Hi, my name is Maria. I am curious to know about how it is to be a HFEN. I am currently a registered nurse with no experience in this area. I will be interviewed for this position in the San Francisco area. I want to ace the interview. If anyone could please give me advice or insights on this particular job. Thank you.

I've ever heard of a HFEN. Who is the employer of a HFEN? Is it a social agency?

To Roser - It's usually State Civil Service, like with the Dept. of Health or Ombudsman' Office. These are the staff that come out for state surveys, investigations, and/or complaints. Surveyors usually include RN's, dieticians, pharmacists and some other professionals. They survey facilities that provides heathcare services, ie acute hospitals, LTC facilities, free-standing dialysis, ALF's, clinics, etc. Surveyors usually have a working knowledge of other disciplines/depts rules & regs. They interview residents, families and staff, review charts for medical, nursing and therapy plans of care, and do observational inspections, all according to specific Federal & State guidelines.

To OP - I suggest going on-line to check out survey results to give you an idea of what they find when they do surveys. This info is public information. Facilities also have copies of the surveys available for review at their institutions. Just FYI - when I go for interviews, I try to look at the survey report with the agency's Plan of Correction to give me an idea of issues that I may be best able to assist in their POC.

Your own skill set will require being knowlegeable of current mandates/standards/trends of professional care as established by regulatory agencies like Medicare and Medicaid, different disciplines and authorities like OSHA, CDC and others. Surveyors impart professionalism and expertise. They are sadly often under-appreciated within the healthcare industry.

Did you get the job? How was your interview?

I was offered the position as HFEN a month ago and did the medical, until now, they have not given me the start date yet and advised not to quit from my current job yet. I wonder if any of you was hired and underwent a long hiring process? Is it normally that long to get hired?

Did you ever get the job?