How do I decide what floor to choose?

Career Columnist / Author · Jul 14, 2020

Hi Nurse Beth,

I have 3 interviews with different departments in the same hospital. One was yesterday, a brief phone interview for a neuro ICU step down unit.

The manager told me she is going to tell HR to call my references and if everything checks out, I'd be getting an offer. Is this normal procedure? It went so quickly. She said I am the only internal candidate and the hospital doesn't want them to do in person interviews bc they still are not letting guests in the hospital.

Today, I have a Facetime interview with an orthopedic/spine surgery post op floor. Thursday, I have an in-person interview for a telemetry floor. If I get multiple offers, how do I decide? Neuro is my favorite, but what other criteria should I use to make my decision? I just passed my boards on 6/5, so this is my first RN position.

Dear new RN,

Congratulations!! On graduating, on passing your boards, on landing 3 interviews!

The neuro manager has already decided she wants you and is doing away with the formalities. It doesn't mean she hasn't checked you out since managers are often protective of who they hire into the group. She should give you a chance to ask questions, though.

Some questions to ask are:

How long is orientation?
Is the position for days or nights, or rotating?
What opportunities are there for continued education and learning?
How will I know if I am meeting or not meeting expectations?

Visualize a day on each of the units. The number of patients and pace on Neuro stepdown, tele, and a post-op floor are different.

It's very helpful but it can be hard to get a sense of the culture and teamwork on a unit unless you know nurses who work there. Some units embrace new nurses more than others. You can ask "What is the culture like?" but a nurse manager is not likely to answer as candidly as staff nurses would, say, in a panel interview.

Turnover on a unit is also an indicator of staff satisfaction. High turnover can mean fewer knowledgeable, experienced co-workers/resources for you. You could ask the average number of years' experience of the staff.

Let's say you get 3 job offers. After meeting all 3 managers, you may well have a stronger feeling towards one over the others.

Compare the managers and the units. Go with your intuition. Intuition is our inner sense of knowing under our noisy and distracting fears and anxieties.

Best wishes in your decision,

Nurse Beth

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