Seattle Children's May 2024

rachel3737 · Feb 21

Congrats on your offer! I did not apply but I am graduating nursing school this fall and plan to apply to the November cohort. I would love to hear about your experience with the application/interview process! Did you have NICU clinical experience? I am from Seattle and from what I've heard this is an amazing program, I'm sure you're going to love it!

JustKeepRiding · Feb 21

rachel3737 said:

Congrats on your offer! I did not apply but I am graduating nursing school this fall and plan to apply to the November cohort. I would love to hear about your experience with the application/interview process! Did you have NICU clinical experience? I am from Seattle and from what I've heard this is an amazing program, I'm sure you're going to love it!

Hey, congrats on being so close to graduating! I did my senior preceptorship in a level 3 NICU, but other than that I did not have any NICU or peds experience (besides peds clinical in school). My initial phone interview with the recruiter was very general questions like "Why Seattle Children's" "Tell me about any NICU experience you have,” etc. My NICU interview with the manager & educator was very similar, but almost all behavioral style questions. I will say, they made me feel very comfortable & it felt like we were having a conversation rather than an interview. Classic questions like "Tell me about a time you went above & beyond for a patient,” "Tell me a time where you provided culturally competent care,” etc.

Definitely try to pull a lot of patient experiences/examples from your preceptorship (if you'll be in the NICU) if you can, or at least from any of your peds clinical rotation. I think they also really love to see applicants who know what the NICU is about, our patient population/diagnoses, & just the reality of what we do in the NICU. It's easy to forget it's still an ICU LOL.

rachel3737 · Feb 22

Nicole Reavis said:

Hey, congrats on being so close to graduating! I did my senior preceptorship in a level 3 NICU, but other than that I did not have any NICU or peds experience (besides peds clinical in school). My initial phone interview with the recruiter was very general questions like "Why Seattle Children's" "Tell me about any NICU experience you have,” etc. My NICU interview with the manager & educator was very similar, but almost all behavioral style questions. I will say, they made me feel very comfortable & it felt like we were having a conversation rather than an interview. Classic questions like "Tell me about a time you went above & beyond for a patient,” "Tell me a time where you provided culturally competent care,” etc.

Definitely try to pull a lot of patient experiences/examples from your preceptorship (if you'll be in the NICU) if you can, or at least from any of your peds clinical rotation. I think they also really love to see applicants who know what the NICU is about, our patient population/diagnoses, & just the reality of what we do in the NICU. It's easy to forget it's still an ICU LOL.

Thank you that is super helpful! How long was it between when you applied and when you heard back? Also, did you get to rank unit options or just apply to one unit?

JustKeepRiding · Feb 22

rachel3737 said:

Thank you that is super helpful! How long was it between when you applied and when you heard back? Also, did you get to rank unit options or just apply to one unit?

You're very welcome ?! I applied the day that the application opened (January 13th), & received a call from recruitment the next day to schedule a phone screening/interview & that took place about 2-3 days later.

You'll do the phone interview, which is very basic questions, & if recruitment thinks you're a good fit you'll be pushed through to a manager interview. I heard back within about a week with an official offer from recruitment, & you'll have 1 day to consider accepting or rejecting it. I believe they call for both rejections & acceptances.

And yes! You'll be asked to choose your top 2 units & why you chose them. There were a lot of units participating for this April, so I'm not sure what that list will look like later this year for the August cohort.

rachel3737 · Feb 22

Nicole Reavis said:

You're very welcome ?! I applied the day that the application opened (January 13th), & received a call from recruitment the next day to schedule a phone screening/interview & that took place about 2-3 days later.

You'll do the phone interview, which is very basic questions, & if recruitment thinks you're a good fit you'll be pushed through to a manager interview. I heard back within about a week with an official offer from recruitment, & you'll have 1 day to consider accepting or rejecting it. I believe they call for both rejections & acceptances.

And yes! You'll be asked to choose your top 2 units & why you chose them. There were a lot of units participating for this April, so I'm not sure what that list will look like later this year for the August cohort.

That is so good to know! So nice that it's such a quick turn around. I have heard that it is definitely in your best interest to apply earlier than later so I'm planning to apply the first day the app opens as well.

what was required for the application? I assume resume and cover letter, but was there any additional essay questions and do you need references/letters of recommendation?

was NICU your top choice?

JustKeepRiding · Feb 22

rachel3737 said:

That is so good to know! So nice that it's such a quick turn around. I have heard that it is definitely in your best interest to apply earlier than later so I'm planning to apply the first day the app opens as well.

what was required for the application? I assume resume and cover letter, but was there any additional essay questions and do you need references/letters of recommendation?

was NICU your top choice?

Yes, NICU was my 1st choice, & I put PICU at my 2nd! And yes, their website talks about how it's important to apply early because those who do will be the ones to receive the first potential interviews & offer extensions. The turn around time is very appealing because if you don't get it then you don't have to wait around for a response. Resume & cover letter were required, & as far as I can remember I wasn't asked for any LOR's or references (I had 3 just in case). I do also have some certifications, but they weren't asked about.

rachel3737 · Feb 23

Nicole Reavis said:

Yes, NICU was my 1st choice, & I put PICU at my 2nd! And yes, their website talks about how it's important to apply early because those who do will be the ones to receive the first potential interviews & offer extensions. The turn around time is very appealing because if you don't get it then you don't have to wait around for a response. Resume & cover letter were required, & as far as I can remember I wasn't asked for any LOR's or references (I had 3 just in case). I do also have some certifications, but they weren't asked about.

Thank you so much for all of this insight, I really appreciate it! Good luck at Children's, let me know if you have any questions about Seattle ?