Here are is what I believe we need to be looking for in people we wish to bring into healthcare services.

Do they have the appropriate formal qualifications?
If formal qualifications are required then this is a must.

Do they understand what the recovery to wellness process is?
At a push, if, in every other aspect they are outstanding candidates, then we might want to educate them about this. But it would worry me that they were applying to work in health care services and had not got an understanding of the process.

Do they understand the difference between a medical model and a wellness model?
As the medical model only takes us so far and as the wellness model is as important, then they need to know the difference. If they don’t, then you may struggle to have them in the team as they will always be collapsing things into each other.

Do they have a life purpose and can they articulate it? (not to be confused with goals )
In they don’t have a life purpose then you really don’t want them in your team. They will most likely be unfocused, subject to commitment problems. They have probably applied for the job because they are driven by something that is not what you want them to be motivated by.

Are they depressed?
If they are, then they need to have a plan to do something about it. And don’t employ them, yet. If they have been depressed in the past and are now over it, okay, no problem. But if they are depressed now, take them off the list.

Are they healthy themselves?
This is not to say I would discriminate against anyone who had a health challenge but if they did and did not have a recovery to wellness plan then it would be somewhat odd to have them involved in delivering recovery to wellness services to people.

What are their core values?
Core values tell us what motivates them and also gives us ways to understand their congruence in the job.

Are they comfortable with being wrong? By this I mean that in reality all of us are sometimes mistaken, have positions and views that need to be adjusted, sometimes abandoned as we learn more and discover more information. If being right is more important to someone than accepting that their positions might need changing then you really don’t want them in your organisation.

Do they possess adequate Emotional Intelligence?
EQ is emerging as a better predictor of effectiveness, team management and participation than IQ. You need them to have this.

Do they have Positive social skills?
I don’t have to explain this do I?

Do they have the ability and willingness to love?
If this strikes you as an optional ‘nice to have’, think again. If a person you are employing in healthcare is uncomfortable with love, talking about it, expressing it and so on then a huge alarm ought to be going off.

Do they show and have compassion?
This is allied to love, but compassion is a specific expression of love and if it can’t be shown then it might as well not exist.

And Lastly

Do they prefer animals to people?

If they do, do not employ them.
This is usually a sign that they have some complex issues about themselves in relation to other humans (ok, I know humans are animals too ) that you might want to not have to resolve in the workplace.
We have 6 cats at home. I love them and other animals. But I do not prefer them to people.