Nurses eat their young - now I understand why.

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Mar 25, 2012

All of those answers were absurd except the one about the cruise. I love to go on cruise and I often book them months in advance, so if a cruise is coming up then I do mention it on the interview... usually people understand.

Anyway, I digress. The new grads you interviewed definitely seem to have a chip on their shoulder. They should be grateful just to have an interview nowadays.

klone, MSN, RN · Mar 25, 2012

If you asked me about core measures, I wouldn't know what to answer either. What's a core measure? Sounds like a fancy management buzzword. Other than that, sorry you're having such a hard time finding good quality applicants, perhaps you need to look for experience instead of "trainable".

allnurses Guide · Mar 25, 2012

Core measures are a JHACO standard for treatment of certain diseases, shown to improve patient outcomes. If you don't know what they are you best get to learning them. They are required to remain JHACO certified, which is required for top tier Medicare reimbursement. Which means other insurance will follow suit soon in requiring them. They add more every year. The newest one that came down the pipe just this week is a requirement to give the pneumonia vaccine to all diabetics. Makes the head spin.

Mentioning a planned vacation comes when an offer has been made and compensation is being negotiated. Not in the first interview. At least not if you want the job offer.

wetzoo · Mar 25, 2012

I'm positive that it's not only young nurses that make bad interview mistakes....? If you find these new grads so challenging to interview, or in your words- "arrogant" and "privileged" , change the listing to "experience required". Simple solution.

NocturneNrse · Mar 25, 2012

Ok ok.. I have to intervene here. Having been a Vet tech and starting MANY IV's on dogs and cats.. I must say.. it's WAY harder to start one in a dog/cat than in a human. The techniques are very similar. But you have a squirming animals trying to bite you oftentimes... Perhaps it was her attitude that made her seem "ignorant".. but in my experience.. much easier in humans.

I understand the attitude in new RN Grad's is often times one of "know it all-ness".. once they start doing the actual job.. they're going to realize just how much they DON'T KNOW.. perhaps that will humble them. We can only hope. :bugeyes:

p.s. I still don't think anyone should "eat" their young, or old.

psu_213, BSN, RN · Mar 25, 2012

Ok ok.. I have to intervene here. Having been a Vet tech and starting MANY IV's on dogs and cats.. I must say.. it's WAY harder to start one in a dog/cat than in a human. The techniques are very similar. But you have a squirming animals trying to bite you oftentimes... Perhaps it was her attitude that made her seem "ignorant".. but in my experience.. much easier in humans.

I think the OP was talking about a person who said that since she was a vet tech she could prepare IV meds...not that she was good at starting IVs.

Either way, it sounds like a bad mix of answers. It is tough to walk that line between not sounding like an arrogant know-it-all while also not sounding like a cluless ignoramus. It looks like the people you interviewed were on both extremes. Maybe it's time to go with 'experience required.'

Altra, BSN, RN · Mar 25, 2012

Ok ok.. I have to intervene here. Having been a Vet tech and starting MANY IV's on dogs and cats.. I must say.. it's WAY harder to start one in a dog/cat than in a human. The techniques are very similar. But you have a squirming animals trying to bite you oftentimes... Perhaps it was her attitude that made her seem "ignorant".. but in my experience.. much easier in humans.

I believe the applicant in the OP's interview stated "expert" skill in IV meds - quite a statement for a new grad seeking his/her first position working with humans.

My hat is off to those who can successfully insert an IV on a squirmy furball. But these are two different skill sets.

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Mar 25, 2012

I always assumed nurses ate their young because they are so busy during the day that they never get to take a lunch break. The young get eaten because they are tender, readily available, and the RN's and hungry!

P.S. While undoubtably it's frustrating to have so many applicants that seem "ignorant" please keep in mind that you are the one who advertised for a charge nurse with no experience necessary. Really, what did you think you were going to get? You got just what you asked for- lots of applicants with limited knowledge because, well, they have no experience. Joint Commision standards were barely touched on in my nursing education. I learned them once I started working, with emphasis on the ones that are important to my unit. Nothing in your post makes me think that those applicants would not be trainable, which is what you said you were looking for. It's pretty clear that you, in fact, DO want someone with experience, so perhaps you should repost the job position reflecting that.

I don't think there is an excuse for being rude, critical, and unprofessional toward a co-worker ever. Regardless of their level of expertise or their interview skills. There's a difference between constructive criticism/mentoring and eating your young.

NocturneNrse · Mar 25, 2012

OOps.. yes, it was prep of IV medication. Sorry 'bout that. Just get a little hot under the collar when Vet professionals are looked down upon. I quickly and mistakingly jumped the gun on that one. Sorry RN _ Marie. :heartbeat

dudette10, MSN, RN · Mar 25, 2012

New RN grad said she's been working as a CNA and knows she can do the job because there's not much difference between being a charge nurse and CNA

Lordy.

New RN grad said that she'll consider our offer, so I asked if she is being offered another position (as we need someone full time). She said she's expecting an offer any day now since she finished the online application earlier this week (and she was not kidding).

If only it were that easy...

Someone coming into the interview with a wrinkled nose and irked expression and said that she can smell the BM from the floor

Get used to it, dude.

Someone who wrote "expert in IV medication preparation"; when asked what's their experience on it, she stated she's been a vet nurse and she's been doing those a lot.

Ok, this one. I can't imagine that IV med preparation for animals would be that much different than for humans. Could it be that she does indeed have expert skills in it? I mean, vets don't normally have a pharmacy on hand, so she might actually be mixing meds in a bag for IV infusion...something most nurses don't do any longer for humans. I gotta give her a pass on this one.

Did you follow up with her and ask exactly what she did?

Someone who said they are not available for the first two weeks of April as they are going on a cruise

Bad timing on her part, but it would have come out sooner or later. Life happens.

Someone asking for the pay, end up telling me that new grad RNs in LA are paid $34/hr starting at the beginning of the interview.

Bad timing and just bad.

When asked about core measures, all of them couldn't deliver one intelligent answer.

Inexperienced and experienced both have trouble with this one. I know the requirements for two of the three core measures I see regularly. I received absolutely no training on any of them. I just put the pieces together from the special forms and the little notes left by the RN in charge of compliance.

and a lot more...

SurrenderDorothy · Mar 25, 2012

- Someone who wrote "expert in IV medication preparation"; when asked what's their experience on it, she stated she's been a vet nurse and she's been doing those a lot.
- Someone who said they are not available for the first two weeks of April as they are going on a cruise

I agree with your assessments of all of your applicants except for the ones above. Being a vet nurse she probably learned a LOT that applies to humans as many of the drugs and skills have an easy cross-over. She probably has a lot of valuable skills that may have been dismissed prematurely.

As for the cruise, yes, she maybe should have waited until being offered a job before mentioning it, but I would see it as she was letting you know as far in advance as possible to make sure it wasn't going to affect you if she were to get hired. I look at this one as a plus.