Gulf Hospital Problems

Gulf Hospital (GH) is one of the leading hospitals in the country, known for quality health care services at affordable prices. Its vision is to become a national health care centre, providing better, faster, and friendlier care. Its internal strategy focuses on continuously improving service quality and achieving higher customer satisfaction.

Both doctors and patients have recently complained about the impatience of some nurses, their lack of co-operation, and their lack of relevant experience. The nurses have been accused of creating a bad atmosphere in some departments due to their inability to get along with each other. Nurse turnover has been increasing over the last 2 years, reaching 20%. With current plans to enlarge the Paediatrics Department, there is a need to recruit and select 25 new nurses over the next few months.

Most nurses at GH are recruited internally: 70% of the applications come from referrals, 10% from the hospital’s website, and the rest are spontaneous applications. Only 5% of the nurses are recruited externally, using classified ads in the local newspaper. Since publication of the job opening 4 weeks ago, Hussam, the HR director, has received 250 resumes. After screening for education and experience, he is left with 100 candidates. Hussam wants to improve the selection process. Here are the elements that give Heba, the new HR assistant, a headache.

Hussam insists on interviewing the nurses himself, because he believes that doctors and supervisors do not have the HRM background to do it effectively on their own. Since they are disappointed with the behaviour of the newer nurses, the directors of the three different recruiting departments (paediatrics, trauma, and maternity) also want to interview personally those nurses who will work in their departments. The nursing director also wants to be included in the job interviews. But the nursing director, the departmental heads, and the nurses themselves have regular