Tips needed to prep for a Cardiac/Telemetry/High Acuity Unit interview

Da_Milk_of_Amnesia, MSN · Jul 3, 2015

Pretending to know what you don't......Hmmm seems like a recipe for disaster if you ask me. How about being upfront and honest, I didn't know anything when I go into ICU, I was taught. Trying to BS your way thru it isn't a good idea IMHO. I've honestly never been asked any clinical situations or 'what would you do' questions ever, on any interview with a nurse manager or HR for that matter. Putting your best foot forward means being yourself, answering the questions honestly, and being honest with yourself and the interviewer on who you really are.

VioletFox · Jul 7, 2015

Hi! I don't know if you've already had your interview or not, but in general...

I think your potential manager probably has a good idea of what you probably would and wouldn't know from your rÃ©sumÃ©. I imagine it is favorable that you have med-surg experience, and presumably have a good base of assessment, time management, etc type if skills. I think the key thing in aiming for a new job in a new area is being truly interested in the area, showing that you are invested in learning new skills, showing that you are eager to get in there and grow as a nurse and care giver, and that you want to be part of the team on that unit. I would expect questions about how you've dealt with controversy with coworkers, how you've dealt with difficult patients, what would you do in xyz situation type questions. I think a lot of the questions have more to do with how you work with people rather than what nursing intervention would you do for certain problems. In my experience, new nursing skills can be taught, but how well you do or don't work with other people is sort of an ingrained trait that is very important and can't necessarily be trained. (Not that I'm saying that nursing skills don't matter. They do! I just think about situations where it comes to hiring people with the same amount of experience- they would go for the person that was the best fit. So you want to be a person people want to work with- positive attitude, team player, hard worker).

brentisbored · Aug 4, 2015

When I hire for my unit, which is a high-acuity floor, I rarely ask questions to assess clinical competency (that can be proven on the floor and even learned through training). I appreciate someone who can convey that they are able to think critically, can work independently, that recognizes the value of team-based care, and has a high degree of stress management. These are all critical components of being successful in a high acuity/high stress environment. Learning to read an EKG strip and recognizing a clinical change comes with experience and in practice.

However, be prepared for some basic assessment/intervention questions (e.g., your patient reports they have new onset chest pain, 7/10 in severity, what would you do?). Some managers, seeing that you are an experienced nurse, will test your critical thinking skills by giving basic scenarios.

anh06005, MSN, APRN, NP · Aug 4, 2015

I know this topic is a few weeks old buuut in case anybody else reads it I'll chime in!

If you applied and listed your experience as med surg then the hiring manager already knows you do not have tele experience. I'd think of experiences you have had with patients that challenged you and things you've picked up on and potentially avoided disaster.

You can learn the skills (drip titration, rhythm strips, etc) but as an experienced nurse you are either a critical thinker or not at this point.

Be honest, be open, and keep everything positive.