Pre-Op Nurse (Pre-Admission Testing RN) Recruiters
Healthcare Headhunters recruits healthcare professionals for employers. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
This is what we do all day: recruit healthcare professionals.
Hire a pre-op nurse who can identify missing information before surgery day, explain preparation clearly, and route unresolved concerns to the right clinician.
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
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What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
What does an open seat cost you every week?
An open role costs you more than the recruiting fee. Someone covers the work, waits for care, or stops a service. We ask what is falling behind and who is carrying it. Use your own figures to compare the cost of waiting with the cost of hiring.
The seat is costing you every week.
Overtime, diverted patients, a stretched team and a schedule held together by favors.
The posting brought the wrong people.
Applicants arrive, but the person who has done this exact work is employed and not looking.
You are the one chasing.
Screening calls, no-shows and follow-ups land on the desk of someone with a facility to run.
What does this hire really come down to?
Pre-admission testing starts well before the patient reaches the operating room. Your RN may interview patients, reconcile medication lists, review ordered test results, and track outstanding documents. We screen for the work your position actually includes, whether that means telephone assessments, scheduled clinic visits, or a mix of both.
A telephone assessment role differs from one that also prepares patients on arrival. Ask who reviews flagged findings, who gives medication instructions, and who communicates with anesthesia and the surgeon's office. Those answers shape the experience you need.
If a patient's medication list conflicts with the referral paperwork, ask what they clarify, document, and escalate. Look for clear ownership of follow-up rather than a claim that another department handles it.
We arrange locum tenens, travel and contract coverage on request. Credentialing, licensing and malpractice coverage are confirmed per engagement before anyone starts.
What do we check before you see anyone?
Ask, "Walk us through a pre-admission interview when the patient cannot recall medication names." A useful answer explains how the RN seeks an accurate list, records uncertainty, and follows your escalation process without supplying unsupported instructions. Ask, "How do you track an ordered result that has not arrived?"
- Listen for chart checks, contact with the appropriate office, documentation of attempts, and a clear handoff when the issue remains unresolved. Distinguish reviewing results from independently ordering tests.
- Ask, "What would you do if preparation instructions from two offices conflict?" The candidate should describe seeking clarification from the responsible clinician and documenting the confirmed instruction. They should not resolve clinical disagreements through personal preference.
- Ask, "How do you confirm that a patient understands arrival and preparation instructions?" Look for teach-back, interpreter access when needed, and documentation of questions. A script alone does not show whether the patient understood what to do.
- Ask, "How would you hand off a patient with outstanding questions to the surgery-day team?" Useful evidence includes a concise summary, named unresolved items, and the route used to reach the receiving nurse or clinician. Ask how receipt is confirmed.
- Ask, "Which parts of your previous pre-op role did you perform yourself?" Verify an active RN license for the hiring jurisdiction and distinguish direct assessment from scheduling or record collection. Discuss any certificates your facility requests separately from licensure.
Where do we find them, and why would they move?
We look at pre-admission testing clinics, hospital perioperative departments, ambulatory surgery centers, and procedural services with comparable assessment duties. The strongest match depends on your patient mix and contact model. Experience collecting histories by telephone does not automatically establish readiness for hands-on admission responsibilities.
Candidates may consider moving for a more predictable schedule, a shorter commute, or a role focused on preparation rather than recovery. We ask what they want to change and what duties they want to retain. PACU or office nursing backgrounds warrant closer questions about preoperative assessment and unresolved-chart follow-up.
Which mistakes stall the search?
A common mistake is treating all perioperative experience as interchangeable. Ask whether the RN completed pre-admission assessments or mainly worked in recovery, circulating, or patient intake. Another is advertising a clinic schedule while expecting routine surgery-day assignments. Describe cross-coverage, start times, and who covers unfinished assessment calls before presenting an offer.
Leaving follow-up ownership undefined. If results arrive after an interview, specify who reviews them, contacts the patient, and alerts the responsible clinical team.
How would we run the search for this opening?
