"An essential day": in Saint-Denis, the hospital organizes a job-dating to attract

Delphine Schiltz 14:24 pm, March 28, 2023

One key word: attract. A few months before the end of courses for final year students in nursing school, hospitals are struggling to attract the most candidates. After the Covid-19 crisis and the wave of resignations in the hospitality sector, institutions must compete with ideas to recruit, as here in Saint-Denis. Here, 24 stands were set up to represent the hospital's services. At the adult emergency stand, Farid Boudaoud, health executive, tries to reassure future recruits: "We will not hide anything from you at all, we are so transparent. And we're open 7 days a week, 7 hours a day," he jokes.

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Among the nursing candidates currently being courted by hospitals is Correra, 22, in her third and final year of study. She takes advantage of this open day, organized for the first time, to meet the teams: "What is important to me is the staff, the service. Because you're starting out and you don't really know where you're going."

A multitude of premiums

Jeanne is no longer to be convinced. She is involved with the hospital of Saint-Denis and she knows why: "I am attached to the public hospital, it is the population that I want to treat, that of my living area," she describes. However, such a commitment is no longer enough. With the shortage of staff and the tough competition between institutions, the Centre hospitalier de Saint-Denis is pulling out the big game. The HR stand is on deck to present the measures put in place, which have been discussed with the hospital's Attractiveness Commission.

"There are two things for students who are trainees in our hospital, who have the status of civil servants. As soon as they are recruited, there is an installation bonus paid to them, which is 2,154 euros gross at the time of recruitment, "says Ludovic Tripault, director of medical affairs and HR Director of the hospital of Saint-Denis.

"The second thing is for students who are on a study allowance contract (editor's note: the hospital finances the nursing student during his studies in exchange for years of commitment). Those who apply to services in tension, for example pediatric emergencies, neonatology. They are paid a bonus in addition to the installation bonus of 2,500 euros when they take up their post." Finally, for students in great precariousness, the hospital also offers housing support: studios made available to young graduates and agreements with several social landlords.

An establishment on a human scale

But it is above all the family atmosphere of this human-sized care facility that seems to attract female students. The management and department heads make it a strong point of their argument, like Marie-Aude Khuong, member of the hospital's attractiveness commission: "We have very close-knit teams. We are not far from Paris, we have a bike room, we have a choir group, we have a gym!"

So many arguments that will perhaps motivate Correra. On a scale of 1 to 10, she indicates that these chances of applying to the Saint-Denis hospital center revolve around ... 9. In total, about fifty positions are to be filled, including 17 just in the neonatal intensive care unit, run by the head of department Pascal Bolot: "I also lack 30 midwives out of 90. This kind of day is essential to make our services attractive," he concludes.