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Discussion

Interview question help!

Hello, I am new to this site but find it to be so helpful! I was just hoping for some opinions. I have an interview coming up for a new grad residency program and have been thinking about how I should answer the question "why do you want to be a nurse?" The reason I am conflicted about how to answer it is because my passion to pursue nursing came after going through a cancer diagnosis years ago. I am in remission and completely healthy now! I had one of the most curable types of cancer (Hodgkins lymphoma). Just hopingfor opinions on whether I should incorporate my story. I should also add that it will be an interview for the oncology floor, which is the floor that I would love to work on!

Any other tips/advice for interviewing would be appreciated!

Thank you!

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    I wouldn't incorporate your former diagnosis in the story, but rather that you have had a variety of long term experiences with nurses who you admired, and that because of these experiences, you began to seriously think about becoming a nurse.

    Best wishes!

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    You could also talk about "a family member" who went through treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It would allow you to discuss what you saw from the patient side without volunteering any of your own medical information.

    In my interview, I talked about my experiences as a patient when my children were born, and how that changed my perception of what nurses do and how important they are to the patient's experience. I know there are people who would not even volunteer that much because they feel it's not an employer's business if you have children or not. But, in my case, I knew it couldn't hurt as I was 33 weeks pregnant at the time, so it was pretty obvious I was going to have at least one child to care for.

    This is only my opinion, but I feel like the more you can speak from the heart, the more genuine you will be, and the better the impression you will make. You might want to think about a particular nurse or a particular moment you can use as an anecdote to illustrate how amazing nurse are, and how you came to be inspired to enter the profession. No need to mention that YOU were the patient.

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    I was very upfront about my Hodgkin's Lymphoma dx 7 years ago. I also highlighted the fact that I was in complete remission for 7 years.

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