Psych Interview...any suggestions?

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Sep 17, 2009

Considering I got a job in inpatient psych as a new graduate and without any prior hospital experience...it's not impossible :)

Tell them how much and what you enjoyed from your psych rotations. Be honest with them about what you know and don't know. If you don't know something, don't try to bluff it--instead say that you don't know but that you would go and find the information via drug book, reference book, coworker, etc.

Refresh your memory on the serious adverse effects of common psych drugs (EPS, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, etc.), how you'd recognize them and how you'd treat them. Also refresh your memory on therapeutic communication basics as well as the basics of common psych disorders (depression, schizophrenia, etc.).

Of course, your interviewer may ask a whole other set of questions than the ones I got from mine

Good luck!

AplusNurse · Sep 17, 2009

OMG!!!!

I am a new LPN, and I have more experince

as a former CNA in the LTC field, but

I actually just got a job as a Psyche Nurse!!!

I am sooooo excited and scared at the same time.

All those DRUUUGGGGSSSSSSSS!!!

I didn't have any experience at all...you know you

get you occassional bouts with dementia/Alzheimer's disease

in the nursing home, but no REAL experience.

The Specialty hospital is a associated with Madison Center

it's called GeroPysch....so it's has the geriatric patients that

I am use to....just in a different capacity. I think it will be

a great experience...that's why I decided to leave the

employeer that I have now. I won't really get the clinical

part of it, b/c I don't believe they have those ailments; just

the psyche issues, but I welcome the challenge.

I have to review a lot of things from my ATI resource regarding

mental health, and some other resources, b/c I can't play around

with this responsibility...it can be intense it seems like.

I just pray I keep MY senses!!!!

I also actually wanted to post to those nurses who had experience, but

either I don't know how to post or I am not able to post...

don't know why.

Be encourage. You are educated. And remember....NO one

started out with experience....if you aren't given the opportunity

you can't never aquire the experiece....it has to start fresh somewhere!

Hope all goes well with you!

AplusNurse

lilia123 · Sep 17, 2009

I have been applying for psychiatric RN positions and when granted an interview there are usually 2- 3 people present, sometime all three ask me questions. I am not a new grad, my experience has been mostly in "community nursing". For my past interviews for non-psychiatric nursing, only one person was present to interview with . Are they trying to figure out if I'm "wacked'..:chuckle. Any answer would be appreciated as always.

Orca, ADN, ASN, RN · Sep 22, 2009

I was hired as a charge nurse on a new adult mental health unit right out of school. I had a BA in psychology before getting my nursing degree, which probably helped me get the job.

Meriwhen gave you some excellent advice on some things to prepare for. In hypothetical situation questions, if they ask you any, a good response for most situations regarding any kind of escalation is to remain calm, and to speak softly and slowly and to give non-judgmental answers to help deescalate the patient. It also might not hurt to mention that in certain situations someone else might be the best choice to handle the situation (i. e., an employee who has a good rapport with the patient). Being the charge nurse or RN doesn't mean that you take the point in every situation.

As far as whether you're "wacked", most people who have that characteristic reveal it on their own during the interview. To avoid this impression, I suggest sticking to answering the question and then ending your response. Many people eliminate themselves with long, rambling answers that stray far from the topic of the question - and in the process they often reveal a lot of pathology. You would be amazed at how many people reveal that they are control freaks or simply a cancer in the workplace by the statements they make while "free styling" their answers.

lilia123 · Sep 23, 2009

Thanks Orca for answering my question, knowing now that I do get nervous when being interviewed by 3 people is half the battle. I will make my answers succinct and to the point, which is how I usually behave. I will find a place where i feel comfortable and others will again have the pleasure of working with me as it has always been. It's just been difficult trying to make the transition to another part of nursing which has always been intriguing to me. :heartbeat Every bit of knowledge is power!

LAnursingstudent · Oct 3, 2009

I'm very much interested in O.R. nursing and would like to know what it was you didn't like about it. I am a new grad with the same problems of many others, fearing how hard I've found it to find employment and was lucky to get hired at a psych hospital I did my clinicals at and hopefully if all goes well I will be starting in two weeks. I am on a county list for a new grad O.R. training program if the funds are ever made available, which frankly, I've given up holding my breath for.

GalRN · Oct 5, 2009

Make eye contact and carefully answer everything. If you have to talk about a previous job, be very very PC and don't say anything that might give them reason to believe you don't respect boundaries. I've found that some psych interviews flow great, but some seem like they are trying to get info "between the questions".

Also, if it seems like they are trying to trip you up just smile and tell them how why you love the job or would love the job. Don't give real answers to trick questions. I know this sounds paranoid, but I had an interviewer in a 2nd interview ask what I thought about the 1st interviewer:confused:. They ended up telling my recruiter that I wouldn't fit b/c I had poor eye contact, but he said that he's sent 7 good psych RN's before me and they hired the boring one.

If they pull that stuff, just remember that you would have to work with the ppl and lord knows the ones I interviewed with would not have been easy to be around

Most of my interviews have been great, but you have to watch out for the occasional manager who thinks they are administering personality testing.

Orca, ADN, ASN, RN · Oct 5, 2009

If you have to talk about a previous job, be very very PC and don't say anything that might give them reason to believe you don't respect boundaries.

If I had to give a single piece of advice for any interview, this would be it. I am astounded sometimes by the things people say about previous employers. Some have run down a litany of difficulties they have had with prior supervisors - pretty much pinpointing themselves as the main problem.

It is not a crime to be in a job that is not a good fit for you, for any of a thousand reasons. It has happened to all of us. How you handle questions about these matters says more about you than it does about your prior employer, though.