2nd Interview??

ikarus01 · Jul 10, 2011

Hi Everyone!
I interviewed for a clinical nurse informatics position at a smaller hospital about 1 1/2 weeks ago with the director of IT. I just found out that she is now trying to put together a 2nd interview but with a panel (RN's and a doctor). I have about 11 years of experience in various departments and hospitals, but no IT background. (I'm fortunate that they are willing to train me). I'm used to just needing to go through one interview and that was it. Can anyone give me any insight as to what I should prepare for? Thanks!!

When you have no experience in the field, these are no fun. But from my own experience interviewing entry level candidates the main thing that we were looking for as a panel was, is this person 'trainable', will this person be easy to get along with, and how will this person handle priorities.

I've gone through many of these interviews myself, and every hospital is different, but the one question that always seems to come up is, do you like to work in a group or by yourself; my response is both because it really depends on the project phase. If i'm trying to troubleshoot and solve a problem, i would rather work on my own; if i'm testing, then working as a group might be good.

Also, make sure you review your resume; many times i was pulled into an interview and i was given a resume 5 minutes before the interview; i would look at the resume, and based my questions out of that. Of course, many times candidates froze when i pointed out something in their resume, and that never makes a good impression.

Anyway, I cover other nursing informatics interview questions in my blog.

Good luck and please come back and let us know how it went.

rninformatics, DNP, RN · Jul 10, 2011

Greetings nungum,

I agree with ikarus' comments and additionally I also suggest you check out the NI interview quesitons located on this Forum

https://allnurses.com/nursing-informatics/suggested-ni-interview-281135.html

Good Luck and please let us know how it turns out.

Hi Everyone!
I interviewed for a clinical nurse informatics position at a smaller hospital about 1 1/2 weeks ago with the director of IT. I just found out
that she is now trying to put together a 2nd interview but with a panel (RN's and a doctor). I have about 11 years of experience in various departments and hospitals, but no IT background. (I'm fortunate that they are willing to train me). I'm used to just needing to go through one interview and that was it. Can anyone give me any insight as to what I should prepare for? Thanks!!

nungum · Jul 12, 2011

Thank you ikarus7401 & rninformatics for your very helpful information. I've actually looked at and taken notes from both of the links you suggested for my first interview. I must say it was quite helpful. I remember 3 of her questions were the exact same questions that I had wrote down and reviewed. :yeah: Questions were right on the $$. I'm guessing the interview went well since she wants to meet with me a 2nd time but with other interviewers. It just took me by surprise because I was expecting/hoping that I would find out that I either got the position or I didnt. Never been through a panel interview before so was just curious if there was something more that she didn't get the first time, or if there was anything else I needed to prepare for aside from all the interview info I've already gone through for the 1st interview? I'm thinking I should maybe prepare to answer more nursing related questions relating to computer charting since I will be meeting with other RN's and doctor?? Any clue??

And also, is it pretty normal to have multiple interviews for this position? Thanks again for all the input and I hope to return with some good news!! So far she's still trying to arrange a day/time that fits everyone's schedule so I haven't heard anything back regarding a date for the 2nd interview. Still crossing my fingers. :)

nungum · Jul 12, 2011

Oh, and also one other question. Are there any other questions besides work environment and level of support from superior that I can ask to help me determine if I will be supported in this role? I know it's a smaller hospital with more "older" physicians and nurses who aren't so computer savvy and may be very easily frustrated with new EMR changes. I understand that dealing with everyone's frustrations with EMR's comes with the territory for this position. During the interview, the director made a comment about how I should not tolerate any unnecessary or uncalled for remarks from the doctors. (Not that anyone should tolerate that behavior from any physicians in any department). I wonder though if this is a common occurrence and if I would be way over my head wanting to be employed at this smaller hospital 45 min away from my home, in an unfamiliar city, doing something I have no background in except my bedside nursing. I see this as a great opportunity for me to do something new and different with my nursing career and so far, I am quite excited about what this position entails. I can totally see myself in this position. I just hope I'm not missing any critical aspects to the position that will negatively impact how I feel about it. Thanks again for the input and any comments you may have for me.

ikarus01 · Jul 13, 2011

never been through a panel interview before so was just curious if there was something more that she didn't get the first time, or if there was anything else i needed to prepare for aside from all the interview info i've already gone through for the 1st interview?

