How To Write A Registered Nurse Job Description

A Registered Nurse, or RN, is often considered to be the heart and soul of hospitals and other healthcare facilities. RNs are the ones who are in charge of actually taking care of patients, which includes monitoring and assessing them, giving them medication, keeping records, managing their scheduled procedures, and assisting them with daily activities.

RNs also often have the most personalized contact with patients, so having a strong team of these nurses is vital to any healthcare facility’s success.

If you are trying to write a job description to hire an RN, keep reading this article, as it will guide you through how to decide what to put on the job description. Since this article is focused on giving a broad overview, just remember to tweak your document to fit your organization and the actual position you’re offering.

Registered Nurse Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of an RN can vary greatly from position to position. For example, nurses working in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital will have very different roles than RNs working in a family practitioner’s office.

Because of this, it’s important that you list the duties and responsibilities specific to the particular position you’re advertising. Think through both the big picture and the more detailed, day-to-day aspects of the job.

Since it would be nearly impossible to list every single little task the RN might need to do, though, writing down categories of responsibilities may often be the most efficient way to go.

Saying, “implement the patient care plan,” for example, covers a lot more ground than listing out “dispense medication,” “take vitals,” and every other task associated with this.

It might even be a good idea to ask someone in a similar position to the one you’re advertising what they would put down if they were writing a description of the job. Getting an insider’s perspective is beneficial to both the potential applicant’s and your understanding of the role’s responsibilities.

While you don’t want to get overly in-depth with your list of duties and responsibilities, letting applicants know what they’re getting into is an important part of convincing them to apply for the job. Plus, after you hire someone, if the position is totally different from the job description, your new employee may feel unhappy and decide to leave, sending you back to square one.

Registered Nurse Skills and Qualifications

When you’re writing the skills and qualifications section of your job description, start by thinking through what you absolutely have to see on an applicant’s resume in order to even consider giving them an interview.

Ask yourself who you want to apply for the job. People with a lot of work experience? Nurses, who have great interpersonal skills? Recent graduates, who need quite a bit of training but don’t come with any unwanted habits developed at other organizations?

After you decide on those most important requirements, you can move on to the skills and qualifications that an ideal candidate should have but that you’d be willing to hire someone without.

Find a way to differentiate these two categories of qualifications so that you’ll get the applicants you’re looking for without scaring away some highly qualified people who may not match your entire checklist.

To do this, many employers choose to create separate “Required” and “Preferred” skills sections. If you do go this route, carefully decide which skills you’ll put under each one.

Your “Required” section should include the minimum qualifications an applicant needs to have, while the “Preferred” section should be more of a wish list of skills that will just make them an even more effective employee and cut down on the amount of training you have to give them.

Just make sure you’re consistent with the required qualifications you list if you have hired or are hiring multiple RNs at the same level.

Registered Nurse Education Requirements

When you’re hiring an RN, one of the first must-have requirements you’ll mention is that they must be a licensed Registered Nurse, which also usually requires a nursing degree. But, you’ll have to decide if you’ll also accept applicants who have graduated with their nursing degrees and are still waiting to take the NCLEX.

Whatever you decide, make sure you make it clear on the job description.

In addition, you may need applicants to have a specific state certification or another licensure such as BLS Provider. List all of those in this section as well.

Registered Nurse Experience Requirements

While you likely can’t bend much on the education requirements for any RN position, your experience requirements can and should change based on the type of job you’re trying to fill and the applicant you’re trying to entice.

For example, if you’re listing a position that you want to fill with a recent graduate, you don’t need to ask for two to four years of experience.

If you’re trying to hire someone with a little more work history under their belt, though, it’s a good idea to list a minimum number of years of work experience. Just make sure you state what type of work experience you need it to be.

For example, do they just need to have worked in a healthcare setting for at least a year? Or should they have experience as an RN in the same department you’re hiring for?

In addition, you might need your RN to have experience with a specific task or skill in order to succeed in the role. If this is the case, make it clear as a requirement as well.

Registered Nurse Role Objectives

Potential applicants don’t just want to hear about the nitty-gritty of the job they’re applying for: they also want to know more about the organization as a whole and the role they’d play in it if they were hired.

Adding a role objectives section is a good way to do this, as it gives you an opportunity to share your company’s mission statement as well as the mission and expectations the company has for the employee in this particular position.

Registered Nurse Salary Expectations

When you’re creating a job description, it’s a good time to establish what you’re going to pay the person who gets the position. Or, if you already have employees in a similar position, it’s a good time to revisit your employees’ paychecks to make sure they’re competitive.

If they aren’t, you’re going to have a hard time hiring and retaining RNs, especially since they’re in high demand.

The average salary for RNs working in the U.S. is $63,000, with the top 10% earning $88,000 and the bottom 10% making only $46,000 a year.

When you’re establishing a salary for the position, consider whether it’s an entry, mid, or senior-level position and research the going rates in your area. When you’re putting the salary on the job posting, you can even use a range and communicate that the salary will be based on the candidate’s education and experience levels.

In addition to salary, you should also note any additional benefits such as health insurance or retirement funds that employees receive. If your facility offers access to a gym or provides a credit for meals, consider including those perks on the job description too.

Registered Nurse Job Description Example

Here’s an RN job description example you can use as a reference when you create yours. Just remember to always check with your Human Resources department to make sure you’ve covered everything that you legally need to — and that you haven’t added too much.

Author

Abby McCain

Abby is a writer who is passionate about the power of story. Whether it’s communicating complicated topics in a clear way or helping readers connect with another person or place from the comfort of their couch. Abby attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she earned a degree in writing with concentrations in journalism and business.