners and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Surgical Nurse Practitioner	Description	Hourly rate
   Surgical Nurse Practitioner	Nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners, also referred to as advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), coordinate patient care and may provide primary and specialty healthcare. The scope of practice varies from state to state.	$28-86
   Practitioner	The duties of a practitioner depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. In the medical field, a practitioner is a doctor who provides medical services to patients according to their health issues or concerns, primarily by diagnosing and treating illnesses and injuries... Show more	$24-66
   Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner	A Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner provides emotional support to patients and their family members faced with life-threatening illnesses. They collaborate with the primary care physician or medical director.	$26-91

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Patient Care
   • Acute Care
   • Diagnosis
   • Diagnostic Studies
   • Patient Education
   • Medical History
   • Diagnostic Tests
   • Laboratory Tests
   • Primary Care
   • Discharge Planning
   • Medical Care
   • General Surgery
   • ICU

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage appropriate changes to individualize care plan to ensure cost and time efficacy in an outpatient physical medicine and rehabilitation office.
   • Work in cancer screening to include screening of skin, gyn, breast, and prostate.
   • Educate the patients on their treatment plans including any necessary or recommend disciplines within the multidisciplinary team.
   • Conduct chart reviews and focused/comprehensive history and physical examinations on patients prior to undergoing surgery in the main operating room.
   • Prescribe age-specific physical therapy and rehabilitation.
   • Prescribe age-specific physical therapy and rehabilitation.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your surgical nurse practitioner job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A surgical nurse practitioner can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, surgical nurse practitioners' average salary in alabama is 44% less than in new jersey.
   • Seniority. Entry-level surgical nurse practitioners 67% less than senior-level surgical nurse practitioners.
   • Certifications. A surgical nurse practitioner with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a surgical nurse practitioner's salary.

   Average surgical nurse practitioner salary

   $103,331yearly

   $49.68 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level surgical nurse practitioner salary

   $59,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

4. Writing a surgical nurse practitioner job description

   A surgical nurse practitioner 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. To help get you started, here's an example of a surgical nurse practitioner job description:

   Surgical nurse practitioner job description example

   At Scripps Health, you will experience the pride, support, respect that has been repeatedly recognized as one of the nation's Top 100 Places to Work.
   
   You'll be surrounded by people committed to making a difference in the lives of their patients and their teammates. So if you're open to change, go ahead and unlock your potential.
   
   Our Surgical Specialties vary in patient volume, some with a daily patient average of 15-20 and others with 30-60. The ideal candidate is eager to learn and grow in their career as a Medical Assistant. They are willing to collaborate, ask questions, and communicate effectively and efficiently with the primary focus of providing exceptional patient care. Primary responsibilities include rooming patients, checking vitals, assisting with procedures, and clinic prep assisting with Provider specific protocols. This role will consist of predominantly back-office responsibilities but is expected to help with front-office duties on an as-needed basis.
   
   The MA maintains a clean, organized, and safe environment, and organizes and performs patient care services that support the physician's practice. This includes assisting in preparing patients for examination/procedures, assisting physicians with procedures, relaying instructions from the physician to the patient or authorized person, collecting patient data in person and by phone and documenting patient concerns, messages and care provided in the electronic medical record for the physician's review, administering medications specifically directed by the physician, performing vital sign documentation, scheduling of appointments and procedures, complete and accurate message taking, routing messages to the appropriate area for direction, order and referral entry, acquisition of pre-certifications and setting up of cases in EPIC plus basic registration and updating of demographics.
   We are currently recruiting for the following specialties:
   
   * Orthopedic Surgery
   
   *Required Qualifications:*
   
   * Completion of a formal Medical Assistant Program or a minimum of two years of experience as a Military Corpsman or Medical Assistant Certification
   * BLS certification for the Healthcare Provider by the American Heart Association (AHA)
   
   *Preferred Qualifications:*
   
   * One year of previous MA experience in the given department
   * Experience assisting with procedures
   
   **Job:** **Clinical Support*
   
   **Organization:** **Scripps Clinic*
   
   **Title:** *MA - Surgical Specialties - Rancho Bernardo*
   
   **Location:** *Central San Diego County-SAN DIEGO-SCRIPPS CLINIC - RANCHO BERNARDO*
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right surgical nurse practitioner 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 surgical nurse practitioners they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit surgical nurse practitioners 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 surgical nurse practitioner job on Zippia to find and recruit surgical nurse practitioner candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit surgical nurse practitioners, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   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 surgical nurse practitioner

   Once you've found the surgical nurse practitioner 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.

   To prepare for the new surgical nurse practitioner first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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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