meeting with a panel for a job in the informatics field is standard procedure because you'll be working with different teams and they want to make sure that you will not only fit in with those teams, but fit in the culture of those teams. in your case, it sounds like they want you to meet the 'rest of the team,' which is standard procedure. i personally have even gone through 4-5 interview panels for one job, mainly because it was a larger hospital and the position required a lot of interaction with different departments.

when you interview for a normal nursing job, they are just looking to see if you have the skills and maybe the experience, but they never say, lets bring you back so you can interview with the rest of the floor because if that was the case, hospitals i guess would never hire anyone. very different in informatics, and in the it world.

i'm thinking i should maybe prepare to answer more nursing related questions relating to computer charting since i will be meeting with other rn's and doctor?? any clue??

panel interviews are very dynamic because every person in the panel is looking for something different. for me, these interviews are different because i have experience so they always ask me questions related to past projects; when we have interviewed entry level candidates, questions were always different because it depended on the experience of that candidate, but like i said before, questions were geared to see if the person was trainable, personable, and able to handle priorities.

but the questions came out differently....you won't get a question like, 'so tell us, how do you handle priorities', but more like, 'you come to the office today, and you have something that is due, by 10 am, and you just need an hour or so to finish it, but you get a call from doctor xyz and he says he needs help right away charting orders---what do you do?' and there are tons of variations to that question, as you can imagine.

maybe they can ask you a general question like, 'what is your experience with electronic charting,' and if you have any experience other than just charting, then you can bring that in; and by that i mean, if you have had experience training other nurses on how to use the emr, or maybe you were asked to give input on how to improve an emr, or maybe you helped testing a new feature of the emr, etc.

bottom line, is very difficult to guess the questions in a panel, but for the most part they are looking for specific things in candidates, and that all varies by hospital, job position, and interviewing panels. one thing to note as a future tip though is, whenever you have a first interview, once they tell you that you're having a panel interview, you can always ask, 'what specific job qualifications is the panel looking for?' i know i have had jobs that were mainly to configure an application or train staff, so hiring managers will tell you, 'we are looking for this and that,' so you know that when the panel interview comes along there will be questions to address those requirements.

oh, and also one other question. are there any other questions besides work environment and level of support from superior that i can ask to help me determine if i will be supported in this role?

i typically ask, what type of training do you offer, and if a problem comes up that is not supported by the existing documentation, what other resources do i have to solve the problem? or, what type of access do i have to the vendor of this emr for problems that i won't be able to solve?

and finally....if you feel good about the position, just go for it. you do have to train yourself to not take things personally. you will learn to answer many questions with, "that's a really good question, let me get back to you on that once i find out more." believe me, you can not know it all in this business.

and yes, staff not being compliant or insulting you or the product is always a problem, and is a matter of getting along with people and like i said before, learning to not take things personally; i have dealt with supposedly 'nasty' doctors who actually come out looking for me to help them because they say, 'that guy knows his stuff, can you send him over?' and believe me, many times i don't know some of the questions they have, but is about acting professional, putting on a 'smart' and confident appearance, and not taking it personally.

finally working at a smaller hospital is a lot better because is a good way to get your foot in the door without being overwhelmed too much; i have implemented projects at smaller hospitals and implementations are not as complex, but they follow the same structure than implementing at a larger hospital, and therefore, this is a good opportunity for you to get ready for the major leagues later on.

nungum · Jul 13, 2011

Wow, thank you so much for your input ikarus7401. I appreciate it very much. It's great to know that I can always come here to get support as I embark upon this new adventure in my career. I hope to one day have the wealth of knowledge in this area as well so that I will be able to pass it on. :-)

nungum · Jul 14, 2011

BTW, what is an appropriate amount of time after an interview should I wait before contacting them for status updates? It has been exactly 2 weeks since the interview and 1 week since I was told a 2nd interview is being set up. Haven't heard anything otherwise. I'm anxious to start working to bring in income again so if I know for sure I didn't get the position, I can pursue other available options. I don't want to put applications in for different positions just in case I get interviewed and get offered the job. Other positions would be bedside nursing jobs. Also, is there a more correct way of approaching the IT director to ask about the status? Would it be appropriate for me to let her know that I would like to consider other options or would that look bad?

ikarus01 · Jul 14, 2011

BTW, what is an appropriate amount of time after an interview should I wait before contacting them for status updates? It has been exactly 2 weeks since the interview and 1 week since I was told a 2nd interview is being set up. Haven't heard anything otherwise. I'm anxious to start working to bring in income again so if I know for sure I didn't get the position, I can pursue other available options. I don't want to put applications in for different positions just in case I get interviewed and get offered the job. Other positions would be bedside nursing jobs. Also, is there a more correct way of approaching the IT director to ask about the status? Would it be appropriate for me to let her know that I would like to consider other options or would that look bad?

