Upcoming interview in LTC; What to expect?

[BirdieBird, BSN]

Hello fellow nurses! Recently, I left my position as an RN on a very busy TBI unit in a large hospital; the patient population and characteristics were overwhelming much of the time. For some reason, 4 patients with acute TBIs plus their families was just too much for me to manage during a shift. In addition, my family was beginning to suffer with me being unavailable secondary to my rotating work schedule. Therefore I resigned.

Given that my former employer is the only hospital in the area, I'm searching for a position in LTC closer to my home. I've landed an interview this coming week and am curious as to what type questions will be asked and appropriate answers on my behalf? I do not view this as a step down in my career; in fact, I feel the relationships that can be built in the LTC setting might make the change completely worth it. Any responses to the above question are greatly appreciated.

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

When can you start? LOL...just kidding. They will ask you more than that. It has been years since I interviewed or have been on interviews, but you will most likely get the normal interview questions how would you deal with this or that situation, what are your strengths etc. They might ask about your phlebotomy or IV skills too, delegation etc.

All LTCs are different now day's but have a lot of similarities. Some are strictly long term care. People come and people stay and die. Some are more short term care. Rehab and then home. Some have both.

Patient loads are high..1-20 or more is common. Acuity will vary. My facility gets everything but vents...we do trachs, TPN, complex wound care with vacs, feeding tubes, hospice or palliative care patients, hip/ knee fxs, cardiac rehab and a few LTC, dementia patients.

There is a great bit of family involvement too but the nice thing is that you get to know them over time.

Good luck!

[mtjoanna]

My interview (3 years ago now) was pretty much a formality. The administrator saw an RN who was moving to the area and so my interview was basically "when can you start?" They asked a couple of necessary questions to make sure I didn't hate "old people," and to make sure I'd be ok with working nocs (I prefer nocs--less exposure to the management) and that was pretty much it.

[Alisonisayoshi, LVN]

Mine consisted of "what day can you start?"

[BirdieBird, BSN]

Hello all, I thought I'd offer my experience. My interview went well and consisted of the typical behavioral line of questioning. One thing that really made me stand out was my focus on building relationships with both residents and coworkers; the DON informed me of this after offering me the position. In short, a LTC interview is very similar to what you'd expect in the acute care world.