Swedish Medical Center RN Residency Jan 2012

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Hi All,

By some great miracle, and a lot of hard work and effort, I have been hired as a new graduate RN into Swedish Medical Center's RN Residency program. I was wondering if there were any allnurses.com members who will also be joining me this Jan 21st for the start of this wonderful opportunity! :) I look forward to meeting everyone!

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I wish...

Had 5 months of RN experience and 2 years of nurse technician experience on a surgical floor. Didn't even get a phone interview with the recruiter. I'm kind of dumbfounded.

I hope you do well and learn lots.

Any advice?

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Thanks for your help. Good luck.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
Thanks for your help. Good luck.

For me, it helped at bit that I had a clinical rotation at Swedish - which coming from an out of state nursing program was difficult to arrange, but clearly well worth it in the end! Having the ability to speak about the teamwork at swedish during my interview and having a wonderful preceptor pulling for me certainly helped. As far as getting a call back from HR in the first place, here is what I did:

-Posted on the Swedish Career page on Facebook - they actually replied to me, told me about the New Grad Residency Social they were having, and when I met with HR at the event, they remembered my name.

-I attended the RN Residency Social, where I met with HR and signed my name on a list - apparently they score potential candidates at HR, and some points are allotted for attending this event.

-I brought a full, nicely put together career portfolio to the Social and gave it to HR the next day. I made it a point to stay in contact with the HR person who took my portfolio.

- When filling out the online job app on Swedish's website, I uploaded not only a cover letter and resume, but also a nice outline of my volunteer efforts, and some letters of reference.

-I prayed! I prayed to receive the initial call from HR offering me the opportunity to interview me, and by a wonderful miracle, they did call. I then prepared for the interview with them and tried to think of what I would say for various behavioral and standard interview questions.

When I was interviewed by HR I gave it my all, and I think they could hear the emotion in my voice - the passion and genuine excitement for this opportunity.

When I was interviewed by the managers and peers for the floor I was on as a student, again I prepared (I was very nervous!) and made it a point to show my sincere passion, and interest for their floor. I also created a career portfolio for them and they were happy to receive it.

Now I am hoping & praying I pass the NCLEX with only a few weeks to prepare - Swedish requires I be licensed by Jan 21st and I graduated in December. Like you, I was an hospital care aide (albeit at an out of state hospital) and I did well in school. However, its getting HR's attention the best way you can that I feel makes the difference, because there are tons of great candidates out there. The good news is they are having another Residency program starting in March of this year (or May - can't recall), so you have a chance again. Good luck to you and I hope I pass my NCLEX so we can both be working at Swedish in the near future! :)

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Specializes in Critical Care.

If you don't mind, could I ask your advice on passing the NCLEX? This position will be all for not if I don't pass, so I'm looking for advice from anyone who has gone before haha. Thank you so much in advance! :)

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Which unit were you hired on to?

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I think you should just focus on keeping a healthy, stress-free mind, especially the night before and morning of the exam.

I remember I went on a 4-5 miles run the night before along the Tampa bay and stopped and 'meditated' at the end. From that point on I was a pretty chill cucumber.

I'm sure you've covered and studied all you need to know to pass, it's just about being able to access that info when you're taking the test.

Don't overdue the coffee.

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Hello [COLOR=#003366]Maria L, BSN,

I am also hoping for a miracle, although it didn't happen this time, I am ready to make myself more competitive for the next round =)

Any suggestions/advices? I have obtained the ACLS certificate since I am interested in Telemetry, is there anything else that you can think of that will help? You said that you put together a career portfolio and gave to HR the day after social, did you mean that you actually hand delivered them to HR? Thanks for your help and best wishes to your career =)

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Hi Maria! Thank you for the wonderful advice! I just have a few questions for you:

1) What did you include in your career portfolio?

2) What type of questions did they ask you on the phone interview with the nurse recruiter and also in the panel interview?

Your right, i definitely agree that prayer is key! Thanks again for your help!

- Jessie

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Hi there Lakeunion98125 & jnkwan :)

I did hand deliver my career portfolio to HR at their headquarters the following day after the social. Things I included in my career portfolio were: My resume (multiple copies), my cover letter (multiple copies), sample of the nursing student association monthly newsletter I created & wrote, my certifications & awards, letters of recommendations from nursing instructors, a list of my volunteer activities, a write up on the summer nursing internship I did the previous summer, and a table of contents in the front.

I will try & look back at what I wrote down r/e questions for the interview.

Good luck!! :)

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Phone interview questions included:

Why did you choose nursing?

Why is Swedish the place for you?

Tell me about a time when you especially above and beyond in your nursing career?

What experience do you have and how does it fit the units your interested in?

What top 3 choices for units? Why do you want them?

What makes you a good fit for the unit you chose?

Last but not least: Why should we pick you for Swedish?

What is your work and school experience r/t nursing?

Panel, in-person interview questions were behavioral style:

"Tell me about a time when...."

...you dealt with a difficult situation (personal and/or nursing) & how did you handle it

....when nursing school instruction differed from real life nursing & how did you handle it

...when you had a difficult pt or family member situation & how did you handle it

....when you went the extra mile for a pt/customer

....when you had a safety issue & how you dealt with it

....when you had a disagreement or issue w/ co-worker & how you dealt with it

I can't remember much else - its been awhile since the interview - but if I can recall further, I'll post some more.

Good luck! :)

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Hi Maria, Thanks so much for your help!

I'm also wondering what units are they most in need of? Also, if you don't get your top 2 choice, would they recommend to another unit?

Also, what unit were you interviewing for?

Did you get your results for the NCLEX? I hope you passed!

Best,

Jessie :)

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