Looking for a nursing job?

I've been dragged, er, lucky enough to be asked by my boss to meet some of the interview candidates at the Hotel.

Part of my job is to also ask questions on our standard questionnaire (which is very short).

While I'm not Ask Annie, I am old (or "seasoned" as the PC people say) when it comes to interviews. If you want real specific HR information for yourself, you'll need to get an HR guru in your own state, as laws vary.

So here are my general tips.

RehabRN's top tips for interviewing success

1. Show up on time.
Not too early (we had one candidate show up at the end of night shift) and not late. NOTE: you may need to leave early to make sure you get to us on time, don't get stuck in traffic, find a place to park, and find the room.

2. Dress professionally.
Neat and clean are especially important, whether you are in scrubs or a suit.

3. Know the job description from the posting.
They may not give it to us to give to you (happens a lot). This is a valuable chunk of information that can help you ask questions of the job.

4. Answer the questions we ask you.
In the worst ever interview, one person was so slow in responding we thought he/she was asleep. He/she was the first interview of the day at 0900, so we're not sure if he/she just finished night shift, or was stoned. (it was hard to tell).

You know it's bad when your manager pleads, "Please, you must answer the question." (this actually happened.)

5. Be able to talk about your job and how you do it.
As the old saying goes, "It ain't bragging if it's true."  We don't know anything about you if you don't tell us.

We will check to see if a reference backs up your storyline. Make sure you have good ones (and at least one manager).

6. Have questions to ask of us about the job.
We can't tell you everything, but we can give you an idea of what you'll do. Preparation is key.

7. Leave your attitudes at the door.
Especially if it's bad or entitled.

8. Never assume.
Never act like we will just hire you because of your RN license and/or your impressive resume. Just because your spouse works in another department down the hall and a job at the Hotel would allow you to carpool is another thing that is not guaranteed to get you hired.

We may not hire you if you are not a good fit with the rest of the personalities, I mean, team, at the Hotel.

Need more information? Check out these sites:
http://www.hrworld.com/features/interviewing-cheat-sheet-092507/
http://humanresources.about.com/od/interviewing/ 
http://careerplanning.about.com/od/jobinterviews/

Best of luck in your next interview!

Nuggets for May 15

The Ides of May...whoops, wrong month.

Yes, it's May 15, and a hot one here indeed in RehabLand. Here are a few of the news stories I've encountered during my drive time and surfing around on the internet this week.

The shoes make the man (or woman)
If you are a soccer player, you may want to pay attention when you purchase shoes according to this recent article in the New York Times, entitled Sports injuries and athletic shoes.

Something you just don't want (or what I heard on the drive today)
West Nile virus was very deadly in 2012, and the bug folks are predicting a banner year here in RehabLand, due to the weather conditions.

iPhone secret features
More than a few goodies I didn't know about here at appstorm, so if you own an iPhone, check it out.

Budget travel tips
Since Dahey and Bubba think we've won the lottery sometimes when we're on vacation, here are a few money-saving tips from MoneyNing for those vacations you may be taking this summer (assuming your boss will let you go).

Just another reason...

I don't have guys like this as a lot of my patients.I do have a secret to share though, if you're nice. I'll ask for a lidocaine order to go with it, so it takes the edge off.


I am a professional rehab nurse and do this a whole lot. In fact, I'm pretty good at it.

Just remember: No nicee = no lidocaine, and nurse may get nervous and go really, really, slowly.

Momma took a day

Yes, I took a day of my own vacation and did everything for me. Got my tires rotated. Went for an annual check up including those smashing tests. Even filed and buffed my nails (ran out of polish, so I decided to wait).

I also did some networking with some very important nurses who happened to be nearby at a networking shindig. Met lots of nice people and they even had really good cookies in between sessions.  Some people were from out of town, so I got to tell them about the good stuff in the neighborhood they were staying in, because we all love tourists in our town, especially this time of year, when it's usually slow.

And to finish Momma's day off, I went to a posh watering hole (PoshBar) with some of my old coworkers from my other life. With all the mergers and acquisitions lately, only one or two people are still working at MegaCompany. We had a blast eating all of those cheap appetizers. The waitress even  forgot to ring up three sodas I drank. I noticed  it on my bill and told her. "Oh, I'm not worried about those."

Consequently, she got a nice tip. I have no idea what PoshBar normally charged for those, but I made sure I covered it on my tab. As I learned in that other life, it's always important to keep your server happy.

Stay tuned...this staycation ain't over yet!

In case you have an interview soon...

One of our regular readers has an interview with a SNF coming up, so I thought I'd put on the career hat and start a list of interviewing tips. Feel free to jump on in the comments section and add your $0.02.

