Do you think interviews for nursing school can lead to discrimination?

[SilverNova]

I am currently in my final quarter of nursing school at my local community college. There wasn't an interview process when I applied, and everyone was accepted based on grades, work experience, and volunteer work. One of my nursing instructors let us know in class that they were adding an interview process to requirements of acceptance. She was talking about how it would help weed out the students that couldn't make it in nursing school or wouldn't make good nurses, despite good grades and work experience. All the other nursing schools in my area have an interview before acceptance into the program, and my community college was the only one that didn't. Deep down this kind of bothers me because I feel like if you have the grades, work experience, and volunteer work, someone's subjective opinion of you shouldn't stand in your way of following your dreams. I know that a lot of people don't make it through nursing school, and some don't make good nurses despite graduating and passing the NCLEX, but i find it wrong to deny someone with good grades and completion of prereqs. That is two years of your life or more. It also personally bothers me because I have had social anxiety my entire life. I feel like if I was interviewed, I may not have made the cut despite good grades and 5 years of work experience as a CNA. I don't want to spend the rest of my life as a CNA because I'm awkward and fidgety. I just does not seem ethical to me. I am aware that when you graduate as a nurse you will have to face the interview process, but I have been offered two jobs so far at my clinical sites based on my performance as a student nurse. I was able to prove myself, and I have worked with enough nurses to get letters of recommendations. I feel like overcame a lot of my personally flaws by hard work. If I was interviewed I would not have had that opportunity. Nursing is full of gate keepers and it really bothers me sometimes.

[Sour Lemon]

12 minutes ago, Workitinurfava said:

The more you interview the better you get at it and it helps your critical thinking skills improve. It can help prepare you for a nurse career battery test for employment. Some employers require you to take a DNA test before the interview. I have taken this test twice and passes with high scores.

I am glad you passed your DNA test with high scores. ? Does DNA stand for something besides ...DNA?

[Workitinurfava, BSN, RN]

3 minutes ago, Sour Lemon said:

I am glad you passed your DNA test with high scores. ? Does DNA stand for something besides ...DNA?

It means driving nurse attributes.

[Psychnursehopeful, ASN, RN]

I think a weighted application process with the interview being no more than 25% is fair. Communicating effectively is a demand of the program and profession. Of course there are gate keepers who most certainly are biased but "objective" interviews have great value.

[Jules81, BSN, RN]

I am grateful for the interview process. I was a nontraditional second career student who was older (late-30s) than most of my peers. My GPA from my undergraduate 20 years ago are not reflective of the student I am now. I was able to go in and talk about ways I have changed my study habits and how having a career as a teacher would make me a better nurse. Had it been based only on GPA and test scores I don't know that I would have gotten in.

[Tron8622]

Too much bs now a days to be a nurse , nursing schools is horrible and it gets worse after . They most certainly do discriminate but they’ll never tell you nurses are like that . But good luck with school though

[bitter_betsy, BSN]

I heard a student question an instructor as to why a nurse would need emotional and/or spiritual support after the death of a pediatric patient. This same student was not aware that pupils dilated and doesn't know the difference between proximal and distal. However their grades are well above your general 3.0. Grades really aren't everything. Nurses are a package deal - and not every package comes with perfect grades. I'd be willing to bet that many fantastic nurses/students have less than stellar grades.

[Neo Soldier, BSN, RN]

I really hate the idea of an interview for nursing school. I think acceptance should be based on volunteer work, GPA etc. I prefer a more objective approach. The reason for this is that I have seen doctors and nurses that are excellent clinicians and "book smart" but are socially awkward. If going through an interview process was a defining factor for acceptance, I can almost guarantee that these people would not have stood a chance. Would you rather have a socially awkward doctor or nurse who knew their stuff? I would. Of course this is one example and a person who is awkward is not automatically book smart or vice versa.

[WishfulThinkingRN]

Most nursing schools have interviews for the much same reasons medical schools and law schools have interviews. Being a good student on paper is only half the battle. Being able to communicate effectively with people and form professional relationships is vital to your future career, whether you like it or not. It would be nice if good grades, a good work ethic, and a few letters of recommendation from your colleagues were all you needed to be a good nurse, but they're not. Communication is what drives nursing. Your ability to speak with people, whether they're homeless or CEOs, is paramount. Your ability to communicate with doctors, respiratory therapists, pharmacists and work together as a team is beyond important. You will be working with and educating people from all walks of life, and if you can't walk into an interview and answer a few fair, albeit tough questions, you will not be able to find a job as a nurse, let alone practice as one.

The other part of this is that while you are a student, you will be working with nurses in hospitals in your community. You will be acting as a representative of your school. They expect you to show up to clinicals on time, act professionally, be respectful and learn. Their reputation as a school depends on this. Hospitals don't have to open their floors to nursing schools for clinicals. It's a privilege. A face-to-face interview tends to help weed out people who don't understand this concept. Not always, but most of the time.

Is there a chance that you can be passed over for someone with lesser grades and test scores, less experience? Absolutely. Nursing school admissions work much the same way hiring practices work in real life. You submit your qualifications, if they pass muster you're called in for an interview, and sometimes you'll get called back for a 2nd. Whether or not you get the job offer depends greatly on your performance during that interview.

