Interview help

CharlieRN · Mar 22, 2005

Since you don't have psych experience hopefully they plan to train you. If they don't then you do not want the job. If I were interviewing you I would be trying to assess your level of good sense and coolness under pressure. A really sound basis in general nursing/medicine would also be important. A willingness to learn from those who have experience on your unit, regardless of job title, is nearly vital to success.

nursebraswell · Mar 22, 2005

Since you don't have psych experience hopefully they plan to train you. If they don't then you do not want the job. If I were interviewing you I would be trying to assess your level of good sense and coolness under pressure. A really sound basis in general nursing/medicine would also be important. A willingness to learn from those who have experience on your unit, regardless of job title, is nearly vital to success.

Thanks for the help CharlieRN. Can you give me an example of a question they might ask me to asses my "coolness under pressure?"

CharlieRN · Apr 4, 2005

Re: coolness under pressure. I have heard of interviewers being insulting and trying to make you mad in order to assess this. I would ask about your experiences and your philosophy of nursing. Get your take on some "what if" senarios. They would not have to even be from nursing situations. Ie: What would you do it a drunk but much older man wants to pick a fight with you in a public place?

An ablity to see the big picture is also a plus. Another example: I'm a float nurse on the evening shift floated to the inpatient child/adolescent psych unit. I'm doing meds and the Day Charge works a 12 hr 9:30 to 9:30 shift. When he goes home its me in charge with 2-3 very experienced mental health workers until the 11 to 7 shift gets in. This night a ten y o male cranks up at bedtime, we increase his observations to q 15min. This automaticly drops his priviledge level so that he will not go off the unit the next day and will have to eat "tray food", not go to the cafe. He blockades his room by pushing his bed infront of the door so we can't open it to make observations. The MHW's, want to follow established proceedure for such situations. That is, rip the door off its hinges( we have a giant crow bar for this purpose and they have it ready), restrain the patient, if he resists put him in a restraint bag and keep him there until either, the MD on call orders involuntary chemical restraint, or the patient clams down. I'm 5'10", 200lbs, the other staff are bigger. The patient is 4'10" maybe 90 lbs. There has to be a better way. So I go talk with him. Instead of telling him what he must do, I ask what he wants to do. He says, "I want to sleep in my bed." I say, "That's good, I want you to sleep in your bed too." Compromise, he sleeps in his own room with the door open so we can check him q 15 and works out the consequences of his misbehavior with his treatment team the next day.

My staff were seriously annoyed with me. My take is that they had gotten sucked into the power struggle. The little brat had challenged them, and they were going to show him. I'm visualizing standing in a court,trying to justify us injuring him, we would not do it on purpose but accidents happen.

Bailey500 · Apr 4, 2005

Wow, pretty scary that not only can patients in this hospital barricade themselves via placing a bed in front of the door, but also, your hospital acknowledges this by providing staff with a "giant crow bar" for such situations.

but sounds like you handled the situation well rather than having to resort to those measures...