An objective selection system to identify the qualities for a career in nursing

This article describes a research programme commissioned by the NHS in four health authorities to define the qualities that characterise successful nurses. A structured interview designed and validated by SRI Limited to objectively measure these qualities in those applying to be trained for the nursing profession is outlined. This interview has been piloted as an aid to the selection of student nurses by the Bloomsbury and Islington College of Nursing and Midwifery for over 3 years. A survey has been conducted with those who have been selected by Bloomsbury and Islington College, whose results indicate that these applicants found the structured interview to be a positive experience and many viewed it as a more objective selection than others that they had experienced in pursuing their aspirations for a nursing career. This research provides some initial indications of the potential value of the interview as a positive objective aid to the selection of student nurses and to identifying objectively those with the potential to find fulfilment in the profession.