Usually not usually complicated interviews. But like any interview, it's about selling us. Selling ourselves very well. Now it is necessary to differentiate between interviews of Agencies or Hospitals Interviews.
Agency Interviews: At least a part of them. And it is usually a process:
1) Pre-interview: When we get in touch with the agency, they usually call us. And using English at all times ask us questions about us, about nursing, about our aspirations ... There are two options: Telefónica or Skype. Once we pass that cut, we are pre-selected for the interview day (there are cases, especially in Nursing Home or residences, which when being private, are usually less demanding, and having a Skype interview may be enough to give us The post).
2) Interview: For the day of interview we are mentioned in one place (usually the agencies come to Spain once every two or three months, and take advantage of it for a couple of days to interview all their candidates. The interview usually takes about two or three hours, with several phases.
Prepare the Nursing Interview
Hospital Interviews:
Those would be the guys; Although it may be totally different in your case or similar. For this I will elaborate an interview guide, following as a type interview a very repeated and common interview between all the employers. (This type interview is an example, yours does not have to be equal 100%, that yes, can be a very useful guide and basis for preparation of the interview you have)
INTERVIEW TYPE
We get in touch with an agency. Call us and make the pre-interview by phone or quote us to do it by Skype. This will last about 20-30 minutes and will look something like this:
- Could you introduce yourself?
- Why do you want to work in the UK?
- What do you like most about UK?
- Motivations to work as a nurse
- Your professional experience (if you do not have it, talk about hospital rotations)
- Do you find a man / woman lying on the floor, as you attend?
After that, they give way to the personal interview. You are usually sent some material to prepare it and usually have three parts:
A: Written exam + Drug calculation
B: Group Testing
C: Individual interview
A: Written exam + Drug calculation
Usually you have several questions similar to what you can do over the phone. It is not complicated, or not usually. You also have time to write, which gives you security and tranquility. You usually take about an hour for this and drug calculation. So do not worry. The drug calculation is a calculation of doses and formulas for the adjustment of doses in medicines. It sounds complicated but it is not so much. Here are some examples of drug calculation:
1: Match the following:
- 0.5kg 250mg
- 0.25g 500ml
- 0.2mg 200mcg
- 0.5L 500g
3: Patient requires 5mg diazepam. You have 2mg in 5ml suspension. What amount is required?
4: A patient is prescribed 300mgs of Thioridazine. 100mg tablets are available. How many do you give?
5: A patient requires 1g of paracetamol. Tablets come in 500mg doses. How many tablets would you give?
6: Patient requires 50mg amoxicillin orally. 125mg in 5ml syrup available. How many mls will you give?
7: A patient requires 50mgs sodium valporate orally. 200mgs in 5ml syrup available. How many mls will you administer?
8: A patient requires 75mg pethidine by intramuscular injection. 50mg in 1 ml available. How many mls will you administer?
9: Patient is prescribed 22mg gentamicin by Intramuscular injection. 20mg in 2ml available. How many mls will you give?
10: Patient requires 0.5mgs of digoxin. 250mcg tablets available. How many tablets are needed?
Group Testing
It is usually a group dynamic. All together sitting at a round table and participating. It really does not matter so much that you are wrong but that you participate. What collaborations and contributions, that you intervene and you relations with the rest of participants. That you listen and propose arguments. Example: All the participants were in an airplane and crashed on a desert island where you are alone. Everyone can pick up an item from a certain list. Which item would you pick and why? "Well, I would take a medicine cabinet because it is on the island and to be a nurse could heal the wounded." It is an example, but it can be very similar to the dynamics of truth. It usually lasts between half an hour and an hour.
Individual interview
It really is where you decide whether to hire you or not. It's usually with someone from the hospital, and they can ask you a lot of questions. Most similar, similar or even the same as the interview you did on skype or by phone. Questions that may include:
- Tell me about yourself and how did you come to enter the nursing profession?
- Why do you want to come and work for this hospital?
- What do you want from your next career move?
- What areas / specialty are you interested in working in? What do you enjoy about it?
- Where do you see yourself in five years time? Why?
- What are your strengths? What are you really good at?
- What are your major weaknesses? What have you done to improve them?
- Would previous colleagues recommend you? What do you think they would say?
- How do you keep yourself up-to-date?
- How do you deal with stress?
- What research have you looked at recently and how would you apply this to your practice?
- What does teamwork mean to you?
- What does accountability mean to you?
- How would you describe your style of leadership?
- Tell me about an emergency when you were in an emergency situation; What happened, what was the outcome?
- If you discovered a colleague had given the wrong type / dosage of medicine to a patient what would you do?
- You are looking to implement a change of practice or bring in a new idea. How do you persuade your colleagues that this would be worthwhile? Do you have an example to illustrate this? Can you describe the initial nursing assessments you would make on a patient admitted with a 6 hour history of central chest pain, who is sweating profusely and appears to be having difficulty in breathing. From this assessment, discuss the nursing care plan, which you would draw up for the next 24 hours.
- What are the clinical signs of sepsis?
GENERAL TIPS FOR THE INTERVIEW
Before the interview:
- Know the correct address and time of the interview, the interviewers' full name, the correct pronunciation and his / her title.
- Remember that you have all of them.
- If you need to supply verbal referee details, please make sure you have the name, title, address and phone number, email / fax.
- Research online the hospital or health service you are being interviewed by and ensure you have some knowledge of its size, make up and capabilities. Read through any information sent to you by your Medacs Healthcare consultant.
- You will meet a consultant for Medacs Healthcare before your interview they are there to help you and they will talk to them about any concerns and feel free to ask any questions.
- Once the interview has commenced ensure you listen carefully to the questions and if you are unsure ask the interviewer to repeat the question, or if you don't understand the question don't be afraid of saying so.
- An interview is an opportunity to sell yourself. Some people are uncomfortable about talking about themselves - but be prepared as that is why you are being interviewed - to find out more about you, so be persuasive!
- Questions generally will be about your career background and experience, your clinical knowledge, and the type of person you are. Areas such as managing stress in the workplace, previous conflict with other team members and what you do to relax can also be asked about.
- An interview is also an opportunity for you to find out more about your prospective employer, a general rule of thumb is that you should have three or four questions prepared for the interviewers.
- When the interview is drawn to an end, ensure you thank the interviewers for their time and the opportunity of speaking with them.
What the interviewers usually look for:
- Communication - the ability to get on with a wide range of people
- Team working - the ability to be an effective team leader or team member
- IT skills - most jobs these days need some IT skills
- Good attitude - hard worker, honest, polite, co-operative
- Problem solving - using your initiative to identify solutions
- Enthusiasm - employers like someone positive
- Quick learner - so you can take on new tasks
- Determination - shows you are focused on achieving goals
- Flexibility - doing a variety of tasks to achieve a common goal.
What should you ask:
- Specifics about the hospital and the services offered
- Shift and rota patterns
- Anticipated induction or orientation program
- Opportunities for specialist courses and professional development
Latest recommendations (Do and do not):
- Do plan to arrive on time or a few minutes early.
- Dress professionally.
- If you have been sent application and occupational health forms, please complete these neatly and completely, and take with you to your interview.
- Do greet the interviewer using her/his first name.
- Do shake hands firmly.
- Do look the interviewer in the eye while you talk to her/him.
- Don’t answer questions with a "yes" or "no". Expand and explain whenever possible giving details about yourself and your experience, which relate to the position.
- Don't bring up negative things like having a dispute with a colleague or your boss. And don't criticise previous employers.
- Do be honest and truthful.
- Try hard to relax and smile!
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