I would contact them now; enough time has passed since the first interview.

I don't have a formula as to length of time. Usually on my first interview I establish the date by asking, 'by when should i hear back for the 2nd interview?' The responses I have gotten in the past have varied from couple of days, to weeks. I don't like to wait for weeks, so I'm very straight forward and tell them that I'm very interested in the position, but I cannot be waiting for weeks to hear for a reply so the sooner they schedule the interview, the better. (I must say though, that i think this works for me because i have specific experience they want). I know colleagues of mine who find this to be very aggressive, but so far I haven't had a problem. If anything, most of my interviews get speed up. Of course, as an entry level candidate you might be at the mercy of the employer, since you're waiting for them to give you a chance...

As far as asking the director...I would call and say that I'm still very interested about the job, and would like to know what the status of the application/interview is. And about telling the director that you're considering other options, I wouldn't do that. Not my style, but maybe others can chime in. However, one hospital that i was helping with interviews, one candidate said that they were looking at other options and that director simply said, 'fine, we got plenty of candidates to choose from.' Not in those exact terms, but that was the message. I think saying that you have other options works when you have a skill set that the employer desperately wants....again though, hopefully others can give some advice.

I would just call and get the status, and if they tell you that they are still trying to schedule the interview, then ask how many more days/weeks, and emphasize that you're really interested in the job. If they tell you that they don't know the time, then apply for the other jobs.

nungum · Jul 15, 2011

So I contacted the IT director today and got a date for the next interview!! :yeah: Next Thursday. It will be with the Director of Anesthesiology and the OB nurse who has been unofficially the go to person for their EMR's the past 3 years. I'm excited but yet so nervous just thinking about it. Wish me luck!!

nungum · Jul 29, 2011

I just wanted to say that I had my 2nd interview last week and just found out today that I got the job!!! :yeah: :yeah: Yayyyy!!! I start in about 3 weeks and was told I will also be getting sent away for a few days for Meditech Training. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time. But I guess going into something you aren't experienced with is always nerve wrecking. Would reading up on Nursing Informatics in general help me out? I want to start immersing myself before I start working so I can expedite the training process. I know I will be here on a regular basis once I start because I'm sure I will have tons of questions. Thank you for all the support!!! :lol2:

rninformatics, DNP, RN · Jul 29, 2011

CONGRATS!

Reading up on nursing informatics won't help you get a jump start on the MEDITECH training. Which version of Meditech and which module(s) are you getting training in?

I've implemented multiple versions and multiple modules of MT. I can send you my old notes if you let me know which module(s) you are being sent to Boston to recieve training on.

Tips:

Make sure you are well rested. The classroom training will be intense, over packed with content and all day for 2-3 days depending on which module.
You will feel overwhelmed so dont worry about that!
Take notes
Ask the instructor way before class starts (if you can) Can you screen print from the PC you are sitting at
Screen prints of the screens, dictionaries, you are recieving training on gives you visual notes
Take a tape recorder with you

and ask can you record the session

You may get an experienced trainer or you may not. They may have problems with the database which can delay or even subtract from your training time.

Don't argue policy and why not's with the instructor. Your job is to suck all the information and knowledge you can from this person and eliminate any potential road blocks to this - including your own ego.

Ask questions but ask quesitons related to the content, (not your hospital policy) and examples.

Your trainer may not even be a nurse, or clinician. Meditech hires kids straight out of college with general degree specialization or even a major in a non healthcare/health sciene.

After class go back to the hotel sleep, rest and re-review the material...... and get your rest. Tomorrow is another class day and you need to be ready.

Please message me if you need anything else

I just wanted to say that I had my 2nd interview last week and just found out today that I got the job!!! :yeah: Yayyyy!!! I start in about 3 weeks and was told I will also be getting sent away for a few days for Meditech Training. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time. But I guess going into something you aren't experienced with is always nerve wrecking. Would reading up on Nursing Informatics in general help me out? I want to start immersing myself before I start working so I can expedite the training process. I know I will be here on a regular basis once I start because I'm sure I will have tons of questions. Thank you for all the support!!! :lol2: