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An innovative new recruiting workflow is fast tracking hiring for UVA Health ambulatory nurses. The Ambulatory Central Intake Team (CIT), led by Mesha Jones, MSN, RN, CCRN, CWON, and supported by Ciara Zacrep, RN, BSN, Recruiter, Health System Talent Acquisition, UVA Human Resources, has helped streamline the process dramatically — from application to offer.

Previously, hiring managers weren't always aware when an internal candidate applied for several different open roles within UVA Health. Zacrep explains that now, CITs around UVA Health University Medical Center meet with candidates first, discuss which of those roles is their top priority, and screen candidates before a manager meets with them — eliminating sometimes weeks of phone tag among HR, candidates, and managers.

Says Jones — Interim Ambulatory Float Pool and Earn While You Learn Medical Assistant Manager; UVA School of Nursing Clinical Instructor; and President, Nursing Professional Governance Organization — this was a major cultural change that required buy-in from hiring managers. An important step of getting that buy-in was building trust. “Managers needed to trust that I'm not just sending them anybody and everybody — that through the screening process, I'm looking for the right fit.” 

She earned that trust by asking questions such as, “What are you looking for in a candidate? What are your worries? What are your hours? What do you want me to tell the candidates before I send them your way?” — and listening carefully to and acting on their answers.

Streamlining Scheduling

Once that relationship was established, Jones was granted access to the hiring manager’s calendar and able to book interviews with candidates directly, rather than relying on managers to go into Workday to reach out to a candidate to schedule time to meet.

That means hiring managers no longer have to be concerned about screening at all — they’re able to focus solely on whether or not they want to hire a candidate they’re interviewing. Now, with Jones as the liaison, “Often, the candidate’s not even on the elevator or in their car, and the manager’s already letting us know they want to hire this person,” she says.

When she has an especially strong feeling about a possible match, Jones will ask Zacrep to prepare an offer ahead of the interview, so as soon as they get feedback from a manager they can reach out with the good news. Sometimes the offer has gone through while the candidate is still driving away after their interview, Jones says.

A Case Study: Dialysis

This initiative has seen particular success with dialysis units, where Zacrep was recently working on four offers at once. Several dialysis hires have been travelers who are joining the full-time team, which is crucial, says Dwayne Phillips, UVA Primary Care Clinic Manager and Interim Dialysis Director, because dialysis was in “a precarious situation” with staffing resources.

“Historically, it's been a challenge recruiting nurses to dialysis,” he says. “It could take anywhere from two to eight weeks to recruit a nurse to fill a vacancy. But that changed when we became involved with the CIT program. We were initially really jazzed because we were able to fill a nurse position within four days, and now we've gotten that down to our new record of less than a day!”

What Other CITs Can Learn From Ambulatory

The Ambulatory CIT started working to fill RN and RN care coordinator roles in August and since has expanded to include LPNs and CMAs (certified medical assistants). And while inpatient CIT leads may have more candidates to juggle, the takeaways from the Ambulatory CIT can be applied across specialties.

“We keep an Excel sheet updated when we contact candidates. I get a fresh set of jobs every Monday, and on Mondays we meet to discuss any candidates or questions,” Jones describes. “We pretty much communicate solely in Workday and email, so everything is where it needs to be, and we can see exactly what the other one is doing,” Zacrep adds.

That visibility allows them to work more quickly, and working quickly means UVA Health isn’t missing out on qualified candidates who previously would've been hired elsewhere faster. “There’s a lot of competition out there, and nurses can go anywhere. So getting as fast as we can, and getting them in the door, is key.”

Phillips echoes the sentiment: “These days, nurses are such a precious resource that we cannot afford to mismanage their application process. The CIT program demonstrates UVA Health’s commitment to being innovative. During resource or nursing shortages, UVA Health has demonstrated that we — as an employer and a healthcare provider — are committed to thinking outside the box to try and make things better and efficient. This enables us to serve more patients.”