Tell us how patients enter the assessment process and where the RN's work ends. We screen credentials, work history, and fit through task-based questions. Use a hypothetical incomplete chart during your interview. Include telephone volume, clinic duties, procedure types, chart access, escalation contacts, and cross-coverage expectations.
Map the assignment
Identify which skills must be present at hire.
Compare relevant experience
We clarify whether candidates performed assessments, followed up on missing records, or only supported those activities.
Test the handoff
Ask the candidate to explain the next contacts, documentation, and handoff. Then discuss orientation to your protocols and systems. We focus on permanent contingency placement. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Where this search connects
National median annual wage. SOC 29-1141, Registered Nurses.
BLS reports Registered Nurses as one occupation. It does not publish a separate estimate for Pre-Op Nurse (Pre-Admission Testing RN), its setting or its engagement terms.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025-05, released 2026-05-15. View source. See the full guide.
Open roles
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Should the RN independently clear patients for surgery?
Do not imply that authority in the posting. Describe the RN's review duties and the clinician responsible for unresolved concerns or clearance decisions. A strong candidate can describe an unresolved chart without guessing at a clinical decision. Define the boundary between pre-admission testing and day-of-surgery nursing before interviewing.
Should we hire a PAT RN or a day-of-surgery pre-op RN?
Choose based on when the work occurs. PAT emphasizes advance assessment and follow-up; surgery-day work includes arrival preparation under your assigned duties.
Can a recovery nurse move into pre-admission testing?
Possibly, but test advance-assessment experience. Ask about telephone histories, record reconciliation, and tracking questions across several contacts.
How should we assess telephone-only experience?
Ask how the RN obtains reliable information without observing the patient. If your role includes clinic care, assess those additional skills separately.
What should we disclose about unfinished charts?
Explain the handoff process and after-hours ownership. Candidates need to know whether follow-up stays with them or transfers to another team.
What should you send us about this role?
Send us the role, where the person will work and what needs to change with this hire. We will ask about the work, not just the title. Share any license or schedule limits that could rule someone out before we begin the search.
Share your assessment model, cross-coverage duties, and escalation process. We can help you search for an RN whose experience matches that assignment.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
Which other positions in this family should you consider?
CVOR Nurse (Cardiovascular OR RN, Heart Team RN) · PACU Nurse (Post-Anesthesia Care, Recovery Room RN)
What do you get at each step of the search?
Our process for every search: calibrate the seat with you, map the market, research the real people, reach out to each one personally, qualify them in live conversation, then hand you a short list with a written brief on each person and support through the offer.
Search Calibration
You get an agreed brief: the work, reporting line, credentials, schedule, and offer you can make.
Market Mapping
You get a search aimed at relevant backgrounds, including people working now who have not applied.
Professional Contact Intelligence
We check appropriate ways to reach the people identified for your search. You do not have to chase them yourself.
Persistent Personalized Outreach
We explain your actual job and follow up with people who may consider a conversation.
Live Candidate Qualification
You see people we have spoken with about the work, interest, and practical fit, not an unread resume pile.
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You get a written brief and support through interviews and offer discussions. You make the hiring decision.
How long will it take to see a short list?
That depends on the job, schedule, available people, and what your employer can offer. We discuss those constraints before outreach and update you as candidates respond. We do not promise a fixed shortlist date. We check the job brief before arranging interviews. Tell us which parts of the role you can change.
What if a candidate receives a counteroffer?
We ask why the person wants to move and discuss competing decisions before an offer. A counteroffer can still change their choice. Keep the duties and offer clear rather than assuming more money settles every concern. Tell us early if parts of your offer cannot change, so the candidate hears it from us first.
What are the replacement terms?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement. Ask us to walk through those terms before you sign, so you know how a replacement would work for your opening and who would start it.
What do we not do in a standard permanent search?
We do not bill standard contingency search by the hour or simply repost your job. Temporary coverage is a separate arrangement. Any retainer or different engagement must be agreed, not assumed. Tell us early if you need coverage while the permanent search runs.