On a personal note, the unit I work on will typically get 50-100+ applications every time we post an opening (last time I think we got 140ish). HR will sort through them and will submit the resumes that meet the minimum requirements to my manager. Part of my job is to help my manager weed through these resumes and figure out who to call in. We try to narrow it down to 20-30 people based on what we read. Then either I or another of my coworkers will sit on the interviews with our manager and once the interviews are over we'll make our own recommendations to to said manager who then decides who to hire. I have recommended people with fewer qualifications and less experience because of their performance during the interview, because I know just how important it is for people to have good communication skills in our line of work. I have recommended passing people over for not being on time, because it makes me concerned about how often they'll be late when they get hired. I once recommended passing over a nurse with far more experience than I have in favor of a new grad because I felt like the new grad would be a far better fit for our unit.

I don't care what you look like. I don't care how old you are. I don't care if you're bubbly and chippy (I'm not, I'm sarcastic AF). I care if you can use words to get your point across. I care about how you represent yourself. I care about how you react under pressure. I care if you can exude confidence even when you're scared out of your mind. I care if you're going to fit into the team we have and be able to work together or if you're going to be more of a problem and a hindrance than a help. Because as a charge nurse, I'm probably going to be the one who ends up dealing with it. You'd seriously be amazed at what you can get out of one, 20 minute interview.

You don't have to like the interview process, most people don't. It's stressful and it feels like you're being judged, because you are. I know it's frustrating when you feel like you've put in the blood, sweat and tears into your pre-reqs while your friends went out and partied and dated and had fun only to face the prospect of being passed over in favor of someone who didn't do as well or work as hard just because the interviewers liked them better.

I know. I get it.

It's not fair.

Welcome to nursing.

[LilPeanut, MSN, RN, NP]

If it wasn't for personal essay/interview, I would have had a much more difficult time getting into school. I didn't have a terrible GPA (3.2something undergrad) but I had definitely let senioritis affect the end of my undergrad career. My GRE was good. But I had almost no recent work history (I had been a stay at home mom for the last 6 years) and I had a lot of trouble getting academic references because undergrad I had a weird path (senior year of HS at a community college, finishing 1.5 years of college, transferred to a 4 year university, attended for a year, transferred to different 4 year university, attended for a year, studied abroad for a year at yet another university, finished 2 classes at 2nd 4 year university and got my degree. So I didn't have close relationships with any professors my first time around, the one I was closest with was on sabbatical when I was applying.

So, I had to work out a deal for one of my prereq profs to write one for me. I made an appt at the beginning of the quarter, explained my situation and asked if there was any way she would feel comfortable writing a rec for me, and if so, what would her expectations be for me? And then I had two high school teachers who I had known very well and worked very hard for write a rec. ? Obviously not ideal, but I just didn't have many educational people who knew me well enough.

And then I wrote an essay and did an interview hoping to overcome the academic weaknesses in the application.

Now, I'm likely on the spectrum - not in a stereotypical way, because I've learned to cope through my life and hide some things - but overall, I am weird. I like weird things, I remember weird stuff, my brain bounces around sometimes, I talk too much, etc.

Still an RN and NNP

Nursing I feel discriminates less for age than other fields. It feels like it recognizes more the experience you bring to the table.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

On 3/7/2019 at 1:01 AM, Neo Soldier said:

I really hate the idea of an interview for nursing school. I think acceptance should be based on volunteer work, GPA etc. I prefer a more objective approach. The reason for this is that I have seen doctors and nurses that are excellent clinicians and "book smart" but are socially awkward. If going through an interview process was a defining factor for acceptance, I can almost guarantee that these people would not have stood a chance. Would you rather have a socially awkward doctor or nurse who knew their stuff? I would. Of course this is one example and a person who is awkward is not automatically book smart or vice versa.

Med schools are known for their rigorous interview process. Your "awkward doctor" most certainly interviewed for med school and was accepted.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

On 3/4/2019 at 8:07 PM, SilverNova said:

That is a good argument. It's hard to say. I feel like awkward and socially inept people always get the short end of stick when it comes to life, despite being extremely capable and intelligent. I feel many people that would make safe and efficient nurses will not be given the opportunity, and I find that sad. It hurts to know that because I have a deficit in my social skills, I may have never been able to achieve my career ambitions. Obviously charismatic people deserve chances too, and having good social skills could help you in your nursing practice, but I don't think getting into a college program should be a popularity contest.

The interview process has very little in common with a "popularity contest" as most people would define it.

Your ability to speak with people, whether they're homeless or CEOs, is paramount. Your ability to communicate with doctors, respiratory therapists, pharmacists and work together as a team is beyond important. You will be working with and educating people from all walks of life, and if you can't walk into an interview and answer a few fair, albeit tough questions, you will not be able to find a job as a nurse, let alone practice as one.

It's about THIS. And ability to communicate accurately and effectively under pressure.

[harkness1989]

I know I’m a little out of the topic of discussion or category entirely, but please read…I have about 200 pages of evidence(my explanations as well as course requirements, student handbook policies) and several audio recordings as well as several agreeable students from multiple semesters and even countless RN's who vouch for the schools unethical decisions and favoritism tendencies.

