How would you answer this interview question?

[FireStarterRN]

Was talking to a coworker today. She interviewed for a per diem job last year, actually at my former place of employment ( I'm thankful not to be there anymore).

She was asked, 'If you asked a CNA to do something and she/he continued to talk on the phone, which was a personal call, what would you do?'.

We did have a huge problem there with internet use, phone use, etc.

How would you have answered that question?

[cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN]

I've never been asked that kind of question before. But, I've only ever had one nursing interview!

I read this thread and just thank God that I work in an ICU where I don't have to worry about managing anybody else other than myself and my pts.

I would answer the original question like this.

"I'd do it myself".

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

My friend told me that this question was one of two scenarios she was presented with, the other being 'what would you do if your patient had a blood sugar of 60?'. She thought the whole interview was rather strange and decided against working there.

[cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN]

Honestly, if this was what they wanted to know in an interview, then I'd choose elsewhere as well.

Seems like they are asking you how you would deal with the established problems on the unit.

[NurseyBaby'05, BSN, RN]

I never really got anything other than the usual interview questions. I think if I got this particular question, I would be thinking that I would be spending every shift baby-sitting and making sure people did their jobs instead of getting mine done. It would be a big red flag.

[Cassaundra]

If asked this question, I think I would take a little different approach. I would tell her: Sorry to interrupt you. Is this an emergency phone call? (No) Then I need you to hang up and take care of this. Otherwise I will see it as a real problem and we will need to privately talk about it. Your patients are more important than your boyfriend while you are at work.

I would also make sure there's not anyone else in earshot. Should she not do as I asked her, then I drag her into an office with a write-up and a pen in hand. All of this is provided I had the authority to handle the situation.

[gtmoore]

I would give the CNA the benefit of the doubt first. I would get her/his attention by saying "excuse me". I would repeat the request. If the CNA still continued to ignore me and talk on the phone and it appeared it was not an emergency and clearly a personal call, I would say something along the lines, "I need you to work now and it is against policy to talk on the phone at work in a personal conversation and if you continue to ignore me, I'm going to call the nursing supervisor and have her send you home since you don't want to work".

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

Has anyone here been asked this type of question at an interview before?

This kind of question would be asked to assess a person's ethics of right and wrong actions on the job. Some people, no matter how many times they are told the rules and regulations of a work place, still believe that there are some things that they have a right to do. Taking personal phone calls at any time while at work is one of them. It is not an illegal question to ask. It is a question designed to ferret out a behavior problem before it occurs.

If asked this question, I think I would take a little different approach. I would tell her: Sorry to interrupt you. Is this an emergency phone call? (No) Then I need you to hang up and take care of this. Otherwise I will see it as a real problem and we will need to privately talk about it. Your patients are more important than your boyfriend while you are at work.

I invite you to try this in the real world. The response you get will surprise you and is not likely to get a positive result. When I did this the response I got from the employee was anger and huffiness with me. "Don't ever interrupt me while I am on the phone!" is what was yelled at me like I was the person doing something wrong. As the person in charge I automatically thought that my instructions would be followed and I was shocked at the response I got. It was when I attended a seminar on dealing with difficult people where I was told to just stand and stare at the person until they hung up. We were told to do the same with doctors who were having hissy fits and yelling at nurses. It puts pressure on the wrong doer to respond to you first. Standing, staring and saying nothing is a powerful statement and is a "statement" of your authority. When you finally do say something, use very few words and make them short and to the point. When you are in a position of authority, long dawn out explanations are the last thing an insubordinate person wants to hear. They know they are wrong and just need to know (1) what they did wrong (2) the consequences if they do it again (3) to start moving forward. Then, make sure you follow up on the consequences. When you give lectures the chance of your forgetting what you said increases and takes the pressure of responding off the wrong doer. When the employee is wrong, you want them to talk and tell you why they did what they did and keep talking (give them rope to hang themselves). You need to keep your mouth shut while they proceed to do their own hanging and let their own guilt work for you.

[KateRN1]

Wow. Awesome tactic. I can't wait to use it. Ummm . . . . well, I hope I don't have to.

[Cassaundra]

Thank you, Daytonite. All of that makes sense. :wink2: Learn something new every day.