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Know a Nurse?

Duke employees earn $2,500 as part of referral program

Polly Padgett, left, a nurse with Duke’s Infection Control Outreach Network, referred Shelby Lassiter to a job at Duke last year. Photo by Bryan Roth.
Polly Padgett, left, a nurse with Duke’s Infection Control Outreach Network, referred Shelby Lassiter to a job at Duke last year. Photo by Bryan Roth.
By Bryan Roth

For years, Duke has been recognized as a “best employer” by many organizations and publications, from AARP to Carolina Parent and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

But sometimes, the best recommendation of an institution comes from its people.

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“I feel like it’s an awesome place to work because we have lots of opportunities and one of the best benefit packages in the Triangle,” said Polly Padgette, a nurse with Duke’s Infection Control Outreach Network. “Time off is good, retirement is good, and we’re a world-renowned organization where you get to see things you wouldn’t see anywhere else.”

In nearly 20 years at Duke, Padgette said she’s used that kind of pitch to help woo almost 20 people to work within Duke’s Health System. For four, she’s used the Nurse Referral Program, a unique initiative that rewards all faculty and staff who successfully recommend a nurse for hire at Duke Hospital and Duke Regional and Raleigh hospitals. In exchange for bringing on new talent, Duke may provide a referrer with an incentive of up to $2,500 per hire.

Between 2012 to 2014, 210 nurses were successfully hired through the Referral Program, with a majority of those coming onboard during the opening of the Duke Cancer Center in 2012 and Duke Medicine Pavilion in 2013, said Angela Pointer, manager for nurse recruitment at Duke Hospital. Along with getting new employees who can be vouched for by Duke’s workforce, using the Referral Program saves Duke money.

“Compared to placing ads or attending conferences to recruit, the cost per hire with the program is 50 percent less for experienced nurses,” Pointer said. “We already have great nurses with great experience, so a lot of times they’re referring somebody that has the same kind of ethics and passion the referring nurse would have.”

Shelby Lassiter, formerly of the North Carolina Quality Center, joined Duke as a nurse in Infection Prevention after being referred by Padgette in 2014.

“I wanted to come here because Duke gives me the opportunity to work with world-renowned leaders and you just don’t get that everywhere,” Lassiter said. “I want to make sure my practice as an infection preventionist is as up-to-date as possible and there’s no better place for me to be than right here.”