helpppppppppp!!!!!!!!

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Mar 26, 2006

Welcome to all nurses.

a few questions spring to mind

The usual is why you want the job, or in particular why you want to work on a surgical assessment ward. Have you done an informal visit and looked round ward. Know your client/patient

Greatest achievement in nursing career or life.

Something you have done well at.

An incident you learn't from which may not have been positive but you turned it around (if you know what I mean)

Brush up on a few current affair articles in nursing.

ie AFG-positive and negative points. Infection control issues (try to connect it to the speciality you are applying for). Mybe something to do with UKCC.

Read Nursing standard/times as they normally have small readable articles which are of interest.

Have list of questions ready to ask at the end.

Talk Something you are interested in, what you feel you could bring to the ward.

Good luck-you wont be expected to know everything after all you are newly qualified. Just look interested, maintain good eye contact and smile.

razzberry · Mar 26, 2006

oh, thankyou!

thats very helpful. No i hvent done an informal visit maybe i should have but my interviews on tuesday!!!

what kinda q's should i include in the list of 'q's to ask' @ the end of he interview

???

thnx

debbieuk · Mar 26, 2006

firstly congrats on getting an interview :balloons:

mine was only in december and they asked me pretty much what madwife said. also try to link everything back to the patient as that went down well with mine.

communication is a biggie- i remembered verbal/non verbal and forgot writtern communication. team work is another. if there was a problem with another member of staff what would you do? i said firstly talk to them as it may just be they are having a bad day. if it was me they didn't llike - well you can't like everyone and if it interfered with work then i would go to my ward manager.

read as much of the hospital policies as you can re drugs ect.

questions i asked where how long is the perceptorship/ support towards professional development ie study days ect.

above all be relaxed and confident, know about the job you are going for and why you want it and why you would be good at it.

let us know how it goes

Jenny_Echo · Mar 26, 2006

wahey! Ive just qualified too, I had one interview in Decemeber and two in Feb. Mainly they asked...

-why I applied for the job,

-what I thought I could bring to the ward

-what I would do in some scenarios they gave me

-where I see my self in 5 yrs

and

-what had I read in the nursing press recently that had interested me

At the end I asked about accommodation, courses, and degree stuff.

Dont worrry tho, none were as scary as I thought they would be!!!

GOOD LUCK!

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Mar 26, 2006

wahey! Ive just qualified too, I had one interview in Decemeber and two in Feb. Mainly they asked...
-why I applied for the job,
-what I thought I could bring to the ward
-what I would do in some scenarios they gave me
-where I see my self in 5 yrs
and
-what had I read in the nursing press recently that had interested me
At the end I asked about accommodation, courses, and degree stuff.
Dont worrry tho, none were as scary as I thought they would be!!!
GOOD LUCK!

Welcome to allnurses and congratulations on qualifying:balloons:

razzberry · Mar 26, 2006

Thanx debbie!! sum very helpful stuff there....hope they dun throw to many scenarios at me...

thnx jenny!!

thankyou for all the advice!!! all taken on board!!

Il deff let you know how it goes...

its so unlike me to panic....**arghhh** lolz

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Mar 26, 2006

When I interview I am looking for enthusiasm and interest. The secret to a good interview is preparation, which you are doing. I would expect team work/player to be discussed. Acknowledge you are newly qualified and would expect guidance from your senior members of staff, this shows you have the right confidence ie we dont all know everything so you show you know how to access ward resourses. Believe it or not there is such a thing as too much confidence and there is nothing wrong in asking for and expecting support from the senior members of staff.

Talk about you belief in the pt as as individual.

A good question to ask is

1/ I am really keen to work here but if I am unsucessful today I would be appreciative if I could have a post interview assessment to find out where I went wrong and where I can improve next time.

Write down a list of questions and put them in your portfolio and then at the end of the interview ask if it alright to refer to your questions-it shows that you have prepared well and really want the job. It may just give you the edge over others being interviewed.

mabel u.k · Mar 26, 2006

I am a senior nurse within a surgical unit, the sort of questions that I would ask would be many of what have already been suggested. I assume it is a band 5 or D grade you are applying for so I would expect to have a mainly clinical interview, what would you do if:

I would start asking you to tell me about yourself - think about things other than work. What do you like to do outside. It demonstrates balance of work and outside interests which I think is vital to maintain sanity. ALso think of your interviewer, they don't want to hear 10 times about how you started nursing at 18 and have worked within these different areas as a student and loved surgery becasuse, obviously these are important but you need to stand out to them so when they discuss the interviewees you stand out as memorable.

Think about verbal complaints, how would you deal with them, you should find your hospital has a specific policy, also emergency scenarios such as patient collapse, surgical emergencies, cardiac arrest.

I would want to know how you would deal with being qualified so would ask you specifically about the job description and how you thought it would differ from being a student.

Madwife mentioned the UKCC, remember it is now NMC I would expect you to know about the code of conduct and may ask how you felt it would affect your practice.

As a qualified nurse you will be responsible for supervising unqualified nurses, I would ask how you would deal with misconduct from such staff. i.e. what would you do if you heard a HCA being rude to a patient / relative / staff member etc.

Questions you may want to know about is:

Induction and training, do the trust have specific D / 5 training programs and what do they consist of. What support is available for newly qualifieds, do they have a training co-ordinator or professional development nurse.

SHift patterns if you don't already know them.

THere are other things that are specific to england, it may be worth looking up some of the government documents, here in wales "Designed for Life " is a big thing I am sure the DOH for england must have something similar. I seem to remember essence of care being quite high profile but this was some time ago.

Anyway, I hope I haven't scared you too much, make sure you are prepared, make yourself memorable and that I find is usually someone who is chatty, relaxed and able to give coherent and full answers. Think of the hardest questions you can and get someone like family or friends to ask you them and ask for honest answers.

Relax and enjoy. Let us know how you get on

GOOD LUCK

Fonenurse · Mar 27, 2006

Another tip a colleague gave me was to ask as your final question - is there anything I have said today that you would like me to expand on, or an area where you feel I could have done better that you would like me to add to - this will then give you a second chance if you have 'messed up' at all.

Good luck!

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Mar 28, 2006

Another tip a colleague gave me was to ask as your final question - is there anything I have said today that you would like me to expand on, or an area where you feel I could have done better that you would like me to add to - this will then give you a second chance if you have 'messed up' at all.
Good luck!

I like that one good tip