Selecting staff for a personality disorder service: Report from the field

Aims and method: To select staff for a personality disorder service by exposing applicants to anticipated challenges. Applicants took part in a role play, an unstructured group with fellow applicants and numbers of the interviewing panel, and a panel interview. A service user representative was involved from the initial planning stage. Results: Multiple assessment methods enabled fine discrimination between applicants. Appointed staff said they felt the interviews were a valid test of required skills and have been well regarded by patients in the programme. Clinical implications: Selecting staff for a personality disorder service benefits from using multiple interview methods. The service user representative and role-play actor can contribute crucially by representing the patient's perspective. Key domains to assess include the applicant's psychological qualities, psychiatric skills and ability to work in a team.