Hospital jobs across the United States are hiring right now!

What the Job Actually Involves Day to Day

"Hospital job" covers several very different days. On the patient floor, nursing assistants and orderlies clean and bathe patients, help with toileting and dressing, turn, reposition and transfer patients, measure vital signs such as blood pressure and temperature, and record and report health concerns to nurses (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Medical assistants combine administrative and clinical tasks in physicians' offices, hospitals and other care settings (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Pharmacy technicians, unit clerks, transporters, sterile processing staff, schedulers and billing staff keep the rest of the building moving.

Tools are broadly the same wherever you land: an electronic health record, a badge and secure login, vital-sign monitors, mechanical lifts and gait belts, a phone or pager, and a scanner for supplies or medications.

Shifts follow the building. Because hospitals and residential care facilities provide care at all hours, nursing assistants and orderlies may need to work nights, weekends and holidays, and although most work full time, some work part time (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Twelve-hour shifts, rotating schedules and floating between units are common; ask each employer how it handles them.

The work is physical. Nursing assistants and orderlies have one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of all occupations because of frequent patient moving and other physically demanding tasks, though training in proper lifting techniques can reduce injury risk (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).

Direct care is on-site. Remote and hybrid hospital work exists mainly in coding, billing, scheduling, prior authorization and some management functions, and availability varies by employer and sometimes by state. Live openings are further down this page.

Where Companies Actually Hire From the United States

• Hospital systems hiring directly. Hospitals (state, local and private) accounted for 32% of nursing assistant jobs and 86% of orderly jobs (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025), and most systems screen through their own career pages.
• Skilled nursing and residential care facilities. Nursing care facilities were the largest employer of nursing assistants at 36% (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025); many people start here and move into a hospital later.
• Healthcare staffing and travel agencies, which fill per-diem shifts, contracts and hard-to-cover nights.
• Physicians' offices, outpatient clinics and ambulatory surgery centers attached to hospital systems, where much medical assistant hiring sits (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).
• State-run job banks and public job search sites. CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, describes job banks including state-run ones as a way to find real openings (CareerOneStop, undated): https://www.careeronestop.org/JobSearch/FindJobs/find-jobs.aspx
• Training programs and community colleges with clinical placement sites that feed local employers.
• Union hiring halls and registries, where staff are organized.

Check two or three categories at once rather than one, starting with the openings block below.

How Pay Is Usually Structured

For published benchmarks, the median annual wage was $42,260 for nursing assistants and $38,290 for orderlies in May 2025 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025): https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/nursing-assistants.htm. National employment and wage estimates by detailed healthcare support occupation are also published in the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics series (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2023): https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes310000.htm. Medians are midpoints, not offers — compare them against current postings in your metro area, which you can start doing in the openings block below.

How to Get Started

1. Pick a target role and read its entry requirement first. Some healthcare support jobs require only a high school diploma or equivalent with no on-the-job training needed, and pharmacy technicians require a high school diploma or equivalent plus moderate-term on-the-job training (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).
2. Check your state's rules before paying for training. Nursing assistants often need a state-approved education program and a competency exam, and those who pass are placed on a state registry, which they must be on to work in a nursing home; titles such as Certified Nursing Assistant vary by state (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Required hours, exams and registry listing vary by state (nurse.org, undated): https://nurse.org/education/cna-certification-requirements-by-state/
3. Clear the compliance basics. Some states require nursing assistants to pass a criminal background check and complete continuing education, and orderlies may need CPR or basic life support certification, although no license is required for orderlies (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Expect a health screening and immunization check too.
4. Build a one-page resume aimed at a unit. List your certification or registry number, clinical hours, CPR/BLS status, the shifts you can work, and experience involving physical care, customer contact or record keeping.
5. Create profiles where hospitals look. Register on the career sites of systems within commuting distance and on your state job bank, which you can find through CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor, undated): https://www.careeronestop.org/JobSearch/FindJobs/find-jobs.aspx
6. Sort out how you will be paid before day one. Employers set up direct deposit and request tax and work-eligibility paperwork at onboarding; have a bank account and your documents ready and ask HR which forms they need.
7. Send a first application that answers the schedule question. Include the resume, your credential status, the shifts and weekends you can genuinely cover, and a short paragraph on why that unit.

Work through these in order, then use the openings below to apply.

What to Check Before Accepting an Offer

• The employer is a real, registered facility. Look it up in your state health department or licensing database and confirm the address matches the offer.
• Your own credential is verifiable. Nurse license verification resources such as Nursys, operated by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, let employers and the public confirm whether a license is active and in good standing in a given state (undated): https://www.compactstates.com/nursing-license-verification
• The pay model is in writing. Base rate, overtime rules, which differentials apply to which hours, and the first pay date.
• There are no fees. No legitimate employer asks you to pay for a badge, uniform, background check or equipment kit, or to transfer money.
• The schedule is specific. Shift length, rotation, weekend and holiday frequency, on-call, floating, and the time zone the schedule is set in for any remote or multi-site work.
• Training and lifting support. Ask how patient handling is trained and whether lift equipment is available on your unit.
• Outside reviews and public records. Read current employee reviews on a well-known employer-review site and check state inspection reports for the facility.
• Cancellation terms for per-diem or contract work, including pay if a shift is cancelled.

Run this list against the postings in the openings block below before you sign.

Open Roles You Can Apply to Today

The buttons on this page lead to current hospital and healthcare support openings you can filter by state, shift and role, so you can see what local employers are asking for right now. Use the next guides alongside them to prepare your resume, confirm your state's certification rules and check pay benchmarks before you apply.

Frequently asked questions