To make it short and to the point I am a 29 year old male who attended a 3 semester AAS RN program in Little Rock, AR. I had been aware the previous semesters of the unorganized and unfair dealings that the schools teachers use. In saying that come the last semester myself and others were prepared by secretly recording many of the conversations between the teachers and ourselves if/when came the time to justify the truth with hard evidence...…….

Note: I know whoever is reading this is probably thinking this guy is just mad because he failed but if you can honestly read this with an open mind and open heart then I would be grateful - if only for just taking the time to read it...but also any helpful advice or contacts that could help...thanks....

Real quick myself and many others are accusing some(not all) of the teachers of favoritism, grade manipulation, misguidance on many things(personal advising meetings where they would knowingly misguide on testing focal points, not keep their word about teachings and advice given)…………We have audio recordings of these teachers contradicting their own teachings as well as the other teachers, our assigned textbooks and what we have been taught during our duration in nursing school, as well as the national standard or rule. When approaching some of these teachers in a private meeting/setting and confronted them about possible mistakes they may have made or possibly were unaware that they said/taught was incorrect(all this in a professional manner and tone) some of these teachers would get very defensive and harp on the fact that I am just a student and they have been an RN for X amount of years and that they were correct in what they taught or advised...all without any explanation or reasoning behind any of it...……..at the time during class they would always stress that if what they say was different from that of the book, then always go with the books info because that is where our test questions would come from......which would in-turn lead to us trying to save our grades as students by wanting explanations after the exams to what their own made up personal experience/opinion test questions would come from and then again they usually never had explanations, just jump on the defensive again...…...later I found out that the students who they seemed to favor would privately meet with them and some students claimed to get 10 or 15 questions (out of 45-65 questions) given back to them secretly. I know this is true, because at mid-term I knew who was passing and who was failing, and would talk to students and at the end some would be 30 plus points ahead of where their point totals should be.

We have audio of them admitting to helping some students with exact same situations and then letting others fail, all by personal opinions of the individual.

I myself worked full time as a tech in the hospital at nights and school 5 days a week from 8-5pm. I literally learned to live and function off 3 to 4 hours of sleep per night...….now this was my less than ideal situation, and I am not blaming any of this on that, but it gives insight into how much effort and stress that went into this last semester. The teachers Im guessing got a negative view of me simply on the fact that I always looked tired and probably uninterested in their lectures......in my defense I was always recording the lectures to go back over them later and take my own better notes, and the other reason was because I could not focus in the class room with 100 plus students, being sleep deprived and easily distracted by sounds and talking etc......that is the only reason I gave to get on their bad side, because I have always made sure that I handle myself in a professional and friendly manner.

ALMOST DONE: 2 days before graduation, I was told that they were not going to allow me to makeup a presentation that I overslept for, that was worth a large percent of our grade in peds...…...on top of that they allowed another student(who was infact in my same group) to not only makeup the same assignment, but redo it, because she would have failed if they did not allow her to make it up. Another student who failed and was going through the grievance process with the school, had many of the same arguments as myself and even got a representative from the NAACP who threatened a lawsuit and later found out that she was cleared without having to do anything. There is literally so so much more evidence and accusations but I am not going to mention it here.

I hired a lawyer to write a letter and investigate, and he found in the handbook that a teacher has the authority to allow/deny any individual student a chance of a makeup assignment that he/she missed or even to retake a test all on the basis of personal choice(basically if they liked them or not, or were feeling good/bad in that exact instance). He told me that even with all this evidence that it would cost a lot to go to court and they even probably have the upper hand being a private school and with their policies to be able to do whatever you want to your students grading wise.

Listen I was cheated out of my degree, career and future as an RN...…….I nearly killed myself for that degree.....now I doubt I can get accepted to any school around here because I failed. The worst part about all of it was that they had me thinking that maybe they were right and this career was just not for me because of some low test scores(granted I was cheated out of points and given incorrect test questions and answers) but it wasn't until the exit hesi exam(a national and untampered with test) that I scored near the best in my entire class and via review highlighted all the areas that we were taught during all of nursing school and my real proof that I knew the info and 150 points higher than our class average score...…..according to statistics it put my chances of passing the NCLEX first time at a greater than 98 %.

If you can help me with anything, attorney, or professional who deals with this sort of thing, contact numbers or similar cases from the past that students fought and won...……...This school (BHCLR) should not be allowed to be teaching students, they have scored lower than 80% for the first time NCLEX pass rating for several years, 69% and then for my graduating class they somehow manipulated the numbers to try and save their accreditation(the AR state board of nursing revealed that they had 216 students take the NCLEX that semester with 170 passing and still only getting 78%...by the way my class only graduated with 70 students....somehow they got the state board to keep them from losing their accreditation and government benefits......please this school should not be enrolling future RN students and then miseducating them for their own personal gain to keep their jobs safe as teachers and administrators and making sure that there will be a % of students to fill the seats for the next semester etc...

Thank you for reading my depressing situation...

email: [email protected]

- Matt