LTAC interviews

[SimplisticRnx]

Hi everyone. Does anyone who had an interview before know what kind of questions will be asked from a long term acute care hospital? And also, any new grad who worked in one, how was your experience there? More info is greatly appreciated. :)

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

Besides the usual they will definitely want to see if you know what an MDS is and what it stands for. When I applied to a large LTC place many years ago it was on the test ... what does MDS stand for and does a patient need it in their chart was how it was worded. Know what HIPPA means, oh yes; advanced directives, DNR, OSHA. The other stuff was just common stuff that I remember. Ended up getting hired as a house supervisor. What an education did I get! I had only worked at a home health agency as a CNA with an RN license previous to that. Good luck.

[kjwrn]

WOW tyvin You had a test? (There was some sort of 'tests' in my hire packet...comon sence q&a).

Not that this works but...

Researh the company well...ie

How have they fared in previous state & federal inspections?

How long have the Administrator & DON been at the facility?

What is their Medicare ranking (1 to 5 stars out of 5)

Why are they looking to fill this opening? How long have other employees worked there?

Things you may get asked:

Why did you choose us?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

The dreaded 'So tell me about yourself'

What did you like least at your last job?

Tell me a time when you delt with an irate family member/resident? What was the outcome?

They may ask you things like...what would you do if in the middle of your pill pass you find someone who despirately needs 'cleaned up', one cna is at lunch, the other is with a resident. What would you do?

You just came on shift and you were not told that resident X has a huge bruse on her forearm(it was not there yesterday during your shift)...What do u do?

....look at charted notes/incident reports

....u can ask the cnas if they know something...ask supervisor...

if all those r a bust u measure & do incident report..(reporting to state agencies may even need done...)

.....Just a few, there are so many more...you may find some by google search, though they can't be memorized as other than the 5yr question no 2 interviews are never the same...

They usually want to know you will try to be accomodating, if u say youll do somthing, you do it and that u r willing to learn. (and that u will follow or look up policies and procedures vs closing your eyes to a situation on your shift because the person b4u closed theirs....)

**Residents Rights** and I think its called the purple book, good to know...as a resident has the right no matter if demented to refuse meds and treatment. (trying again l8r or getting a nurse they know l8r often helps).

They have a right to fall....how ever this needs much documentation that everything has been done to prevent the fall...

Whew!!!

Just b u!

Good luck!! Each Interview is a learning process to prepare u for the next. Dont beat yourself up!

[kjwrn]

WOW tyvin You had a test? (There was some sort of 'tests' in my hire packet...comon sence q&a).

Not that this works but...

Researh the company well...ie

How have they fared in previous state & federal inspections?

How long have the Administrator & DON been at the facility?

What is their Medicare ranking (1 to 5 stars out of 5)

Why are they looking to fill this opening? How long have other employees worked there?

Things you may get asked:

Why did you choose us?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

The dreaded 'So tell me about yourself'

What did you like least at your last job?

Tell me a time when you delt with an irate family member/resident? What was the outcome?

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

Everywhere I've worked they have given some type of test before committing to the hire. This is a common practice. Haven't you ever heard of places testing out new employees especially with med calculation questions?

[deemalt, BSN, RN]

I wouldn't worry about a test. All of the interviews that I have been to, including LTAC want to know how you handle difficult pt and family situations. You will be asked to give examples and how they turned out. Have some ready in your mind. They will also ask where you see your self in 5 years and want to know that you won't be scared to deal w/ vented pts.

[BigBee48]

May I ask do you mean Long Term Care, or Long Term Acute Care Hospital? There is a difference. The Later is an acute care hospital where alot of ICU patients go after their stay, at the one I worked at they had to meet requirements for admission, ventilator needs, excessive wound care or some other kind of need that required at least 25 day stay. Anyway you also deal w/family situations. But high acuity and also alot of post Bariatric surgery pts.

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

It was a pre-employment test given after the interview. Jeesh ... hasn't anyone ever experienced this? I don't really worry because I am pretty confident. I guess where I'm from they just want to make sure you know your stuff.

I always get the real ridiculous real life scenario questions at an interview. They are looking for in general do you know how to handle certain situations. Be ready for conflict management questions and if you've worked before the "what difference did you make at your last job question" (did you implement a policy, change procedure ect...) It's helpful if you know your personality type as well (always thrlls them).

I've worked with some real doozies; I seriously don't know how some people passed the NCLEX. I thought every place did pre-employment screening for drugs and basic knowledge related to the nursing field it is. That stuff in your packet is what they all ask at the first interview. Anyway good luck to you.

[MomRN0913]

I managed one, and I did a lot of interviews.

Research the company, but don't get too crazy.

KNOW what an LTACH is before going into the interview. I interviewed a bunch of people who had no idea what they were applying for and i had to explain it in EVERY interview. It drove me crazy.

There are ICU level patients in LTACH's. The interdisciplinary care is of utmost important to get them functioning again. Let them know how much you like to work closely with all the discipline to acheive the goal of rehabilitating the patient.

Know this. When a patient is in an LTACH, chances are pretty good they chose that LTACH. So, customer service is of UTMOST importance. Yes, they stick around on average of 25 days. YOu need to express how good you are with families, especially "difficult" ones. Let me tell you, I've worked ICU and LTACH families are even harder. They see themselves as ICU nurses/doctors by the time they get there.

That's all I got right now. Good Luck!

[SimplisticRnx]

Thank you all for your wonderful response. I guess I am a bit prepare now on what to expect. I'm just a bit nervous about scenarios questions because I have never worked in LTC or LTAC before. I'm just hoping for the best right now :anpom:

[Shane505]

Thanks for all the responses everybody. I got an interview coming up at a LTC myself and these really help. It really caught me off guard because it was a position I applied for back in February and then I got a call today for an interview. Just a few questions. Did you ever have any questions about diabetes management? And when they change/fire DON's in LTC is it customary to let go of the nursing staff that was hired by that management? I only ask because I heard from a friend that works for this same company that they changed DON's at numerous facilities and she keeps seeing a lot of new nurse orientees at work. She got hired also by a new DON a couple of months back. This could explain why I'm only getting an intervew 6 months later?