There was an unspoken tension hung in the room. The CEO had called for an unplanned meeting. The nursing head, medical head, training and HR head were all there. They were given less than 12 hours to come prepared on innovative solutions to improve quality of nursing hires. The HR head was sharing his challenges in finding nurses for the high attrition. He was of the opinion that more fresh nurses can be hired to contain the attrition. He spoke about increasing the campus interviews. The nursing head was complaining the problem of nurses leaving within 3 months as they are ill prepared for the kind of work. “Many take advantage of the training provided and move on.” Nursing head reflected. Medical head supported the nursing head that the quality and stability of new hires will have to improve.
CEO thoughtfully asked “Team, is there a way we can improve the quality of hires?’ Turning to the nursing head he asked “How many nurses are involved in interviewing nurses? Will they all interview in a standardized manner?” The team was surprised. Screening tests, face to face interview and interview format were all in place. What else can be done?
Nursing head had come prepared. She told “Standardized and structured process does not exist. It would be highly be beneficial if a set of nurse interviewers can be trained to conduct competency based effective interviews”.
