Description of the Selection Process in a Nursing Department
Employee selection and recruitment processes are fundamental tasks with significant implications for the hiring institution. Candidate selection process in the nursing department draws from the need to find individuals motivated and qualified to lead the way in clinical care and advance community health. In this regard, the process seeks out individuals with experiential ongoing learning, clinical nursing leadership skills, and capacity to provide evidence-based care to patients. The department candidate selection and recruitment processes take into account the fact that the institution utilizes a primary nursing care delivery model. Under the model, primary nurses form the integral part of the team that advocates for patient needs and provides continuity of care, keeping the patient and their family as the center of focus in an effort to create an environment that facilitates care and healing (UC Davis Health, 2019). Therefore, the selection and recruitment system emphasizes on nursing values under the primary care model. The values include technical expertise in areas such as medical surgical, critical care, emergency, trauma, perioperative, and clinical specialties. Ethical practice and experience are also of critical importance during the selection process.
On the other hand, the selection process gives utmost significance to employment benefits. The department strives to offer compensation and attractive employment packages in the industry through competent benefits, services, and opportunities. The department conducts staffing on career and per diem basis, factoring in 12-hour shifts coverage of inpatient areas. Competitive insurance plans, holidays, paid vacations and sick leave, savings investment plans, and retirement benefits, professional development opportunities, employee assistance, rehabilitation services, and institutional commitment to work-life balance. The approach is consistent with the generalizable findings by Kulig et al. (2015) showing that addressing the age-old issue of selection, recruitment, and retention of nurses requires development of practical and effective measures not limited to educational opportunities, financial incentives, and enhanced infrastructure.
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Overall, the selection and recruitment process used by the department is similar to that used by the state or government hospitals for staff nurses: a direct recruitment method. Under the method, qualified candidates must be aged between 18-40 years, be a holder of Matriculation Certificate in General Nursing and Midwifery, possess a Bsc. Nursing and registered, or have attained and A grade in Nursing and Midwifery Interview. The probation period for the position is 2 years (Kumari & Singh, 2008).
Team Members Involved
The key members involved in candidate selection process are the departmental managers and the HR manager. The departmental managers are charged with reviewing applications and resumes of candidates. The department uses established and consistent criteria for all routed applications. Screening takes into account the qualifications and experience outlined in the position and stated in the posting. The departmental managers strive to increase the diversity of the applicant pool using Applicant Tracking System (ATS), a computer software which manages the online recruitment process as well as stores and organizes the information of job applications (Drucker, 2016). Details of the top candidates from the ATS are passed over to the hirer (HR). The departmental (hiring) manager is also responsible for preparing the interview questions and submitting them to the recruiter (HR).
The HR Manager comes in during the interview preparation step, starting from constitution of the panel, which must be diverse in relation to occupation, departments, race, ethnicity, gender, and have at least one person sourced from outside the hiring department. The HR is charged with constituting a panel that has at least a member with current knowledge on hiring for success, and managing implicit bias in the hiring process (UC Davis Health, 2019). The HR must address all probable areas of conflict of interest. The HR also develops the plan for the interview, sets the agenda, and oversees its administration. Upon completion of the interview process, the HR sends the completed reports on candidates to the departmental (hiring) manager.
Effectiveness of the Current System
The implications of an effective or faulty hiring process on organizational performance cannot be understated. In its 2017 post, the Forbes Human Resource Council observed that hiring is one of the most stressful and high-stakes undertakings by any organization. The assertion draws from the statistics showing that onboarding an employee costs approximately $24,000; while a botched hire is at least 30% of that employees first year’s earnings. The selection process utilized by the department employs the rigor required to ensure correct choices are made from the start. The effectiveness of the system used by the department is because it is managerially oriented, implying candidates selected would be qualified to perform in an efficient and effective manner in the departmental setting. Effectiveness of the departmental process is also evident from the agenda of the interview, which provides room for quantification of the deliverables, addressing the candidate’s questions, and ensuring an open forum. The motive is to create an environment where the candidate can feel free to express themselves as the best for the position.
Problems from the Selection System
The problem associated with the selection process used by the nursing department stems from the use of the ATS. The autonomous system may unintentionally screen against qualified candidates who were otherwise supposed to be on the top of the list submitted to the recruiter (HR). The challenges in the use of ATS are attributable to difficulties in obtaining up-to-date and accurate information and insights, and lack of a large body of evidence on successful sue of the system in similar settings. The system uses a three-member panel, which may generate difficulties in meeting the diversity requirements needed to limit potential or unintentional discrimination of candidates. The system may fail to provide what Harris et al. (2013) term as equality of employment opportunities for nurses at the point of qualification.
Suggestions for Modification of the Selection System
The discussion presented in this essay demonstrates candidate selection to be a task of utmost importance on reflecting the recruitment policy of any organization. It is important to understand that the departmental process is designed to select the best qualified candidates. However, there are aspects of the process that must be looked into. There is need to ensure a balance between the number of people recruited and the management’s existing expectations to recruitment needs in the near future. Ensuring promises made during the recruitment do not oversell the department or job is imperative. Moreover, recruitment process needs to be adapted to relevant differences in the characteristics of employees to be selected. A diverse panel is only logical if prospective candidates for selection are equally diverse.
References
Drucker, K. (2016). Avoiding Discrimination and Filtering of Qualified Candidates by ATS Software. UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. Retrieved from https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3836&context=thesesdissertations.
Harris, R., Ooms, A., Grant, R., Marshall-Lucette, S., Chu, C. S. F., Sayer, J., & Burke, L. (2013). Equality of employment opportunities for nurses at the point of qualification: an exploratory study. International Journal of Nursing Studies , 50 (3), 303-313.
Kulig, J. C., Kilpatrick, K., Moffitt, P., & Zimmer, L. (2015). Recruitment and retention in rural nursing: It's still an issue. Nursing Leadership (Tor Ont) , 28 (2), 40-50.
Kumari, S., & Singh, C. (2008). Recruitment policies of nursing department of select hospitals. Nursing and Midwifery Research Journal, 4 (4), 128-138.
UC Davis Health. (2019). Human resources: Requisition and interview process. Retrieved from https://hr.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk4401/files/inlinefiles/UCDH_Requisition_Interview_Process.pdf.
