Finally got called for an interview...

Nurses New Nurse

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I'm a 2010 grad, I started my first job at a LTC facility back in May in night shift. It's not exactly where I wanted to start however, a start is a start I'm grateful for the person that helped me get my first job and my fellow coworkers who have been nice to me. But I need to get hospital experience so I can finally go to grad school.

Apparently one of my family friends is a hospital director and was able to land me an interview for a Critical Care/CTICU unit. This is a huge leap from the somewhat stable environment of LTC to well how patients are in CC/ICU. How can I sell myself against other hospital prepared nurses? I work nights, I have very little interpersonal contact with family members and I rarely call doctors unless the crap has hit the fan. I look at paperwork more than my patients and the most intensive thing I've ever done was trach suctioning/care. I've been floated to the subacute part of the building but not enough to actually talk about it. My typical patient load is 28-39 patients depending on staffing and compared to other nursing homes at nights I'm told that's rather good vs other night nurses that have up to 60 patients.

The other interview I had went poorly because I was told I was too negative on my LTC experience (I said I wanted to learn more, but being in LTC does not really afford me that opportunity) and I think I didn't get enough sleep, I came back from work at 8am and had an interview at 2pm. I don't want to make the same mistake again, how can I spin my lack of experience to my advantage?

Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
I work nights

Flexible with scheduling

I rarely call doctors unless the crap has hit the fan

Able to think critically and recognize an emergency

I look at paperwork more than my patients

Accustomed to the demands of accurate documentation

the most intensive thing I've ever done was trach suctioning/care.

Airway, airway, airway. And lots of vented pts in that ICU, I'd bet...

I've been floated to the subacute part of the building but not enough to actually talk about it.

Flexible and willing to go where needed.

My typical patient load is 28-39 patients depending on staffing

Able to prioritize patient care with a demanding load. To someone who is used to just a few sick patients at a time, 28-39 sounds insane. :D

It's all in how you spin it ... best of luck!

^^^^ Everything that she said!

Specializes in Psych.

LunahRN: All very impressive and well said!!!

OP, you can talk about the new opportunities this job will offer you. You don't have to diss LTC but rather speak of it as your stepping stone to more challenging patients. You can state how LTC helped you manage your time (since you had to prioritize all 30 of those patients!), how you are comfortable with charting, you have dealt with varying levels of conditions (acute/chronic) and various types of patients (young/old/handicapped etc). I'm sure you have seen more interesting things in LTC than you first think. When I was in aide in LTC I didn't realize until looking back I saw more issues/problems/types of people than I thought at first. Good luck!!!! :D

Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

Yep, emphasize the things that LTC has done for you and then turn that conversation into how excited you get at the idea of caring for more acute situations due to the exposure you have had where you are. Good luck!

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