1st RN interview tomorrow!

[msnorth]

I have an interview tomorrow for a med/surg position, & I'm super nervous. I was talking to my mom about what to say & I brought up my hx of cancer. She said I probably shouldn't mention it because whoever is interviewing me might assume I'll get sick all the time & they would need someone to cover for me. I'm very healthy & I still see my oncologist but only every 4 months. My hx of being a 2x cancer survivor is so much of who I am & why I chose this field. Should I keep my mouth shut? TIA!

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

I would definitely NOT bring it up. It's none of their business, they are not allowed by law to ask you about your health and if you volunteer the information they might very well reject you because of it. They'd have to come up with some other reason for not hiring you, but that's usually not hard, and not provable. You've survived cancer twice, which says to me that you're a strong person who does what needs doing, but they won't see it that way. As your mom says, they'd believe the opposite. Should you relapse, God forbid, you can cross that bridge when you get to it... long after you've proven yourself to be a hard worker, a smart nurse and a major asset to your team.