Two interviews, looking for tips!

[LMFRN]

Hi,

I have been working adult Med-Surg for almost 6 months, but my heart is in Pediatrics. I found out a couple days ago that I have been invited to interview for TWO positions at a major Children's hospital! I have been volunteering at a Children's hospital in my free time, but other than that all of my experience as a RN is with adults. I know this is valuable experience, but I am still nervous about how to answer questions for a Peds position. Any tips for these interviews would be greatly appreciated! :)

[laughing weasel]

Tell them that you have a dog and it is house trained. When they look at you like what does that have to do with anything. Respond that if you can train an animal you are up to the challenge of handling a child. If nothing else they will surely remember you which is half the battle. We are currently using that as an acid test at the home health I am working at.

[smurfynursey]

Congrats on your interviews!

I was in a similar situation, got an interveiw at the place ive wanted to work since high school and was horribly unprepared...so hopefully I can help!

My background is with medically fragile children so I had a hard time with some questions that require patients that talk...I would suspect this wont be an issue for you...but here goes.

Prove that you can be, and are an advocate for your patients. Be prepared with specific examples. I got asked alot of questions on how to handle conflict with parents and coworkers, my kids lived with us (nursing home) and I worked nights so I didnt have much experiance handling issues as far as that is concerned. Also be prepared for scenarios, how you would react...In this resepect you might expect it to be "patient x has dx y and this is happening. mine were more staff level conflict. Also be prepared to give examples of how you accept critisism well, and actions/situations that went well and not so well. how you would have acted differently, and also typical interveiw questions such as weaknesses, ect....the hospital that I had an intereveiw with is consisitantly on the top 25 list so it was pretty challenging... IF you search for interveiw tips on google or something, you can find sample questions and the "ideal" answers. There are also some paages that have nurse specific ones.

I'm excited for you! I hope you get it!

smurfynursey :)

[Guest717236]

Best wishes on your interviews! If your heart is in Pediatrics, highlight your volunteer work

at the Children's Hospital. It is essential you can work effectively as part of a team.

Smurfynursey gives great advice. They may want to see 1 year of Med Surg.

If you are planning to continue your education focusing on Pediatrics, highlight that aspect as well.

Being quick on your feet is a must, in Pedi situations and events can happen fast.

Most of all be yourself, and don't be surprised if it is a team or multiperson interview situation.

Take one question at a time and think through your response.

Pediatrics is an exciting and growing field, please keep us updated on the interviews!

[perfectbluebuildings, BSN, RN]

Good luck!!! I'm excited for you! I don't have much to add to the excellent advice above by smurfynursey and jahra. I got a lot of scenario questions in my last peds interview, mostly patient-care related; i.e. prioritizing patients or what you would do if this happened with a certain patient. Your volunteering experience, you volunteering in pediatrics even while working full-time, should definitely count as a plus in showing how interested and committed you are to pediatrics. Let us know how it goes!!