Hospital Interview

[Suga Moore]

Hello, I hope that everyone is having a great day! I am looking for some advice. I have a hospital interview coming up and I feel that being well informed will help me be successful in the interview for a graduate nurse position at a local hospital. I am scheduled to be interviewed by managers from different departments at the same time and I have never been interviewed like this before. I have been an LPN in nursing homes for two years, and in my experience, I was interviewed by a couple of people and not questioned very much about anything except availability and length of time I have been a nurse. I really want to do well, but I have never been on an interview for a hospital before and I am not sure what kind of questions they will ask or what information they will expect me to know. I would appreciate it if any of you who have been on these interviews or has in fact done the interviewing, could tell me some of the information I need to know or the questions that are generally asked. Thank you in advance for your help! Also, I am not sure if this helps, but the areas in question are Med Surg and Renal.

[Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP]

Here's a few sample questions. You can also Google search for sample interview questions. There are lots of online resources

What would you do if you received a bad review that you felt was untrue?

What are your strengths/weaknesses?

Why did you choose this facility?

What would you do if you didn't get the job?

What was your last difficult pt? What made it difficult and what did you do?

What is the role of a graduate nurse?

Why did you choose this program/What do you know about this program?

What are your career plans?

How do you relax if you're feeling stressed?

What are your two most important achievements as a nurse?

Why did you choose this career field over other fields?

What attributes make you suitable for this career field?

Why should we choose you over other prospective applicants?

Why do you want to be a graduate nurse?

[Suga Moore]

Thank you, I will answer these so that I am prepared.

[zurita.a12]

Coming from an HR perspective, there is many ways hospitals approach their recruitment and criteria style. My wife had very simple questions; how long you were a nurse? Explain a key experience you encountered with a patient that stands out. What would be your strengths and weaknesses?

When identifying candidates on a resume recruiters look for succession in work and if youre out of school, of course, a GPA if it applies. All hospital protocol and skills will be taught so that doesnt have as much weight. In fact sometimes a nurse that has too much experience in one hospital could even be viewed as tough to train since each one has their own experience (a discussion for a separate topic).

Second there a few things they need to consider when hiring; making sure that you are a good fit - turnover is expensive $$$! risky (think litigation), and training takes up resources. So identifying first if you will remain at the company is crucial.

So go into the interview with that in mind and highlight, being a quick thinker, having strong integrity, being a team player. Remember you are a bunch of professional individuals with your own unique approach but the hospital needs to have a cohesive, cooperative, and reliable team to ensure the tasks and care is being followed through.

Of course there could be arguments as to what happens once youre on the floor and working, however, thats for another conversation!

[Suga Moore]

Thank you for the insight and you brought up some great points that I can think about before the interview!