Interview questions. Advice would be greatly appreciated!

[nurse1045, BSN]

I feel like I'm really bad at interviews so I could use some advice to prepare. I'm not exactly sure what questions I should prepare for. I'm interviewing for a med-surg floor and really nervous.

I feel like they might ask about my previous work experience and work gaps on my resume. For example, last fall I had my first nursing job on a med-surg floor. This job only lasted 3 months. Then I had a few months unemployment gap. Then I got a temporary position giving Covid vaccinations which only lasted 2 months.

If the interviewer asks about my first job I'm not sure if I should be 100% honest or make something up. The honest answer is that I was terminated on my last day of orientation because my manager had concerns with medication safety, critical thinking, and prioritization. In a previous interview I had I was asked about why I left and I said that the unit wasn't a good fit for me. They asked me to explain more and I didn't know what to say.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! I really need this job.

[NightNerd, MSN, RN]

First, don't lie! There are situations where you can justify wording things in a certain way, but you don't want to be caught not telling the truth if they turn around and try to verify your claims.

Since you are interviewing for a med-surg floor and were previously let go from a med-surg job, I think it would be important to focus on anything you've done to address the concerns your prior job had. Any sort of refresher course or review you've done on your own, evidence deon the vaccinator job that demonstrates what you've learned, etc. They would want to see that you took the feedback you got and used it constructively.

Alternatively, there would be nothing wrong with applying to something outside of the hospital, such as LTC or SAR, and gaining some experience there first. Then when you apply for something in acute care, you have evidence to show that you've been able to prioritize, assess, give needs, and generally use a variety of nursing skills.