Nurse Interview med test

[Babynurse1993]

I'm going to start the application process as a brand new nurse soon. A friend of mine told me my dream hospital does a med test as part of the interview. Can anybody give me an idea of what to expect? Ex: drug calculations, ADR's to meds, etc? It's my dream hospital and don't want to blow it so I want to be prepared!

[thecrossfitrn, BSN, RN]

Every hospital I've been hired at has required a medication test prior to being given the full employment offer. For the most part they've been straight forward and look just like the medication tests I had in nursing school. Just be familiar with medication calculations (i.e., drip rates, mg/kg/min, etc.) and bone up on your basic pharmacology, including the differences between the insulin peak times. While I have no idea what could be on your test, if you're a newer nurse you have a greater advantage of having all that new knowledge fresh in your head.

And despite what people say, you will use calculations in real life, so make sure you know them and not just "know" them for a test. I used one the other day to figure out an infusion rate for IGg on a patient. Of course, in real life, make sure someone else always checks your math. Nursing is a team sport. Good luck!

[Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN]

My last job gave one eight pages long- front and back. There were simple side-effect questions along with drip rate questions, partial dose questions, and such. We also had to calculate, draw up and mix meds in front of the pharmacy staff as a practical test. All this was for a psych position with no lines, drains or tubes, so I was not expecting it.