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IDEAS THAT WORK
HIRE THE RIGHT PERSONALITIES
Only Fun, Friendly People Need Apply
I
used to hire nurses with the most
experience, but I've since learned
that more years doesn't necessarily
make a better nurse. Hiring a motivated
and energetic nurse with a great person-
ALL GET ALONG For the well-being of your facility, hire only fun, friendly people.
ality and "enough experience" is better than hiring a more experienced
nurse with a poor personality. Tips on doing that:.
• Ask your staff for referrals. Trust the people you work with every
day to recommend former colleagues who'd fit in well.
• Ask leading questions. Ask candidates such questions as "How would
former colleagues describe you as a co-worker and/or employee?" Although
it's important to hear all the keywords (hard worker, team player, reliable, dedicated), you also want the candidate to say, "I'm warm and friendly" and "I get
along well with everyone."
• Let your staff interview candidates. Listen to your intuition about
how well a nurse would fit into your center, but also let your staff interview
candidates who've passed your initial screening. I've hired 2 people recently
who at first I didn't get a warm and fuzzy feeling from, but our staff did. Both
were reserved and quiet in my 1-on-1 interview, but they warmed up in the staff
interviews. They're now excellent employees.
• Start an externship program. Many of our medical assistants, reprocessing techs and even our front-desk receptionist came through the extern1 8
O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | J A N U A R Y 2013
