As advances in healthcare and technology have made it possible to save and treat more patients with critical life-threatening medical conditions, the demand for acute care nurses has increased across hospitals throughout country.   However, this increase in demand, coupled with other factors such as the retirement of nurses from the baby boomer generation, has created a shortage of qualified nursing  candidates – leaving many of these acute care positions unfilled.

“The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has transformed the industry, and as a result, many hospitals have merged  and are needing to hire more healthcare professionals to ensure they can handle larger patient loads while providing quality care,” says Amanda Cruse, Managing Director of The Execu|Search Group’s Health Services division.  “With demand especially high for experienced acute care nurses, there are simply not enough candidates to go around.  This makes it a very candidate-driven job market for nurses who can position themselves as experts in acute care, so in order to take advantage of these opportunities, it’s important to be educated on what employers are looking for.”

To help you advance your career in acute care, here are Amanda’s three tips to becoming that nurse that hospitals will be competing to hire:

1. Build the foundation

In order to have a successful career in acute care, you first need to build a solid foundation for growth by gaining consistent experience in the field.  “Most hospitals looking to build out their acute care teams are specifically seeking out candidates with at least two years of relevant experience in their specialty, so it’s important for newer nurses to focus on building their skills in one area with the same employer,” advises Amanda.

In other words, while it may be tempting to start exploring your options if you dislike your specialty or your job, it’s worth sticking it out until you have that coveted two years of experience.  “As the demand for emergency medical services increases, hospitals want to ensure that their acute care nurses can hit the ground running day one,” explains Amanda.  “As a result, the more experience you acquire, the more opportunities you will have to work at different hospitals and/or transition into a new specialty.”

2. Keep your skills and credentials up-to-date

All acute care nurses, regardless of whether or not they are actively looking for a job, should make an effort to ensure their skills and credentials are up-to-date.  “With such a changing healthcare landscape, you never know when you’ll want or need to look for a new opportunity,” notes Amanda.  “To ensure you don’t delay your start date or minimize the number of jobs available to you, it’s important to keep standard certifications (CPR and ACLS) as well licenses pertaining to your specialty up-to-date.  The more prepared you can be, the better.”

Amanda also advises acute care nurses to go back to school to attain their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).  “Having a BSN degree simply gives you more employment options,” says Amanda.  “This is especially true if your goal is to work for a magnet hospital where a BSN is a prerequisite to even land an interview. “

3. Be open to different opportunities

If you are looking for your next opportunity in acute care, Amanda advises nurses to be open to exploring your options.  “While you might have your sights set on a full-time job, temporary roles and travel assignments are two alternatives you should consider,” explains Amanda.  “Since these assignments are shorter-term in nature, they can help you gain experience with different specialties within varying hospitals – ultimately allowing you to decide what you want to do and where you would be happy working in the long-run.”  For unemployed nurses, temporary positions can also help you keep your skills current while you look for full-time employment, and in some cases, may even transition into more permanent positions.

On a related note, it’s important to be flexible with what shifts you take.  For example, if you were originally looking for a position on the day shift, but the hospital you want to work for is only hiring for the night shift, be open to it.  “Since hospitals need acute care nurses to work at all different schedules, the more flexible you are with what you would cover, the more in-demand you will be,” says Amanda.  “First, get your foot in the door and let them see your value.  Once you have proven yourself, you can request to change shifts.”