Right person, right skills, right job: the contribution of objective structured clinical examinations in advancing staff nurse experts.

Recruitment processes need to discriminate among candidates to ensure that the right person with the right skills is selected for advancement opportunities. An innovative recruitment process using an objective structured clinical examination grounded in best practice guidelines resulted in improved recruitment practices for senior nursing clinical expert roles. Candidates' skills, knowledge, and attitudes in the areas of patient focus, clinical expertise, teamwork, and leadership were assessed using a clinical simulation. Candidates achieving advancement were assessed at 6 months to validate the efficacy of the process.