Interview on Wednesday

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Specializes in ICU, ER.

Hi, I have an interview for a PT position in ER on Wednesday morning and I'm looking for some pointers and tips on how to do well in my interview! I am very excited and very nervous...ER has always been my dream job :D

I am a recent grad and I did my consolidation in ICU last year, but I have been working nights in LTC since graduating as there were very few jobs so I do feel as though I have lost some of my critical care knowledge/skills and need some refreshers.

Thanks in advance. I really appreciate any help you can offer!

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Specializes in ER.

Congratulations on the interview! I am a new grad and just got hired to the ER, so here are some questions I remember them asking:

How do you handle stress?

Why nursing?

Why ER?

Describe your personality in a few words.

Strongest skills? Weakest skills?

And I made sure I asked them questions as well. I asked:

Nurse to pt ratio?

What do you expect of a new nurse in this ED?

Do the preceptors receive specialized training to become

preceptors?

In the past when a hire did not work out, what was most

often the cause?

How long will my orientation be? Can I extend it if

needed?

How will I be evaluated during orientation?

That's all I got for now. Make sure you follow up with a thank you note that reiterates (succinctly) why you would be the best fit for the job. Ask at the end of your interview when you should expect to hear back from them, and then don't be afraid to call and remind them that you are still very interested in working there if they drag their feet past the date you were told you'd hear something by. I didn't hear anything for about 3 weeks after they told me they'd call me, and I called each week (and emailed once) to tell them I was following up and was still very interested in working for them. Either they really liked me, or they got tired of me calling. Either way I got the job. ;)

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Specializes in ICU,ED, Corrections, dodging med-surg.

How would you handle difficult family members?

What would you do in the case of xyz(pertaining to prioritization)

Has there ever been a time you had to address conflict between staff members?

what is the acceptable number of days per year to call off?

name 5 words to describe yourself

What would you do when you find several staff members have called off, and you are supposed to be off duty soon?

Oh, and TEAMWORK must me emphasized when describing how you work

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Be ready to sell yourself if they just start off with the "tell me about yourself". Don't just give the basic stuff they can get off the top of the resume, but more about why nursing is for you or qualities that you have that would fit into the ED.

Prepare examples for things like a time when you had to handle conflict, how did you do it and how did it turn out.

Give an example about a time where you and another coworker disagreed over a decision and how you handled it.

For answers like what is your strength, have an example of where that strength came in handy to back up what you want them to see.

With a weakness, try your best not to use perfectionism. It's really overused, but do try to find something that can be twisted into a strength.

Good luck!

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Specializes in ICU, ER.

Thank you so much everyone :)

I do have a couple questions based on your answers...

If asked the question of the number of acceptable days to call in per year, what is an appropriate answer? I don't even know what I would guess for that...

Also, when asked to tell them about myself, how personal (if at all) should I go with my answer?

Thanks again!

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Specializes in ER.
Thank you so much everyone :)

I do have a couple questions based on your answers...

If asked the question of the number of acceptable days to call in per year, what is an appropriate answer? I don't even know what I would guess for that...

Also, when asked to tell them about myself, how personal (if at all) should I go with my answer?

Thanks again!

I don't know about the first question, but for the second, I always keep it to what school I went to, that I finished with honors, I worked at this place for x amount of time and what I enjoy about nursing. Something kind of general.

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Specializes in ICU, ER.

Hi everyone! Thanks again for all your help!

The interview went very well. They told me afterward that they were very impressed with my answers and didn't expect me to know as much as I did considering I'm a new grad with little experience.

There was just one answer that I could NOT believe came out of my mouth. They asked about neuro assessments and I was talking about all the normal things I would do and they said it was perfect and then one of them asked what it the quick neuro assessment is called and there was a little sign in my head flashing GCS GCS GCS, but for whatever reason word vomit came around and said GPS :eek: I couldn't believe it. My face must have been so red...they just giggled and brushed it off by saying that's too funny or whatever, but I told them I was so embarassed! I did try to kind of "fix" it by saying it adds up to 15 and is an indication of neuro status blah blah blah, but omg I feel like such a moron. Especially considering I do know about GCS. Oh well...too late now!

Can't believe I just admitted that.............. :sstrs:

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Specializes in ER.

LOL, I'm sure they didn't think it was a big deal, but I know how you feel. Sometimes looking back on interviews I was like, "What was I thinking?!". Let us know what happens! Hope you get it!

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