Periop Intern Interview..please help

bnhanna9 · Aug 6, 2010

congrats on graduating! I just did as well, and began a periop internship 2 weeks ago. what kind of portfolio did you start to put together? i only had copies of my cover letter and resume, and they didn't even ask for those since they already had them. don't fret too much about the interview. is it going to be your first one or a follow-up? i had a phone interview first which was situational questions about my nursing habits and reactions to situations on the floor (say... with other nurses, MDs or patients). My follow-up interview was face-to-face. They asked a lot of personal questions about my personality, how i react to things, am i a multi-tasker, am i comfortable around other cultures and languages, etc. your preparation is very different depending on what kind of interview it is. what information did they give you about it?

Akeos · Aug 6, 2010

It will be my first interview, all the information i got was i was meeting the the periop educator and clinical manager. The portfolio I have started had a cover letter, resume, letters of rec, bls cert., and insurance/immunizations ( i had to have for school). Do you think it would be fine if i just put all the necessary paper work in a folder and bring, i feel like a portfolio is a little much, but i really dont know.

canesdukegirl, BSN, RN · Aug 7, 2010

You sound like you already have your portfolio almost done. If you brought this, it would show that you are an organized and prepared person-one of the most important things that managers look for in a peri-op nurse. Bring it. You will feel more secure if you do. I don't think it is overkill at all; they will be very impressed. If you can, have a section for letters of recommendation and another on any awards and honors that you got in school.

They will probably ask you how well you multi-task. They will ask if you handle stress well (like you are going to answer, "uh...you know, now that you ask, I kinda freak out!"), they will want to know if you work well in a team. They may give you some scenarios in the OR and ask you to prioritize them. You cannot go wrong if you remember that the patient is your focus. Example: Your patient just rolled into the OR and you are the only nurse there (besides the tech, who is scrubbed in and sterile). You are helping the anesthesia provider transfer the patient onto the OR bed. The surgeon walks in and asks you to get something that he needs RIGHT NOW. You answer that you will call your team leader to get the needed supplies AFTER you have the patient secured on the bed with a safety strap, because you are preparing the patient for induction, and cannot leave the bedside. This answer shows that you can prioritize: 1. The patient's safety comes first 2. You can meet the surgeon's needs by delegating the task to your team leader 3. You know that induction and emergence from anesthesia is the most critical point of the surgery.

Are you going to a large OR or a small one? University or private? It will make a difference, because at a small private hospital, you won't have the residents to help with positioning and prepping. At a university hospital, you will have to check behind the residents to make sure that all of the labs got ordered and are WNL prior to surgery.

I hope this helps a bit. Let us know how the interview goes! Stay positive!

Akeos · Aug 10, 2010

canesdukegirl- thank you so much for your advice, it was very helpful, they did give me a scenerio and said i was the only they's interviewed that had answered the way the wanted! I should know by friday if i go on the second round of interviews. thanks again!

canesdukegirl, BSN, RN · Aug 11, 2010

Good for you! Did you take your portfolio? So happy for you!

mrsilly · Aug 11, 2010

canesdukegirl- thank you so much for your advice, it was very helpful, they did give me a scenerio and said i was the only they's interviewed that had answered the way the wanted! I should know by friday if i go on the second round of interviews. thanks again!

Good for you! I'm sure you got it! Looking forward to your next post!