Should I mention this in my interview?

[lotus_37]

Hi everyone! I apologize if for some reason this isn't the right thread for this post, it's been a while since i've been on here. I'm currently in university with plans to graduate from a BS in the summer.

I have an interview at my top choice for nursing school next week and have started preparing over the weekend. When I found myself going over some of the standard interview questions, I found that my answer for a lot of these was a bit controversial. You see, my sophomore year at university I attended a summer internship. I was one of 30 students chosen and it was my first time shadowing, having daily contact with patients, etc. It's also a time that I can find many examples for the classic "how do you deal with pressure/stress/overcome a conflict" question. I consider it one of the greatest highlights of my undergraduate experience.

The problem is that this internship was geared towards pre-med students. At the time I had all my options open and decided to take the leap and attend this internship for the experience (funnily enough, this internship proved to me that I didn't actually want to go to medical school but loved the patient interaction and science side of the medical field, hence nursing). Even though the program exposed you to different fields (psych, nursing, PhD, etc.) it was truly geared towards becoming a doctor (it was a "wear a white coat to class" type of internship). I'm worried that bringing this internship up will hurt my chances of getting into my nursing school program since it might give off the impression that I wanted to be a doctor but then flaked because it was too difficult/time consuming/etc, which isn't the case. I truly loved the program, so I can't say "Oh I went and I absolutely hated every second of it and that's why I chose nursing over medicine", but I also realized I didn't want to be a doctor during it. Anyway, i'm just wondering if anyone has any tips on what to do in this situation? Should I mention it and hope they believe that my reasons for choosing nursing are genuine? Should I not mention it at all and not risk it?

Thanks in advance!

[docBB]

You could say that you participated in the internship and found a love for nursing, due to the extra time you get to spend with patients. I would mention the aspects you experienced (the psych and PhD) and then emphasize how you realized your heart really went out to the patients you met during your nursing shadowing, and something just clicked for you in that time.

I don't think it really matters that the internship was pre-med, but I do understand the desire to have a "genuine" nursing motivation, and pondering over how it would be perceived. At the end of the day you just need to convey that you want patient interaction, and to be able to provide an avenue for being their advocate. After all, nurses are the patient's biggest advocate since we spend the most time with them!!

Personally, I am leaving the nursing route to go for medicine and pursue that MD. So believe me when I say that I truly understand the angst you're feeling about owning up to the nature of your internship and being validated by the interviewer in that way.

You spent the time to complete the internship, and it was an awesome opportunity to experience the different realms of healthcare. At the end of it, you realized that you value compassion, empathy and the dedication to patient care, but you also appreciate the vast amount of science that goes with it... and that put you onto the path of nursing! (that's what I would say!)

Good luck!!