Nurse Staffing Recruiter Kelley King, NursesRx
By Megan Murdock Krischke, contributor
Send Kelley an
e-mail or give her a call at (858) 509-3511 to discover the current travel assignments she has available. You can also connect with Kelley online on TravelNursing’s
Facebook page. Log on today to see exclusive job opportunities or learn how to become a travel nurse.
September 4, 2014 - What does the nurse staffing industry have in common with a high-end retail store? Both require excellent customer service, according to Kelley King, who used to work for Nordstrom’s and now works as a recruiter at NursesRx. Whether she’s instructing potential candidates in how to become a travel nurse or finding the next great job opportunity for seasoned travelers, these customer service skills continue to serve her well.
“I actually started my career at NursesRx because a former Nordstom’s co-worker and friend was working here,” commented King. After hearing how much her friend enjoyed the job, she decided to make the switch to nurse staffing, too. “I love that every day I get to use the skills I’d already honed to serve my nurses.”
King also enjoys getting to know her travel nurses and finds that each one has a different story and a different personality.
After growing up on an organic farm in Virginia, King moved to San Jose, Calif., 12 years ago and eventually moved to San Diego. She is a certified yoga instructor and mother to a four-year-old. Combining her motherly instinct with her customer service orientation, King now instructs first-timers on how to become a travel nurse and provides career guidance to travelers at all experience levels.
“As a recruiter, I talk to a lot of nurses who have been doing the same job in the same facility for a lot of years. They hear about travel nursing and want to check it out, but are tentative about heading out on an adventure,” said King. “My goal is to offer nurses the support they need to take that first step out of their comfort zone and to go on a new adventure.”
Of course King wants to send nurses on the right adventure. Her job as a nurse staffing recruiter involves a lot of moving pieces. First and foremost, she must ensure that a nurse has the clinical skills required for a travel nurse position, along with strong references.
The ultimate goal is finding the right nurse for a position and the right position for a nurse--that is the “win–win. “
“While my main role is to find my nurses a position, I am also a listening ear as they experience new joys and challenges,” she explained. “But I am also a sort of supervisor in that I have to make sure that they do all the employee things--like getting in necessary paperwork and showing up to their assignment on time, wearing the right thing.”
King relates that her experience in nurse staffing with NursesRx has been nothing but positive.
“I did a lot of research on the company before I came to work here. It has a very healthy work environment with excellent communication. In fact, NursesRx has a reputation for being very friendly and supportive of their travelers.”
King feels that NursesRx offers nurse travelers and recruiters the best of both worlds. It operates as a smaller nurse staffing agency with a friendly, personal approach, yet with the resources and power of the nation’s largest health care staffing company behind it. NursesRx is a company of AMN Healthcare, and is certified by The Joint Commission.
"What I’d say to any potential travelers is: ‘Life is short, so get out there and travel!’” stated King. “As a traveler you get to live rent-free in great places with killer amenities. Plus, there is the opportunity to work in top-rated facilities and to learn with state-of-the-art equipment. NursesRx has exclusive contracts with some of the most prestigious facilities in the nation.”
“Nurses are very knowledgeable and very compassionate people. They are helping other people to make it through some of the worst times of their lives. It is an honor for me to work with and serve nurses because they help so many people,” she reflected.
© 2014. AMN Healthcare, Inc. All Rights Reserved.