band 6 interview help

allnurses Guide · Apr 22, 2009

Take a look at the link to my blog, there are interview tips and suggestions for questions in there.

What speciality and position are you going for?

shellz101 · Apr 22, 2009

hey i am applying for a junior post position in acute medicine on an admissions ward. thankyou for getting bk to me x

allnurses Guide · Apr 23, 2009

Here are a few things that I have taken from my blog

Basic Interview Good Practice
First impressions are vital, especially if the interview panel are spending a day interviewing applicants. You want to be able to stick in their minds as a professional and cabable nurse. Make sure you are well dressed, if you wear a suit it gives a good impression, you've made the effort and want to impress. If you don't have a suit then smart clothes are vital.
Unless you have absolutely no other option don't go to the interview wearing your uniform, if you have to work then take smart clothes with you to work and change although I do appreciate this isn't always possible.
Preparation for the interview is very important, make sure you read the job description and know what the job is all about, if you can arrange an informal visit so you can meet the manager and staff, this shows that you are keen and gives you the chance to see where you may potentially be working. It also gives the manager / interviewer a chance to meet you and that way when they come to interview you, they will already know who you are and therefore you will be a little more memorable.
Try to prepare information that is relevent to the job you are going for. If it is a specialist role then research the current trends, and government targets / guidelines for that role.

For a band 6 I would ask clinical governance issues such as dealing with complaints, untowards incidents and staff competency issues such as actions in the case of concerns with ability.
I would also ask clinical scenarios "what if" that sort of thing.
Think about infection control issues,
Developmental plans - what would you like to see if you are successful, what changes would you make. Have a bit of knowledge about change management theory as well just in case.
Local and national government initiatives are there any specific targets that affect your area, how will you help to achieve them
How could you deal with staff morale issues, motivate, encourage your staff
What type of leader are you, look up clinical leadership and have a read

More general questions would be what have you done to professionally develop, and how have you kept your knowledge and skills updated.
I would may also ask what you think you will gain from the mover from your current area.
I may also use a clinical scenario so what would you do if.....................
For a more senior position I would want to know about leadership and management skills, so I would ask how you motivate staff, how you would deal with poor performance, and how do you deal with conflict / patient complaints.
As far as what questions to ask at an interview, personally I tend to contact the area I have applied for to make sure it is what I want, so I try to get most of my questions answered before the interview. Good example of things to ask are how is professional development supported within the unit, what is the orientation, over how long and expectations of a new nurse to the area, hours of work and pay scales may also be worth asking,

If your going to be working on an acute admissions ward then there may be some emergency scenarios, such as what to do when a patients goes off, also I imagine there will be questions about bed management, what to do if you patients out number the beds you have, how to escalate bed management problems to seniors.