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2.5 Recruitment, selection and
employment guide including
industrial, legal and insurance
requirements
2.5.5 Advertising, interviewing, and
selecting a practice nurse
Position description
A written position description should be developed based on the
identified needs within your practice. The position description
describes the duties and responsibilities of the position.
To begin the development of, or to review an existing position
description, practice staff should answer some questions
regarding the role and expectations of a nurse in your practice.
The aim is to clarify selection criteria for the position such as
specific skills and professional attributes. Questions to consider
as well as examples of position descriptions are included in the
templates in section 2.11 of this guide.
Advertising for a GP nurse
Positions in general practice can offer the nurse opportunities to
use their training in new and different ways not available in the
more traditional hospital based setting. It can also offer nurses
the opportunity to develop new and interesting skills in such
tasks as preventive health services, administration and patient
health management.
The following tips on advertising for a practice nurse are taken from the Melbourne Division of General Practice nurse
recruitment kit.
Advertising a position is an opportunity to ‘showcase’ the range
of skills and duties associated with the role of a clinic or practice
nurse in your practice. Make your advertisement attractive and
interesting; tell the nurse why they would want to work in your
practice (remembering the attributes of working in the general
practice setting, which might make working conditions attractive
to the nurse).
Constructing an advertisement
The information that is contained in an advertisement will largely determine the number and quality of applicants that respond to
the position. Providing specific details of the position will indicate
that the practice has prepared for the process and will assist in
answering the questions of potential applicants.
The following key information could be included in an advertisement:
• position title, and level if applicable
• practice locality(s)
• members of the general practice team
• employment hours over a week
• contact Information for a copy of the Position Description
• closing date for applications
• essential and desirable criteria that may include:
— registered (enrolled) nurse licensed to practice in (state/
territory)
— current driver’s license (if required)
— experience working in a primary health care setting
— experience working with older people and people with
chronic illness
— experience working as part of a small team
— excellent communication skills
— other specific qualifications if required such as asthma
educator, diabetes educator, Pap smear training.
As well as presenting key information, a good advertisement will
also be eye-catching and inviting, and use positive wording.
Placement of advertisements
In order to attract the best candidate for the position, advertise
as widely as possible (within the allocated budget) and use a
number of avenues.
Newspapers
Most applicants seeking new positions refer to the major
weekend and local papers. Often there is a special section
for health personnel and your advertisement is best placed in
this section.
Internet sites
The internet sites such as www.mycareer.com.au or www.seek.com.au are popular recruitment sites. A nursing specific site is www.nursingjobs.com.au and the Australian Practice Nurses
Association also advertises job vacancies at www.apna.asn.au
Divisions of general practice
Your local division may advertise vacant positions.
Responding to enquiries, applications
Set time aside to respond to questions from applicants over the telephone or emails. Follow up with:
• an expression of interest letter
• the position description
• an employment application form.
(Examples and templates shown in section 2.11 of this resource.)
Keep a record of the name and contact details of each applicant
who has expressed an interest in the position.
The interview
Before the interview a number of things need to be organised:
• develop a selection criteria checklist (see template,
section 2.11)
• choose a shortlist of candidates to interview from the
applicants
• develop interview questions (see template, section 2.11)
• develop referee questions (see template, section 2.11).
Step 1: Review all applications
Set aside time to thoroughly read all applications.
• Has all requested information been supplied?
• Use a selection criteria checklist based on the essential and desirable criteria for the position.
Review:
• experience relevant to the position
• experience matching the position description
• evidence of professional and relevant personal
achievements
• tone, style and construction of the letter and curriculum
vitae/resume
• inclusion of referee names and contact details.
Step 2: Create a shortlist
Select those applicants who meet the selection criteria, have an
appropriate and explainable work history, and who may have
other attributes that adds to their application, for example a
non-English language. Reduce the number to be interviewed
by a continuing process of elimination. It is preferable and an
efficient use of time for several applicants (at least two to three)
to be short-listed for interviewing where possible.
Step 3: Prepare for the interview
The interview provides an opportunity to demonstrate the
professionalism of your practice. It is therefore important to
prepare for the interview ahead of time.
Convene an interview panel: the interview panel should
comprise the practice manager, at least one general practitioner
and ideally a nurse. Your division of general practice may be able
to assist with a nurse representative. There should preferably
be more than one and no more than three panel members.
Provide all panel members with a copy of the job description
and applications from the interviewees ahead of time so that any
clarifications can be discussed where required.
Schedule the interview: identify an appropriate location for the
interviews, preferably at the practice so that the applicants can
understand the type of work environment where they might be
employed. Allocate enough time to interview each applicant and
for them to ask any questions they have. Leave a short period
of time between interviews so that panel members can discuss
each applicant and complete documentation.
Develop interview questions: panel members should document
or rate each applicant’s responses to a set of questions. The
questions should relate to the job description essential and
desirable criteria.
To enable the applicant to introduce themselves, start with
general questions about the applicant’s interest in the position. Develop questions that allow the applicant to demonstrate to
you their experience in applying skills or knowledge, for example
‘Give us an example of a time when you….’. Develop questions
that will enable the applicant to tell you of specific experience,
skills or training. Develop a case scenario that is typical of the
problem solving required of a nurse in your practice.
