After my first semester of nursing school, I was eligible to apply for CNA jobs in California. There are different titles for CNA such as nurse tech, student nurse, and care partner. I have interviewed for several hospitals in California and worked as a CNA on a post-surgical floor. Here are five things I wish I knew better during my interviews:
1. normal vital signs
Vital signs include heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and pulse oximetry, and some people consider pain as a vital sign too. It is important to know what are the normal vital signs of adults (and pediatrics if you are going to work with that population) because you will have to inform your primary nurse if there are abnormal vitals.
This could mean that something is wrong with your patient, and the nurse should take a look at it. However, some patients’ baseline vitals can be different from the textbook normal ranges, so always look at your patient if there are any symptoms that correlate with abnormal vital signs. For example, a patient who is an athlete and exercises often may have a heart rate below the 60s, but that is their baseline heart rate and is totally normal.
2. Hospital values/mission
Some interviewers may ask you questions related to their hospital’s values or mission. Personally, I have been asked in a new grad interview: “How do your values align with our hospital’s values?” The only way to answer this is to study and remember the values listed on their website. Usually, this is under the “About Us” page.
3. clinical scenario q’s
Having a variety of examples from your clinical rotations will help you stand out during your interview. The main goal of answering these questions is for the interviewer to make sure that you will be a safe employee.
You should have an example of a time when you displayed leadership, made a mistake, disagreed with a fellow health care worker, went above and beyond for a patient, displayed cultural competence, and worked with a difficult patient/family member.
4. strengths & weaknesses
Some good examples of strengths include experience (if you already worked in a healthcare setting beforehand, such as an E.M.T.), being detail-oriented, and being able to handle stressful situations. Have an example ready with each of these strengths.
Good examples of weaknesses are not based on personality, but on teachable skills. Delegation and lack of experience are examples.
5. Formula for answering situational questions
- Rephrase the question and give yourself some time to fully think about the situation at hand
- Safety first always. Is there a patient or healthcare member about to get hurt? Address that first.
- Any life-threatening factors or issues that are outside your scope of practice? Get your primary nurse, then the charge nurse.
- Handle any issues that are within your scope of practice.
- What did you learn from it?
Overall, the most important thing to know is how to be safe, because, at the end of the day, you want all of your patients to be alive, and the healthcare team to be safe from any harm.
Thank you for reading, and check out my other blog posts for more information! Follow along with me on my new grad nursing journey as an ER nurse by following my Pinterest page!