Crucial OR interview questions

grimmy, RN · Apr 28, 2005

hi everyone,
i have had the good luck to get an interview next week in the or at a local hospital. can anyone suggest the most important things to ask in an interview for working in the or, especially for someone with no previous experience in the area?
i have been in ltc for the past few yrs and am a little rusty on crucial job interviewing questions. all advice and comments are appreciated! :)

these are just a few off the top of my head:

how long is your orientation period? what are the expectations regarding on-call status during orientation? what is on-call pay? will i be paid for carrying the pager, even if not called in? what are the facilities expectations for me once the orientation period is over? how much time of orientation is spent scrubbing, how much time circulating? will i be expected to join a team or will i be required to float through the different services? will i be considered "counted staff" during orientation? will i have a designated mentor or preceptor during my orientation?

agwilkerson · Apr 29, 2005

these are just a few off the top of my head:

how long is your orientation period? what are the expectations regarding on-call status during orientation? what is on-call pay? will i be paid for carrying the pager, even if not called in? what are the facilities expectations for me once the orientation period is over? how much time of orientation is spent scrubbing, how much time circulating? will i be expected to join a team or will i be required to float through the different services? will i be considered "counted staff" during orientation? will i have a designated mentor or preceptor during my orientation?

wow grimmy!! that really covers all the bases. having been a nurse in the or for 12 years i would also ask to tour the facility. see how others working there are behaving. do people seem happy and relaxed or are they stressed out? do they seem a little desperate to hire you or are they really interested in getting quality personel? i once took an or job where the supervisor told me i was being hired solely on a physician's reference and filling out the application was just a formality, boy was i sorry!

findingmywayRN · May 1, 2005

these are just a few off the top of my head:

how long is your orientation period? what are the expectations regarding on-call status during orientation? what is on-call pay? will i be paid for carrying the pager, even if not called in? what are the facilities expectations for me once the orientation period is over? how much time of orientation is spent scrubbing, how much time circulating? will i be expected to join a team or will i be required to float through the different services? will i be considered "counted staff" during orientation? will i have a designated mentor or preceptor during my orientation?

wow - thanks so much for all the great questions! i wouldn't even have thought of some of these topics. it's nice to have insider input. i am meeting with the nurse manager next week, so i'll let you know what they have to say.

thanks again and take care!

findingmywayRN · May 1, 2005

will i be considered "counted staff" during orientation? will i have a designated mentor or preceptor during my orientation?

grimmy: i forgot to ask - what does it mean if you are considered counted staff during orientation?

also, how many designated mentors/preceptors should you have in the or?

:)

grimmy, RN · May 1, 2005

grimmy: i forgot to ask - what does it mean if you are considered counted staff during orientation?
also, how many designated mentors/preceptors should you have in the or?
:)

counted staff means that you are considered a staff nurse, and you may not have back-up when necessary. think of it as "twisting in the wind" during a bad situation. they could always say, "sorry, there's no one available!" :angryfire trust me, you wouldn't enjoy hearing that. during orientation, you need back-up. no one is proficient enough during orientation to wing it. i remember a certain posterior laminectomy/decompression case where everything during the actual surgery went super, and as soon as we flipped the patient over, she totally crashed, developed flash pulmonary edema, etc. i was never so grateful to see my mentor behind me as i was suctioning the patient like mad and she assisted anesthesia to push meds.

as for how many mentors, it depends on your shift, and the way you'll be rotated through the services. i had different mentors for each service (eyes, neuro, thoracic, etc.) it gets crazy sometimes. you'll find that some folks won't help you all that much, and others will be breathing down your neck. :rolleyes: hopefully, everyone you'll work with will be calm, rational, and showing you good practice.

findingmywayRN · May 7, 2005

Just wanted to say thank you all for your great interview question suggestions. My interview went so well that I was even offered a job! The nurse manager was so impressed with the questions I was asking (thanks in large part to the nurses on this board) that he even asked me how I came up with them all. You are all so awesome! ((((HUGS))))

grimmy, RN · May 7, 2005

just wanted to say thank you all for your great interview question suggestions. my interview went so well that i was even offered a job! the nurse manager was so impressed with the questions i was asking (thanks in large part to the nurses on this board) that he even asked me how i came up with them all. you are all so awesome! ((((hugs))))

wonderful! i hope my suggestions helped. some of them were things i only wish i asked the first time around, but when you are prepared, that wows them quite a bit. may even remind them of things they forget to mention to you. kudos to you! :yelclap: