Psychiatric nursing interview

elkpark · Apr 9, 2018

Don't do it.

setsuna92 · Apr 9, 2018

I agree! Don't disclose your mental health. I was told by another commenter that I would be seen as a liability, which in my previous job experience is totally true. They will not appreciate your insight as a patient, only as a nurse.

BirkieGirl · May 12, 2018

No I wouldn't either. Don't share your personal medical information in an interview. Instead, I would take the approach of "what I think is the most important to the patients or what is a vital skill to caring for this population" type thing.

Heylove, BSN, RN, EMT-B · May 13, 2018

How did the interview go?

I agree, do not mention your own mental health. I did mention some of the mental health challenges faced by family members during my interview. Of course, those "family members" also included me, but I did not go into specifics.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · May 15, 2018

Im a new graduate and i'm going to apply for a new graduate training program for psych nursing at a local hospital. I have been to an inpatient psychiatric hospital for just a couple of days during clinical, but i have also been an inpatient there too about 2 years ago(for depression) and it was a good experience from my patient point of view. My question is whether or not to bring that up in the interview. I think it could work either way; i can identify with the patients on a personal level but that may also make them think i'm unstable.

No no no no no no NO.

Do NOT bring up your psychiatric history during the interview (or since this thread is a bit old, I hope that you didn't bring it up). It doesn't give you any advantage...if anything, they're more apt to see it as a liability. They're going to wonder if you'll spend more time trying to meet your own psych needs instead of taking care of the patients. And when you have a bad day or something goes wrong, guess what TPTB are going to think?

If you were a patient there, odds are that some staff member might remember who you are. But if they don't remember you, why remind them?

Also,it doesn't mean you'll ace psych nursing because you have a psych history. You may be able to identify with some aspects and build a rapport with patients because of your personal experience, but patients are just as likely to use that information against you as a weapon (you'd be surprised how good patients with Axis II disorders are at doing just that).

Hope the interview went well!

Dpi8310 · Sep 1, 2018

I did not get the job and did not mention that I was once a patient there. I did say that my niece was (which is true). Anyway, one of the panel of 5 was very familiar and very rude during the interview. She was actually looking at her phone during the interview and when the guy who was leading the interview asked her if she had any questions she said, "what? Sorry I wasn't paying attention." Anyway, I think she remembered me. Within 1 hour of leaving there I got a denial form letter they send by email with no explanation of course. Makes me sad because I think I would be a great psych nurse.

verene, MSN · Sep 1, 2018

I did not get the job and did not mention that I was once a patient there. I did say that my niece was (which is true). Anyway, one of the panel of 5 was very familiar and very rude during the interview. She was actually looking at her phone during the interview and when the guy who was leading the interview asked her if she had any questions she said, "what? Sorry I wasn't paying attention." Anyway, I think she remembered me. Within 1 hour of leaving there I got a denial form letter they send by email with no explanation of course. Makes me sad because I think I would be a great psych nurse.

Probably not a great place to work if an interviewer can't get off their phone long enough to pay attention during an interview and make a connection with a potential new hire. That kind of behavior to me is a red flag and would make me think twice about wanting to work there.

Depending on how much you care you may reach out for an explanation on why you weren't a good fit for this hospital, but they may or may not give it.

If you are passionate about psych, don't give up as there are other opportunities out there. And remember - the interview is just as much of a time for you to interview as prospective employer and get a feel for how it would be to work for them as a much as it is for them to interview you.