Heres what I don't get about hiring

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Specializes in Medical Surgical/Addiction/Mental Health.

I think it is interesting that we are talking about men here rather than making a blanketed statement. Your sex doesn’t matter. If you are an incompetent nurse, you should not be practicing. We get so caught up on technical skills and lose sight of an essential attribute of nursing, compassion. I am curious to know what qualifications the OP has to assess the quality of another student’s work. Here is a wakeup call; your GPA does not dictate what kind of nurse you will become. I know of a few nurses who barely made it through school, but who are leaders and mentors at their facility. Out star student who graduated with a 4.0 is scheduled to take NCLEX her third time.

I will take compassion over technical skills anytime. I can teach the technical skills, but compassion is something within that can’t be taught.

Tragically Hip

267 Posts

I can teach skills to a monkey. I can't teach attitude. Attitude will take you further. As a previous manager I would rather hire a good attitude who uplifts the team and does not bring negativity to the team. I would pour more into them to get them where I want them to be. 2+2 is essential, yes, but the overriding reason is ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!

I could understand that if you were hiring players for an NFL team. If a player is a bit shaky catching long passes, at least he might be a good influence in the locker room. The thing is, his personal responsibility is limited. If he fumbles an easy pass, his team may suffer the loss of potential points. If a nurse fumbles a critical but common procedure, a patient may be left with a life-long impairment that will for the rest of his life affect that person's family. Or a difficult-to-quantify higher percentage of ICU patients won't make it.

You certainly have never worked in an engineering environment.

I will take compassion over technical skills anytime. I can teach the technical skills, but compassion is something within that can’t be taught.

Are you saying that you'd value the compassion of the surgeon doing your child's heart/lung transplant than his skill? Or do you think a monkey could be trained to do it?

Since when did nursing become a sales and marketing job? I realize that it has an important element of dealing with the public, but I thought it was mainly about skills.

Specializes in Hospice / Ambulatory Clinic.

People hire people they would like to work with. Competency comes somewhere further down the lists.

I'm assuming your comparing Mr talkalot to yourself. Maybe you don't come across as well as you think you do. I know thats my problem I think I've lovely but other people don't always feel that way *Sigh*

Just keep on trucking you'll find somewhere else that'll snap you up.

NurseDirtyBird

425 Posts

i worked with a nurse who was a nice guy loved by his patients and got along well with his coworkers (including me). this nurse took the time to make me a cup of tea when i was at work sick as a dog. but he was unsafe in his practice. people on the night shift hated following him because inevitably they would have to clean up a mess. nevertheless, until recently, he was able to keep his job. he was able to transfer to different positions within the same system without any trouble.[i'] this kind of unfairness is what is going to push me away from nursing. [/i]i am organized, detail-oriented, and conscientious. i don't have experience, but i have the drive to grow my skills and knowledge base. it would kill me if i found out a slob with a great personality was found to be more qualified than someone like me. if i wasn't in a system already, i would be up **** creek.

bah, i should have just stuck with a biology major. i mean ***.

i hate to tell you, but it's all of life that's unfair, not just nursing. nepotism, personal feelings involved in hiring/promoting, office politics...all those are regular occurences in any workplace, every profession. there's just as much shady happenings at mcdonald's, research laboratories, janitorial services, professional sports, academia...i could go on and on. don't blame nursing, blame human nature.

Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

I say this alot. I must just be getting old. To me it's obvious.

The friendly sparkling personality is going to get the job over the quiet one

The attractive person has a better chance than the ugly person.

Thin people have an advantage over fat people.

Those who dress well do better than those who don't.

None of the above is carved in stone. There are no absolutes. I'm simply a realist and the above is the way the world turns. It's our culture.

Therefore when I go on a job interview, I dress well, I wear make-up, and I pull out my best friendly personality face. Not much I can do with the fat/thin thing except not wear spandex.

This is the exact stuff I do not like to hear, being an introverted, quiet person and all. This seems to be happening at my school, too. So I can sit here, thinking and acting on the best care for my patient while someone else charms the masses. What a crock! Guess I'm going to have to fake an extroverted personality until I make it. I can already feel myself withdrawing when I come home at night.

Annaiya, NP

555 Posts

Specializes in PICU.

Yes, it has been shown in studies (no clue about their scientific validity) that tall people, thin people and attractive people get hired over people who are not. That is just the way of the world. It definitely isn't exclusive to just nursing, in fact, I find nursing to be much less like this than business. I wear make-up and fix my hair every day before work, just so I can try to sort of fit in. My unit is filled with extremely beautiful women, and I definitely don't feel like I fit in next to many of my coworkers. I think the perception that pretty, thin people are smarter, more motivated and capable permeates our society. Personality also adds to a person's attractiveness. For those of us who aren't strikingly beautiful with a great out-going personality, we have to work harder to get the same jobs. It's just the way it is. Have you ever seen a fat, unattractive drug rep? I keep looking for one, but have yet to meet one.

Specializes in Hospice / Ambulatory Clinic.

I think the one problem that occurs with quiet introverted people is sometimes the communication can be difficult so the message get subverted.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide

VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN

22 Articles; 9,987 Posts

Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with BS" is what comes to mind here. I too have seen this happen time and time again, and never quite figured it out either; it's always the larger-than-life personalities who seem to win it all.

However, there are always exceptions to the rule, and I'm one of them. I'm not tall, I'm certainly NOT thin, and while I'm not a "barker" I'm no raving beauty either. Not to mention the fact that I couldn't BS a three-year-old. Yet with the exception of one six-week stretch of unemployment a couple of years ago after I had knee surgery, I've never had trouble finding a job, in fact I've found 13 of them in 17 years of being in health care. (What I don't seem to be able to do is stay with any one job longer than a couple of years, but that's a story for another thread. ;))

Interesting topic, hope to see even more replies.

Specializes in ICU.

I don't think it has all that much to do with "personality." My DON at a previous hospital always told us that if a male nurse and a female nurse applied for the same job, the male nurse would get it. This woman had a doctorate, so was quite educated, plus she had held positions in several hospitals thru-out her career, from New York to Alabama. All of our charge nurses at that hospital were male, regardless of their credentials. As a matter of fact, most of them had crappy personalities, and were argumentative and always wanted "their" way. I think females are simply still fighting for our place in the workforce. As for "pretty" female nurses, I wanted a job in the same facility where I presently work, but was passed over. I have 23 years critical care experience. The nurse they hired was a new-grad, but very attractive and 35 years younger than me. Well, she failed state boards, but they kept her on until she finally passed.

Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.

I believe some hiring managers make their decisions based upon how they felt in the interview, not based upon objective assessments of applicants' qualifications.

tigerlogic

236 Posts

Personality and communication matter. Period. They matter in interviews. They matter with coworkers. They matter with patients. Incompetency sucks. No doubt. No argument. Certain personalities make patients feel safer and calmer. A patient's feelings and sense of well being affect their disease process and experience. If nursing is just a bunch of skills that you do to a body, it's hardly the field I'm passionate about joining.

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