Heather77RN

Update: I was told that I did do a good job with the Ortho interview, but d/t other interviewers with more experience, I did not get the job. Thank you RNtobeinSoCal for that input, my answers to their question about this was similar to what you have written here. I have a job interview tomorrow for a med/surg position in a much smaller hospital (25 beds total) in a small town. I am really hoping this is my final interview and am preparing for any and all questions so I don't freeze up or have to think about any answers. I want to thank everyone here for their input, it helps a lot. Wish me luck!

Good info. My biggest mistake was leaving acute care and looking for a challenge as a new nurse. I think their expectations of a new nurse were just too high. I have heard over and over that even the most experienced nurses have issues with time management in a rehab environment like that. I know that I can handle up to 7 or 8 patients in an acute care environment, but rehab being sub-acute and having up to 22 patients at a time is just not something I can handle. I can see having that many in a LTC environment, because you don't have admissions and discharges on a daily basis, extensive dressing changes, IV administrations (usually not in ltc anyways), and doctor and med changes and calls to the MD and pharmacy every shift. The ECS charting system also leaves a lot to be desired, I am pretty computer savvy, but that system is so jumbled and time consuming with every little thing to chart. I know there are others in my situation, and yes, we arranged it so that I could say it was a mutual agreement that the job wasn't a good fit and that is pretty much what it comes down to. The paper that we wrote quotes that even with all of the learning and coaching that I tried, I still wasn't able to meet their expectations for the job. There's nothing more that can really be said. I don't know what else they can expect me to say. I have an interview on Thursday for an Orthopedic position that I am very excited about. I have 5 years experience on an orthopedic floor- as a CNA. But I gained so much knowledge working with those patients and observing all that I could with the nurses that this job would be an awesome fit and I would feel more comfortable with their computer system and what exactly is expected of me on the unit as a nurse. I really don't want to fudge this interview.

So, my first nursing job left me completely unprepared to handle a busy rehabilitation floor with only 14 days of orientation. I tried all the coaching and learning opportunities that were available and still couldn't hack it. I was there for 6 months and was fired with a mutual agreement that the job was not a good fit. Now, 3 months after, I am still sitting on unemployment and have had three interviews. All three interviewers pushed for a reason that the job was not a good fit and when I just wanted to leave the explanation at that, the interviewers pushed harder for a reason. I didn't know how to answer without making the last job look bad. How can I confront this? I do feel that the orientation was really lacking there and whenever I asked for help or guidance I got help, but they talked behind my back making me feel stupid. I tried to make it into a positive for what I did learn, but the interviewers around here seem to push for more information. How can I word it in an interview and not make the job look bad? Any help?

Hello! I passed my NCLEX at the begining of February. I currently work in the hospital as a CNA. However I have been unable to get a job as an RN on my own floor due to certain politics. I finally have an interview tomorrow for the Neuro/Peds floor. Yay! But I got a call back for a second interview at a nursing home that I applied to and had a first interview last week. I would really rather stay at the hospital due to being there for 5 years (seniority) already and having pto built up and benefits. The nursing home would require no insurance benefits until after 90 days and can't use pto until after 6 months. My question is whether or not I should schedule a second interview with the LTC facility...I am torn.