Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSNursing candidates interviewed by patients
Candidates for nursing jobs at a London mental health trust are being quizzed by patients and service users as part of the recruitment process.
As Nursing Times revealed last month, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust is currently in the early stages of developing an assessment tool for potential nursing staff, which will include testing their levels of compassion.
As part of this development process, the mental health trust has begun holding assessment days once a month to observe how potential nurse applicants interact with each other. The trust told Nursing Times it has also started involving service users and their carers in the interview process.
Trust chief executive Claire Murdoch said it was essential that nurses kept ‘a sense of how patients as people might be feeling’.
‘At the assessment day we often have patient and service user groups asking candidates how they would deal with real life scenarios and their feedback is invaluable,’ she said.
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Readers' comments (5)
Anonymous | 15-Apr-2009 11:50 am
This is in theory a good idea but in practice may put the candidate off and create high level of stress especially if the patient is someone who is well known to the service and had been treated by the candidate being interviewed.
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Anonymous | 15-Apr-2009 12:09 pm
I was interviewed for a senior nursing post by a neighbouring trust over ten years ago. The panel included a service user (as well as a nurse, an admin person and a doctor) and although I didn't get the job, I felt the process to be open and fair. I certainly didn't have any qualms about the service user having their input into the interview, even though I knew the person.
I think if a nurse is going to be caused additional stress by being on the receiving end of questions by a service user, maybe they're not right for the job after all?
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janet glynn | 15-Apr-2009 12:09 pm
I have recently undergone an interview in the private sector, this interview technique was applied during this interview, and I have to say that this is a fantastic and innovative way of conducting interviews and judging candidates suitability. After all who is the profession all about? Listen to the patients , it's about time somebody did!
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Phil Dup | 15-Apr-2009 12:14 pm
I despair - what next ?
Potential Police Officers interviewed by criminals. Potential Soldiers interviewed by Taliban fighters. Potential McDonalds staff interviewed by people who eat lots of Burgers !
What a joke !
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Anonymous | 11-Aug-2009 12:52 pm
I feel this could work both ways whereas if the patient knows you they could be biased but it is also good that the choice of employees is not just conducted through hierachy
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