Interview question

[jnurse11]

Hi everyone! I have a question about whether a new nurse who has a special needs child should mention this detail to their future employer. The employer is a pediatric home health agency and the experience the new nurse has with her child would greatly help her chances of getting the job. On the flipside, I'm wondering if the employer might view this as a negative since having a special needs child can necessitate extra time off from work. The child himself also gets home health nursing through a different agency. Not sure if there would be a conflict of interest there. The other home health agency would be willing to hire the mom as a nurse but there aren't any positions available at the time. I know that from what I've read it's best not to mention too many details about your personal life when interviewing but I'm thinking in this case it's different. The skills the nurse/mom has learned over the last 12 years from caring for her child are g tube feeds, trach care, vent care, wound vac, mediports and picc lines. Not to mention having tons of knowledge about programs for special needs kids and knowledge about treatments, meds, surgeries etc. The employer hires new grads and is willing to train them so i don't think not mentioning the detail about having a special needs child would necessarily cost the nurse the job either. What would you all do in this situation?

[jnurse11]

That's why I'm not sure what's best to do in this situation. An employee is not obligated to tell her future employer any personal details, but in this case it might actually help this mom/nurse get the job or it could backfire. I personally would never want to reveal anything to my employer that may be viewed negatively such as being a single mom and having two preschoolers (I'm not a single mom nor do I have little ones but I'm just using that as an example.) You never know how the employer will view that information. Some special needs children are in and out of the hospital a lot and when home health nurses don't show up, the parents many times have to call in to work last minute. I'm not saying that is the case with this mom, but I'm just saying that an employer may THINK that will be a problem and not hire her. Hiring employees costs money. Employers may not want to hire someone they believe will not remain a long term employee or someone that's not reliable. I guess this mom can say she's comfortable to check off her skills, but what if they ask how she got her training and it's her first job? Might I mention also that this mom has said that this is the job she really wants. She says that fulltime and 8-5 Mon-Fri jobs are not for her. She just wants to work a couple of days a week. She says prn in home health is much more flexible and feels this is what she is meant to do. She wants to take care of other special needs children.

[JustMeRN]

so, this is her first job? she wont have any other way to explain her skills then, so yeah, she might have to tell. She may not get hired without the experience they are looking for, but she might. she could always say nothing at all during the interview, the reveal during orientation tha she has these specific skills. its a tough call. Shes probably going to have to play it by ear, see how the situation unfolds and make her choice during the interview based on the feeling she gets from the agency.

[guest64485]

I would mention it. It shows the nurse knows the field she's getting into which means easier training time, easier time gaining rapport with families, and less likelihood of burnout. One of the jobs I was interviewing for I had personal experience with and that helped me get hired.

[jnurse11]

I think I agree. She should mention it. I'll give an update after her interview. Thanks for all of your replies!

[jnurse11]

Here's an update for everyone. The nurse mentioned her nursing experience from caring for her special needs child. She said the employer was very excited about that and they offered her the job!! I'm so happy for her! Thanks to everyone for your comments. I think it helped her decide to go for it and mention all of her skills and experience.