Career Resources / Top Nursing Opportunities in Columbus, Ohio
Few people realize how drastically nursing has changed over the years. Nurses were originally relegated to roles that focused on domestic duties. While their responsibilities evolved to tending to wounds and caring for the sick, even this was strictly limited, with decision-making and patient management the sole domain of physicians.
Today’s nurses are empowered, and their skills and knowledge are respected. Nurses work alongside physicians as valued members of the healthcare team and – depending on their title and education – may be the main point of contact for patients. Corresponding to this shift in their status, they’re also earning generous salaries and compensation, and facilities compete with one another for the most talented, thoughtful, and experienced professionals available.
If you’re a nurse considering a new position, Columbus, Ohio, is a tempting and exciting place to live and work. Here are a few of the city’s top hospitals, specialists, and healthcare employers who are anxious to meet you and discuss the opportunities that suit your skills and their needs.
The city of Columbus may label itself as having a small-town mentality, but there’s a good reason why it is known as the “Biggest Small Town in America.” The city proper has a population of over 900,000 residents, and when you count all the surrounding areas that make up the Columbus metropolitan area, the count is well over two million, making the city currently the 14th most populous in the country.
While most people know Columbus as home to Ohio State University, there’s more to the city than the renowned school and football powerhouse. Columbus is also where you’ll find the headquarters of some of the biggest companies in the country, as well as research institutes such as Battelle. A century-old, this private nonprofit applied science and technology development company boasts research endeavors that include genomics, life sciences research, medical device development, neurotechnology, and public health studies. The city itself has a revitalized downtown area, a world-class zoo, a remarkable network of trails and waterways for outdoor enthusiasts, and a remarkable collection of neighborhoods that give it a unique and diverse character.
The people who live, work, and play in Columbus rely on its many healthcare facilities to keep them healthy. According to the Columbus Dispatch, the city was ranked seventh for health care access, including access to primary care providers and behavioral health care. There are 15 hospitals in the city, including an internationally recognized pediatric hospital, a nationally ranked cancer hospital, two heart hospitals, and many great medical centers, urgent care clinics, private practices, and long-term care facilities.
Plenty of Healthcare Jobs in Columbus
Nurses have so many career paths available to them, from bedside care or specialties, including nursing and pediatrics, to working in private practice, in home health, in schools, and in hospice. Columbus’s abundance of top healthcare employers adds to the list of great options available. Below you’ll find a few of the city’s best places for nurses to work.
Get job matches in your area + answers to all your nursing career questions
OhioHealth
OhioHealth is a not-for-profit healthcare organization that encompasses 14 hospitals, six of which are located within the city’s borders. The system also has more than 200 ambulatory sites and services providing hospice, home health, and medical equipment. The organization’s dedication to quality care has resulted in it being listed among the top 50 cardiovascular hospitals, being certified as a Great Place to Work, being named a Forbes Best Employer for Diversity, and being named one of IBM Watson’s top five health systems for several years in a row. The system’s Grant Medical Center has repeatedly been designated as a Magnet hospital, a prestigious recognition that awards healthcare organizations for nursing excellence.
Nurses working for OhioHealth benefit from the organization’s dedication to delivering world-class patient care through a workforce that encourages learning, growth, and work/life balance. OhioHealth encourages nurses to continue their education and take on leadership roles. They are supported in their professional endeavors from the very start: OhioHealth offers new grad nurses the choice of multiple fellowship programs and pairs nurses with Patient Support Assistants to provide them with a much-needed extra set of hands. The hospital has a shared governance structure as well as generous benefits and compensation and multiple development plans in place to ensure that nurses continue to grow and advance in their careers.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Families come from around the world to receive care at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The hospital is a global referral destination that sees patients from all 50 states and more than 50 countries and is an NIH-funded free-standing pediatric research institute. Founded in 1892 with nine beds, today, the hospital encompasses more than 65 sites and sees over one million patients each year. The hospital has repeatedly been named to U.S. News & World Report’s honor roll of “Best Children’s Hospitals” and Forbes’ “America’s Best Employers” list. Nationwide Children’s has also been designated a Magnet organization, among other awards that it has received.
Nationwide recognizes that its nursing professionals are the front line of delivering care, and beyond the rewards of delivering state-of-the-art pediatric care, it offers its nursing professionals generous compensation as well as sign-on bonuses, tuition reimbursement, scholarship opportunities, academic support for family members, financial and retirement benefits, and more.
Central Ohio Primary Care
Central Ohio Primary Care was founded over 25 years ago as a group of 33 physicians dedicated to providing better quality patient care. The organization now includes a full-service laboratory, complete radiology services and cardiac testing, as well as health management programs, physical therapy, diabetes management, and asthma management services. The group includes adult practices, an orthopedic urgent care center, pediatrics offices, specialists, and same-day centers. All locations work to cultivate a culture of kindness that reaches both patients and colleagues.
In addition to generous compensation and sign-on bonuses, nurses working for Central Ohio Primary Care are offered retirement benefits, including a 401(k) plan and profit sharing; health benefits including health care coverage, cancer support benefits, accident insurance, and reduced-cost access to the group’s same day centers for employees and their families; time away including paid time off, holiday pay, paid parental leave, and more; educational discounts; DoorDash membership; identity theft protection, and more.
With multiple hospitals and countless clinics, private practices, rehabilitation facilities, long-term care sites, and more, Columbus, Ohio, offers registered nurses plenty of options.
If you are interested in professional opportunities in Columbus, visit Incredible Health’s nursing job search page.