First time being Interviewed for DON position

They may ask you about managing FTE's...do you send folks home when you're overstaffed? Talk about a time where you had to discipline a subordinate. Licensing issues...what did you learn going through the last JCAHO inspection or CMS or whatever....How do you manage risk, how do you track quality indicators and who you benchmark against? Why do you think you are qualified to be a DON?

I was asked about prior budgeting experience. In all likelihood you will have a major role in developing an annual budget, at least for the medical side of the operation. You might also expect hypothetical situation questions about resolving acute personnel decisions, conflicts with doctors, conflicts with family members, etc.

One of the questions on our interviews regards the response when an employee does something outside of the scope of practice after being previously instructed about it.

We also ask about problem solving methods. Although this one should be pretty straighforward, some of the answers we get are pretty bizarre. Identify the problem, develop a solution, apply the solution and analyze the results. Some also add the step of notifying a superior if this doesn't work.

Some general advice, which a lot of our interviewees often don't heed: Answer the question clearly and concisely, then stop talking. More applicants than I can tell you have talked their way out of an employment offer with information they freely volunteered while trying to fill the time between questions. The interviewers will be making notes regarding your answers, so resist the temptation to fill the silence.