NowImaNurse

I'm not sure if there's a better forum to list this under, I'm still new to this so if do please let me know. I have been formally offered and accepted my first RN job. I have to, of course, take a drug test, and have a health assessment. So...I have had a valid prescription for years for hydrocodone, and xanax. My conditions, which I'm sure you can gather, are chronic back pain from a MVA and anxiety/insomnia, are well controlled. I don't like to rehash what caused the accident, I have moved past it and am in a good place with what happened. To be clear, I was not at fault, but it was very traumatic. So, will I have to go over all the details, what I went through in PT, how long it took, etc during the health assessment? It is giving me a bit of anxiety trying to prep for a conversation-that may not even happen, about a very difficult time in my life. Should I expect more of a general physical sort of thing, or do I need to ready myself to go over the long road here, to the great place I'm at now. I am so ready to embrace my new path in life, and I would prefer to do this with my dignity and without having to bare my most vulnerable time in my life. Should I be concerned about the drug test? Do they need specifics about when meds are taken? Do they want to know the entire history that lead to this? If I don't have to talk about it I'd prefer not to. Thank you in advance for you attention.

I am going out for my first interviews as an RN tomorrow. One in the morning for a General Acute Care unit with telemetry monitoring, night, and a second one in the afternoon for 2 different positions on a General Medical Unit. Needless to say I am very nervous. I don't know what to expect. So my questions are: what sort of questions can I expect them to ask me, and what are they looking for in a response. Also, what sort of questions should I ask them, I've heard you are given an opportunity to ask questions and you should. I assume there will be questions like "Tell me about a time you had conflict with a co-worker and what happened" which I can answer. And questions like "What would you do if a patient was being verbally abusive to you" which I don't know how to answer. Other than that, I'm sort of at a loss as how to prepare and what they will ask. On the subject of what I can ask them, I've been told to always ask "when will you be making your hiring decision?' and "What is an are of that needs improvement on this unit that I can assist in if I am hired?" Are these good questions? What else can I expect to be aske, what are they trying to find out about me with these questions? How can I show them that I am a very likable, friendly, competent, compassionate person and that I work very well under pressure? I feel like I am going to get flustered. Are the questions I listed good ones to ask? What else should I ask? I really appreciate any and all input, I would really like any of these three positions and would like to be prepared. I want to make a good first impression.