Interviewing for a nursing job is not unlike interviewing for any other job, so keep the following in mind.

RehabRN's 10 interviewing commandments

1. Show up on time. Be nice to the receptionist/secretary/clerk. Some of them do make hiring decisions in one way or another.

2. Do not bring your cell phone. If you have to, turn it off. Do not make or take phone calls in your interview. It is considered rude.

3. Dress appropriately. Business attire is not bad, nor is leaning on the conservative side. You can save the bright pink shoes for when you have the job.

4. Practice your speech in your head before you go in. You'll have to introduce yourself, so make sure you can do that with a firm handshake. You may interview with one or multiple people, so make appropriate eye contact with each person.

5. Bring a portfolio with notebook and take notes. You'll need these notes to ask questions at the end. Be sure to note the name of the interviewer and any other people you may talk to during your interview.

6.  Have an additional copy of your resume and any important documents (i.e. license, BLS info, etc.) with you.

7. Pay attention. If you don't understand something, ask the person to repeat it. Maintain appropriate eye contact and actively listen.

8. Sit up straight and do not slouch. Posture is important in communicating that you're paying attention, just like your second grade teacher said.

9. Answer the questions posed by the interviewer after you count to 5 or 10, even if you already know what you're going to say. This helps you to keep calm and appear poised and thoughtful. If you don't understand something, tell the interviewer.

10. Finally, once all the questions are done, thank the interviewer and any other staff who may have participated in your interview.

Be certain to follow up with a personalized thank you note (to one or all of the people who interviewed you), using those notes you took during the interview and make sure to ask for the job. You can send them via regular mail or e-mail.

DO NOT blow off a thank you note...it may be the difference between hiring you and someone else.

An example:

Dear Nurse Manager:

Thanks so much for meeting with me today. I'm really impressed by ABC SNF and I'd really appreciate an opportunity to use my RN/LPN/CNA skills to work with your residents.

Please contact me at xxx-xxxx (NOTE: you can use e-mail also if you'd like here) if you have any other questions.

Sincerely,

Random Nurse

Also, check out the following nursing related interview pages below. Prepare, be courteous, and be confident.


Interview Tips and Tricks.com has a few questions to consider for nursing interviews.
Nurse Careers also has more questions and tips.
Nursing Link has some of the worst answers to nursing interview questions, so make sure you don't answer like one of these examples!

Last but not least, check out Jennifer LeClaire's questions on www.monster.com and related articles, such as How nurses can detect an unhealthy work environment and information on the behavioral health interview.


Happy interviewing! And as a veteran of more interviews than I care to count, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

Nuggets for February 25

Yes, I'm a little behind, but I've been saving up so many goodies I've found, I thought this would be a better use of my time at this very moment, instead of getting ready for work.

Here are a few of the items I've found out on the 'net and in the blogosphere while meandering. Hope you enjoy!

Tips and tricks
Ian from impactEDnurse has a great little video about keeping air bubbles out of your IV
lines.

Not Nurse Ratched has an informal tip for you (or your patients) experiencing nausea. Not sure where it came from, but would be happy to do the research. The Hotel is full of smells, particularly on evenings.

While it's not a specific trick, this PBS segment on Dr. Atul Gawande's book, The Checklist Manifesto, talks about using checklists in hospitals and health care.

Jo has a survival guide to the night shift at her blog, Head Nurse.

Check 'em out
If you work odd hours, such as evenings, nights and weekends, you need to check out Life in the Trenches: Nursing at Night and on the Weekend. This blog is a part of Dr. Patti Hamilton of Midwestern State University's RWJF funded research project about nursing at these times of day and what happens.

We've heard a lot about the Haiti earthquake's wake lately, and one thing, you don't always hear about is how to meet the psychosocial needs of patients after disaster. Somehow, I stumbled upon this interesting CEU article called Psychiatric Emergency: Caring for Patients in Crisis.

The OMG section
Rehab is predominantly a low-tech area of nursing, because patients need to get up and running with a minimal number of devices. As an escaped techie, though, I never cease to be amazed by all the technological prodecures and devices that are on the market or will be there soon.

Liver transplants that do their job, then fade away is about a transplantation procedure, used primarily in kids, featured recently in the NY Times.

Coping
Bravo Roger! I found the Well blog article over at the NY Times which discusses life for Roger Ebert since his cancer surgery. Appearance is not everything. You might just blurt stuff out, as your wife says, but sometimes they are things we just need to hear.

Scuba diving accessible to people with disabilities? Check it out here in this article. (from www.pva.org)