(See interview questions template, section 2.11)
Prepare for candidate questions: have to hand information that candidates may ask questions about including conditions, pay
structure and professional development.
Develop referee questions: referee input is an important
part of the recruitment process and referees should always
be contacted before a position is offered to a candidate.
Develop questions that are related to the selection criteria and
the professional attributes required for the position. Include
questions that will establish when the referee employed/worked
with the applicant, period of time employed and the level of skills
required and demonstrated in that position.
(See sample questions template, section 2.11)
The interview
A well-structured interview will proceed as follows:
• Welcome, introduction of the panel, outline of how the
interview will progress including when the applicant can ask
questions about the
• position. Ensure that the applicant is
comfortable.
• Questions — prepared questions are then asked, including
probes where clarification is required. Clarification can
include: ‘Give us an
• example…’, ‘Can you tell us more
about…’, ‘How would you go about…’
• Invite questions from the applicant.
• Advise the applicant of the process that will follow the
interview, timelines, notification of unsuccessful applicants,
referee and police checks
• (if required) to be conducted for
the preferred applicant(s).
• Sight current original registration.
At the completion of each interview, panel members can briefly discuss each applicant and complete documentation.
The panel should review their responses and documentation
and select a preferred candidate(s). Before any offer is made,
verbal or written, references and police checking (if required)
should be completed.
It is good practice for records of each candidate to be held for a 12-month period.Although unlikely, a candidate has the right to
contest the decisions during this time frame. Under the Privacy
Act candidate may also ask to see any information you hold on
them including interview panel documentation.
Reference checks
Preferred candidate(s) employment history and experience
should be checked. Telephoning the referee is the most reliable
way of gaining accurate information. Clearly identify yourself to
the nominated referee and establish if it is a good time to talk
with them or if you will need to call back at a more convenient
time. Outline the position to the referee and then evaluate the
referee’s ability to provide accurate and relevant information by
asking about their contact with the applicant. For example:
• How long since the referee employed/worked with
the applicant?
• Did the past position require the same level of skills?
• What was their working relationship with the applicant?
• Period of time the applicant was employed?
(See template, section 2.11)
Police check
The requirement for suitability checks for staff and volunteers
working with children and young people varies greatly across
Australia. The following internet site of the National Child
Protection Clearing House, is provided as a guide to obtaining
information on police clearances and checks. Links are
provided where possible, and it is suggested that the relevant
organisations are contacted for additional information.
For information: Police clearances and checks — National Child Protection Clearinghouse http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/policechecks.html
Having completed the recruitment process and prior to notifying
the successful applicant, the practice should undertake a police
check on the preferred applicant if this is required in your state
or territory. Police checks may take several weeks to obtain so
allow time within the recruitment process.
At this stage you may notify the preferred applicant that pending
the outcome of the police check they will be offered the position.
Informing unsuccessful candidates
It may be advisable to defer sending letters to the other unsuccessful candidates interviewed until you have received an
acceptance of your offer by the preferred candidate.
If the interview process identified several candidates suitable for
the position you may consider contacting them and asking them
if they would be interested to be on an eligibility list that the
practice would use if a position became available over the next
six months. This way valuable time and resources can be saved
should further recruitment be required.
You may also consider asking suitable candidates if their names and contact details can be forward to the local division of
general practice to go on a database of nurses seeking work in
general practice.
(See templates, section 2.11)
Appointment process
On completion of the interview process advise the preferred applicant by telephone of the offer and inform them that you
will forward a Letter of Offer stating the Award and conditions
that they will be employed under. If not a respondent to an
Award, you will need to supply an individual contract setting out
remuneration and conditions (see ‘Industrial instruments that
govern the employment conditions of practice nurses’ in section
2.5.2). Include with the letter of offer the position description for
their agreement and signature. At this time you may also request
staff employment details such as tax file number, bank branch
and account numbers for salary payments, emergency contacts
details etc to be kept on the staff file at your practice.
(See templates, section 2.11)
Probationary period
New staff can be employed on a probationary period. The probation period will have been notified in the position
description, at interview and will be specified in the employment
contract. The probationary period is usually for three months.
Under Work Choices, employers may have a probationary
period of up to six months.
The probationary period is a time when both the employer
and employee are working towards making the partnership a
success. Regular meetings should be held between the new
employee and their manager over that three-month timeframe
to review how the employee is performing in the position. The
employee must be given the opportunity to ask questions
and to express any concerns they have about the workplace.
If either party has problems, these must be addressed. For
example, if an employee is not performing a duty correctly they
must be shown the correct way, several times if necessary. The
employee must then be given the opportunity to demonstrate
improved performance. If there is no improvement the employee
must be informed that it may affect their on-going employment.
If their behaviour or conduct is inappropriate this must be
addressed in the context of their work. These meetings should
be documented.
Employees can be dismissed during the probationary period where they have not shown capacity to perform the work
satisfactorily despite having been given training, support and
sufficient time to improve.
It is important that adequate support and orientation to your practice is available to the new employee. Planning for the
induction and orientation period will provide the employee with
an introduction to your practice and increase their efficiency in
the first few weeks and demonstrate the professionalism of your
practice. Your local division of general practice may be able to
assist with information and resources pertinent to the practice
nurse’s duties and may be able to source an experienced
practice nurse to support your new employee.
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