who has the hiring power?

The manager is the one who chooses to hire.

The nurse manager. The recruiter just gets you in the door for an interview.

Nurse Manager

Nurse manager. When I was trying to get a job at the place I work at now, right after graduation, I was trying to go through HR to get a job. Never got it and ended up working at a different hospital for a few months. This time around I went straight to the nurse manager and got the job.

Human Resources generally have the final say so for every employee hire of a large institution. In other words, a unit manager approved candidate, must still be accepted by Human Resource (what used to be called the 'Personnel Department') before one can start at any hospital. While unit managers may make recommendations and tell HR that they want a particular applicant, the only way that any individual unit manager can override HR is if the manager had veto authority over HR vis a vis personnel. No hospital that I had ever worked for, or ever heard of, ever did that. This is generally because HR determines the employability of any potential employee. For example, an applicant may be great nurse that the manager wants, but could also have a criminal record a mile long; HR would deny hiring such applicants no matter what the manager wants. Conversely, even if HR deems a nurse employable, if for whatever reason, the individual is a felt to be a poor fit with the unit, a unit manager may refuse to keep certain applicants (ie failed probation). Thus, either HR or manager can both deny an applicant, while both need to agree with a hiring, with the final say being HR's.

Human Resources generally have the final say so for every employee hire of a large institution. In other words, a unit manager approved candidate, must still be accepted by Human Resource (what used to be called the 'Personnel Department') before one can start at any hospital. While unit managers may make recommendations and tell HR that they want a particular applicant, the only way that any individual unit manager can override HR is if the manager had veto authority over HR vis a vis personnel. No hospital that I had ever worked for, or ever heard of, ever did that. This is generally because HR determines the employability of any potential employee. For example, an applicant may be great nurse that the manager wants, but could also have a criminal record a mile long; HR would deny hiring such applicants no matter what the manager wants. Conversely, even if HR deems a nurse employable, if for whatever reason, the individual is a felt to be a poor fit with the unit, a unit manager may refuse to keep certain applicants (ie failed probation). Thus, either HR or manager can both deny an applicant, while both need to agree with a hiring, with the final say being HR's.

But it seems to me that HR is looking more at eligibility issues, such as criminal history, background check, etc. They'll ok a larger pool of eligible hires, and then it's the nurse manager who actually picks the person that gets hired. For HR, you just need to have a clean record. The nurse manager you have to impress with your abilities as a nurse and future team member.

But it seems to me that HR is looking more at eligibility issues, such as criminal history, background check, etc. They'll ok a larger pool of eligible hires, and then it's the nurse manager who actually picks the person that gets hired. For HR, you just need to have a clean record. The nurse manager you have to impress with your abilities as a nurse and future team member.

Oh yes, I agree; but the question is, who has the "power" which, to me at least, implies the overall final word; in my experience, it is always been with HR. It may not be with the individual recruiter per se, but rather with that HR department.

HR usually has final say, but take input from nurse manager/DON, in my past experience.