Nurse Selection Plan

Selection Plan for a Critical Care Registered Nurse It is essential for human resource (HR) professionals in health care centers to create effective selection plans for plans for critical care nurses to guarantee those chosen possess the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) to be successful within their new job positions (Heneman, Judge, Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012). The demand for registered nurses (RNs) has intensified in recent years due to the rise in patients with chronic medical conditions and the increasing more complex medical advances occurring across the health care industry (Little & Kinard, 1999). This paper analyzes the health care marketplace and labor demand for critical care

Good critical nurses possess the critical thinking ability to handle emergency situations and equipment but also are compassionate, helping patients and family members through stressful circumstances (Kirpal, 2004). It can be difficult for HR professionals and health care managers to screen potential critical nurse candidates that encompass both critical thinking and empathy characteristics. In addition, many experienced critical care nurses experience burn out from dealing with multiple previous stressful patient encounters and long hours, causing them to leave the nursing profession (Kirpal, 2004). Moreover, to increase efficiency many hospitals expect their nurses to float to other departments to help fill temporary staffing shortages—increasing the stress levels of nurses to learn new skills in unfamiliar environments in short periods of time (Kirpal, 2004). As previously mentioned, younger individuals are not choosing to become nurses, creating an age disparity among nurses in many hospitals (Kirpal, 2004). Thus, the goal for health care HR professionals is to find the right balance between younger enthusiastic nurses and older experienced nurses in order to ensure their critical care skills are passed on to the next generation of nurses who will hopefully stay with the organization for many years (Kirpal,

The following were the initial methods of assessment chosen for this selection plan: resumes, letters of recommendation; job knowledge test, nursing licenses, certifications, letters of recommendation, and reference checks (Heneman et al., 2012). Resumes and letters of recommendation from previous employers are a good starting point to get an overview of potential job applicants’ KSAOs (Heneman et al., 2012). Job knowledge tests are useful assessment methods for skilled positions such as nursing because they evaluate “technical or professional expertise in specific knowledge areas” (OPM, n.d., para. With written or electronic job knowledge tests nurse applicants are tested based on the clinical expertise they acquired throughout their careers (OPM, n.d.). Additionally, nurses are required to hold a license from the state in which they desire to work (OPM, n.d.). Licensure guarantees job candidates possess the necessary government mandated education and training requirements to work within that profession (OPM, n.d.). Certification in a profession goes further indicating the individual has advanced knowledge and skills within their career field (OPM, n.d.). Reference checks provide HR professionals with the necessary material to conclude whether the information given in nurse applicants’