Advise for new grad. What questions should I ask?

[jamielyn_1981]

Hello all,

I have my first interview as a graduate nurse on Monday 9-06 and I want to know if there are some questions that I should be asking my potential employer. Some of the questions I have already thougth of are:

-What is the employee turnover/satisfaction on this floor..

-What kind of education/career advancement does this hospital offer?

-What kind of unit orientation does a new graduate receive?

-scheduling, vacation, sick time, etc....

If any of you can think of other questions I should ask my potential employer please let me know. I want to look professional and prepared. Thank you so much for you response and advise.

Jamie

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

hi, jamielyn_1981!

be aware that the positive attributes that most employers are looking for in a worker are:

initiative

dynamic energy

responsibility

ability to give good customer service

capacity to learn

productivity

flexibility

leadership

team work

ability to tolerate pressure

analytical ability

desire to develop professionally

be prepared to answer questions that may be designed to assess whether or not you possess those qualities.

i have been developing a list of questions you as a new grad, specifically, might want to ask:

what kind of professional advancement is available to nurses here?

what are some of the attributes of working for your hospital?

if i were to get a job offer from another hospital, why would i want to work for this one?

what is the criterion you will use to select the person you are looking for?

what kind of support can i expect from the nursing educators and preceptors?

how does the hospital handle new grads that might be slow in becoming oriented to their new jobs?

how long have you been the manager of this unit and what is your nursing background?

how many nurses have quit and how many hired for this unit in the past 6 months? how long have some of the nurses been working on this unit?

who will be precepting me? can you tell me something about them? will i always have the same preceptor or will there be more than one?

have you ever had a new grad who didn't seem to work out? how was it handled?

if for any reason it seems that orientation is just not going well for me what will happen and who should i talk to about it?

i strongly recommend that you do not accept a first new job in a float pool. stepdown/telemetry units are highly stressful and extremely difficult for most new grads. they just do not get the support and training as the people going into the icus out of nursing school. if you are looking for a job in an intensive care area make sure you are going to be given a good 6 month training program.

[jamielyn_1981]

Daytonite,

Thank you so much for your advise and support. I appreciate the time you took to answer my post. I want to go to my interview prepared. I am so nervous. I hope I do alright! These are some great questions, I hope my interviewer can tell I have done my homework! Thanks again.

Jamie

[blueyesue]

Keep us updated. Congrats.

[HelloKittyRN]

The advice from the others is great, I just have one little thing to add....be sure to ask what the nurse/pt ratio is and if they are centered in primary care or team nursing. This may make a big difference for you in selecting which hospitals you want to work at! Good luck!