Nurse extern interview

lab211 · Feb 25, 2008

Good day:

I have just completed my application files for 3 local hospital's summer 08

externship. All three have indicated that they will interview me; however, the date and time has not been set. They had indicated that interviews would take place late February to mid-March and hiring decisions to be

made late March to early April.

I have been in a allied health profession for many years, had many interviews, and I guess I did okay because I was hired. So, from experience; breath, be calm, be genuine, be honest about your strengths and your weakness, dress appropriately, do not interrupt the interviewer, make eye contact, be mindful of your body language, have an idea of where you see yourself for example in 5 years, acknowledge that you are

interested in the job, and I can go on.

Every interview experience for me has been an unique one. Also, in my opinion, I have had good interviewers and a few bad ones (ie. the interviewer seemed to be just going through the motions just to abide by quotas, etc.). Be mindful that the interviewer can throw you question(s) that you have not even thought of. If this happens,try not to get nervous

and allow yourself to think a few seconds before answering,cause this can make or break you. :nuke:

iHeartNICU · Feb 25, 2008

Hey! Congrats on getting the interview. I did the same thing, did an externship in the unit I REALLY wanted to work on. I was so nervous about it to because I knew this was the only place I wanted to work. The interview went sooo smoothly thank goodness. I was interviewed by the nurse manager who in my case is so super nice and a really good manager as well. She asked me why I enjoyed nursing, why I wanted to work on this particular unit and if I wanted to work there after graduation or if doing this externship was just to have a job for right now. Those are really the only speific questions I remember. Mainly it was just us talking. She did tell me that she really appreciated my enthusiasm and how I showed interest. When I had originally applied I didn't get a call back for almost 2 moths. However, I didn't just sit around hoping she would call. Because I wanted it so badly I called her about once every 10 days for about 2 months. It turns out that the unit was being re-done and they were super busy moving babies around and whatnot (I work NICU). She said she got every one of my messages just honestly didn't have a chance to call me back but she liked how I kept on top of it. Ok long story and you already have the interview but my point was that she liked that I honestly showed her how interested I was by calling her. So, let your enthusiasm come through and tell him/her how much you want this and how willing to learn you are. Make eye contact, smile, be as comfortable as you can be. Also, I think it's a good idea to send a thank you note to whomever interviewed you. Have it ready to go so you can mail it on your way home from the interview. Anyways, best of luck!

glamgalRN · Feb 25, 2008

I realize how stressfull the whole interview process can be. And good news- the Nurse Manager that you are interviewing with realizes that as well! So the number one thing I would suggest is that you RELAX AND BE YOURSELF!! There are a bunch of threads on here about typical interview questions, but here are the questions that I've been asked: why do you want to be a nurse, what is the biggest challenge you've faced at clinical and how did you handle it, why do you want to work on this unit and what is your biggest weakness.

Do your research about the unit/hospital and try to impress them and let them know you did your homework! It really does work! Make sure you have an extra copy of your resume, you never know if you'll also meet up with the charge nurse/assistant nurse manager. I also always bring my transcript and letters of recommendation and paperclip it to the back of my resume. And also don't forget to smile ! Good luck and keep us posted!

shock-me-sane · Feb 26, 2008

I did an externship last summer.

I had what I would consider difficult questions, all which needed to be answered based on my experiences in the hospital.

Tell me about a time when you prioritized with your patients

Tell me about a time when you gave excellent care and what feedback you received

How do you handle difficult patients?

Now I honestly didn't feel that my nursing clinicals gave me adequate experience to handle these questions, but thankfully my job at a hospital did.

It was rather intimidating, panel interview, they asked the questions and wrote down your answers without response. I guess they had to make you work, the externship paid $21 an hour.

I got the position and it was the best thing I have ever done to enhance my knowledge and self confidence.

Good luck!