CVICU interview questions

[aCRNAhopeful]

I am going to be a new grad RN this summer. After working long and hard to try to get into CVICU i finally got a call from a manager saying they want to interview me. I am beyond excited as CVICU would be my dream job. I want to be well-prepared for my interview to give myself the best possible chance. One thing I wanted to ask some of you is what type of questions should I ask them? The unit does medical and surgical critical care cardiac patients. What questions would you ask about the job itself (not things like benefits, pay, etc)? Also, do you have any tips for me on how to make the best impression possible? Thanks in advance for any advice

[Corey Narry, MSN, RN, NP]

I would ask the following:

• are nurses cross trained to care for both cardiac surgical and cardiology patients?
  
• what's the length of unit orientation?
  
• how long does the nurse have to be in the unit before they are trained to recover fresh open hearts?
  
• what kind of cardiac surgery patients do they get? CABG and valves only? VAD's and transplants? aortic dissections? lung transplants? ECMO?
  
• are there nurse-driven protocols for patient management? (i.e., lytes replacement, post-op management of fresh open hearts)
  
• do you call residents, fellows, mid-levels for medical/surgical issues or do you call the attendings directly?
  
• is there a good mix of senior nurses and newer ICU nurses?
  
• what procedures do nurses do? (i.e., pull chest tubes, wedge Swan-Ganz, remove Swan-Ganz)
  

As far as the interview, I would dress in a professional manner and show confidence but not act too cocky.