HR managers refer to it as a golden ticket toward a rewarding career. And it was easy to see why as top nurse managers and other administrators from 21 Northwell Health hospitals interacted with about 550 nursing students at its Golden Ticket Nursing Showcase during the day-long, invitation-only event at the Crest Hollow Country Club.
The career fair, now in its 11th year, is an important way to identify and develop young candidates for New York State’s largest health system, which employs more than 16,000 nurses. Six Northwell hospitals have earned the prestigious Magnet status, the gold standard for nursing care. That high standard of care is why identifying the right candidate and developing their skills throughout a productive and rewarding career is key. Events such as the Nursing Showcase are the starting point.
“This year’s Golden Ticket Showcase exceeded our expectations. It’s an important event we hold each year because nurses are the life force of any health system and Northwell Health is no different,” said Maureen White, executive vice president and chief nurse executive at Northwell Health. “This is a useful way for prospective employees – nurses getting ready to graduate – to learn more about Northwell and for us to learn more about them. While we’re fortunate to have a 3 percent vacancy rate, we’re always looking for top talent.”
Students from more than 42 universities were on hand Jan. 9, including job seekers from Molloy College, Long Island University, St. Joseph’s College, Adelphi University, Farmingdale State College, and Stony Brook University. They spoke with recruiters from Northwell’s Talent Acquisition team, along with 16 service lines and attended a culture center with representation from diversity and inclusion, nursing research, Institute for Nursing, Center for Learning & Innovation, Hofstra Northwell School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies, Office of Patient and Customer Experience, and more.
The Nursing Showcase allows Northwell to develop a pipeline of nursing talent at a time when there’s a reported nationwide shortage of nurses, particularly in specialties such as perioperative, emergency department, critical care and ediatrics. It offers an opportunity to meet and interview students for externships, fellowships and other student and new graduate placement opportunities. More than half of candidates who go through the Northwell externship program eventually get hired as nurses.
