Your Hospital Interview
If you're accepting an assignment as a healthcare traveler, you already know which questions to expect during your hospital interview, but what information do you want from the hospital before taking an assignment? The interview for a traveler goes both ways, you are deciding if this assignment fits your personal and professional goals and the hospital is seeing if you would be a good fit. Essentially when submitting your application for a job you're telling the hospital you want the job. So before you submit your application, do your research and know what information you still need regarding the assignment to make sure you know what you're getting into.
Once you schedule an interview, know that nurse managers typically look for candidates that are positive, flexible, organized and great communicators; so dont be afraid to ask questions. As a healthcare traveler you will want to work with a nurse manager who is transparent about your role and respectful of travelers. Get the interviewers' contact information so you can follow up after the interview or ask any questions.
During the interview you'll want to ask the right questions to ensure you get the information that is most important to you and your assignment. Confirm general details about your contract such as; your start date, shift times, first day contact and first day information. Questions about orientation and any testing required are also good to ask up front. Ask questions about the hospital, how many travelers do they have? How many beds are in the facility? and in your unit? etc.
Next make sure you are asking about your specific specialty and unit; what are the biggest challenges on the unit? What is the patient population like in the unit? What is the nurse to patient ratio? What charting system is used? What are the uniform colors for your unit? etc.
Always ask about what resources are available to support nurses. How often do your nurses float and to what units? What do I do if I'm floated to a unit I'm not comfortable in? Who can you go to with problems or questions? etc.
Scheduling questions are important and should be discussed - what are your scheduling methods? Are self scheduling and block scheduling allowed? What is scheduling like for weekends and holidays? How far in advance is the schedule available? What is your overtime policy? etc.
After the interview let your agency know if you still plan to accept the position. Be sure to send the nurse manager a follow up email expressing your interest and re-iterating what was discussed. Having this information documented can be beneficial if management changes before assignment begins. Your interview is as much for you as it is for the hospital, asking any and all questions that you have regarding the position, facility, management, unit, scheduling, etc. will help you decide if the position is really right for you.
