The New Grad and the Interview with the ED

taz628, BSN, RN · Apr 2, 2009

When I interviewed for the ED at my hospital they asked what I thought the ED was all about - they didn't want someone interviewing because they were under the impression it was JUST LIKE all those trauma shows on TV. So I would recognize that traumas are an important part of the ED, but in all reality a rather small percentage of the overall population of patients. (I've always thought the medical emergencies like true chest pain, PE's, etc were more interesting anyway.) My manager also stated something like this to me: "We have three types of patients in the ED - the not sick, sick, and really bad sick - do you think you could tell the difference?" I've also worked some pre-hospital, so they wanted to know what the worst call I've ever been on was and how I handled it. Other than those tidbits of insight, treat it like you would any other floor. Be honest about why you want to work there and be sincere. Eye contact, good posture, confidence. :) Hope you do well!

JStyles1 · Apr 2, 2009

What certification classes did you take?

SleeplessNCA · Apr 2, 2009

Thank you for your advice. It just makes me feel better to hear others experiences. If I can personally prevent myself walking into a blind situation without doing research and asking questions, I do! I do have some knowledge of ER work, clearly from a non nurse stand point. One as a volunteer in the ER, secondly I worked in an ICU for 10 years and we worked very closely with the ER and frequented the dept alot, I just love the dynamics of how things work, things aren't as meticulous, more like organized chaos, and I work great in those environments.

As for the certifications I took ACLS and PALS....the others I believe are TNCC and ENCP.

SleeplessNCA · Apr 9, 2009

I had my interview in the ER yesterday. I think I did ok, not sure. Does anybody else feel like they blew it with their interviews? The manager asked me basic questions like, why do you want to work at our hospital? what can you offer us, why should we pick you? Where do you see yourself in 5 yrs? Pt comes in with CP how do you treat? Strengths and weakness? Most challenging situation you had been in? I had a total of 3 nurses interviewing me, we all smiled and laughed at times, and sometimes they talked as if I had the job, but I never let that go to my head, cause just as I thought the manager says, well we are interviewing other nurses and we'll make a decision at the end of next week, I'll contact you.

I did send out my thank you card right after the interview, I went to the post office and wrote it out and mailed it. Although I do have one question...she did ask a question "If I were to contact your previous employer, what would he tell me about you" I answered positively and honestly. But I got to thinking, I filled out that application in December and I was just called for the interview last week, so this morning I called my previous hospital and found out that my manager still works at that hospital but on a different unit. I small talked with hiim and told him about my interview and he told me to give the manager that interviewed me his personal cell #. After talking with him, I called her office and left her a voice mail letting her know that I needed to update my application regarding my previous employer to a different phone # and if she needed to contact him, this was the number to reach him at. I was very professional and offering information, just in case she did make that call.......I just wonder to anybody who reads this.....does what I did sound desperate or pushy? or was it completely ok to do, I just don't want to blow my chances....any advice would be helpful. So in case I didn't get this job......I can learn from my mistakes and try better next time.

SleeplessNCA · Apr 14, 2009

Got the call today offering me the ER position. I am so excited the wait was less than I thought it was going to be. I am very excited, should be starting in about 2 weeks.

MikeyBSN · Apr 14, 2009

Congratulations! I'm impressed that you already have ACLS and PALS, most new grads don't have these. Does your hospital offer a comprehensive orientation program? Our hospital had us go through both classroom and in-unit orientation. As an ER prospect, we took critical care classes during our orientation before we even got to the floor. We examined EKG's, CVP monitoring and other critical care topics. This was a great help. When you start you will probably be busy, overwhelmed and tired. As an orientee, you should volunteer to help other nurses if you have downtime. Put in some IV's, foleys and other clinical skills. The better you become clinically, the faster you will be once you are managing a section. This allows more time for documentation, assement and monitoring of your patients. Good luck!

Editorial Team / Moderator · Apr 14, 2009

Got the call today offering me the ER position. I am so excited the wait was less than I thought it was going to be. I am very excited, should be starting in about 2 weeks.

Congratulations!! :)