UW Health in northern Illinois features a major, 339-bed acute care hospital and free-standing outpatient cancer center in Rockford, a medical center in Belvidere, a network of 30 primary care and multi-specialty clinics and the region’s largest home health care agency.

Located in the heart of Rockford, our flagship — SwedishAmerican Hospital — is home to more than 400 active and courtesy staff providers, encompassing more than 40 specialties to care for families across the region.

Your Total Rewards, which combines salary and benefits, is a highly competitive package that few can match. Our health insurance and retirement programs are the envy of many, and our employee health and well-being options help you be at your best as a UW Health caregiver. Nursing positions are eligible for a sign-on bonus.

Your life is more than your work. Our full-time and part-time positions allow for scheduling flexibility that aligns with an optimal work-life balance.

UW Health invests in your professional growth as a nurse by helping pay for coursework associated with career advancement. Nurses interested in educational advancement to a bachelor's degree, master’s or doctorate are eligible for a generous annual benefit with either full- or part-time employment.

Recent nursing school graduates thrive in our Nurse Residency Program, an on-the-job training that eases the transition from coursework to career in the inpatient or ambulatory clinic setting. Newly hired nurses are nurtured and mentored for 12 months as they transition into their practice. This contributes to a very high first-year job retention rate—higher than most other hospitals.

Nursing excellence is recognized and celebrated in our inpatient and outpatient settings through several award programs, including the DAISY Award (honors nurses for remarkable patient care, clinical skills and extraordinary compassion) and the Nursing Quality Award (based on several metrics, including RN satisfaction and patient experience).

At UW Health, the well-being of our team members is key to maintaining a heathy working environment. That’s why we ensure the number of patients assigned to each nurse is based on the acuity of the patient. This ensures our staff will be able to maximize the quality of care delivered and maintain a professional practice environment.

Every year since 2015 UW Heath has achieved Magnet Recognition. The stringent criteria sets a high bar in the organization to reach a level of excellence through a commitment to nursing. To achieve Magnet recognition, UW Health must consistently create an environment with transformational leaders with a vision for the future, the structure to empower nurses to help achieve organizational goals, a focus on practice excellence in nursing, a culture of innovation and that positively impact patient care and a commitment to improving clinical outcomes.

UW Health is committed to fostering a workplace that creates belonging for everyone. Our respect for people shines through patient care interactions and our daily work practices as we work to embrace the knowledge, unique perspectives and qualities each employee and faculty member brings to work each day.

As those directly involved with delivery of care, nurses are well positioned to contribute many valuable ideas resulting in the best possible experience for patients and optimal satisfaction for nurses themselves. Accordingly, the UW Health shared governance process provides nurses with numerous opportunities to participate in decisions that affect their work. Our eight nurse coordinating councils – composed of nurses who choose to participate – decide policy regarding many facets of nursing, including practice, professional advancement, recognition and staffing.

Working at a community-based medical center like UW Health in northern Illinois means you’ll care for patients from the routine to the highly complex, including those recovering from traumatic events, open heart surgery and many others. Over time, this broad range of experience will enable you to specialize in an area you are most passionate about.