Red Flags in Interviews (LPN)

00:01 So I'd like to take a moment to talk to you about some red flags in regards to a place of employment or maybe interview information.

00:11 Now these are the things that a lot of people don't like to talk about, but as a nurse who has experience and who's been around for a little bit, these are some things I see commonly, also, things that my nursing students who graduated run into.

00:27 So let's talk about some eight points for you to maybe say, "Hmm, maybe I need to look into this a little bit more." Okay, number one, guys, this is on the top of the list for a reason.

00:39 It's a huge sign on bonus.

00:42 Honestly, this is very attractive to, well, everybody, right? But what they don't tell you about when a hospital offers big sign on bonus like $10,000 for example, for a new nurse is you have to sign a contract and typically that means you owe that place sometime.

01:02 Now, for some of you that's totally fine, but, in a way, you're kind of trap to that facility.

01:08 There's restrictions, there's a contract in regards to this, so make sure you dig a little deeper before you sign up for that sign on bonus.

01:19 Now, number two. This is kind of the world we live in right now, but if you're on a particular unit, you're interviewing and you notice that there's lots of travel nurses as the staff.

01:31 This is something that you need to pay attention to.

01:34 The only reason why a facility will hire travel nurse is because the core nursing staff, guys, they're just not enough.

01:43 There's not enough to meet the patient needs or to cover the amount of patients on the unit.

01:49 So if a hospital as a whole has a lot of travel nurses, that means there's a lot of turnover rate, there's a lot of things that went on, so you may want to look into this a little deeper.

02:00 The other piece about travel nurses, there's some great ones out there guys, some really good ones, and this is becoming more popular.

02:08 However, just know, usually these travel nurses aren't quite as invested about the unit as maybe you are as a core nursing staff. So just keep that in mind.

02:19 Now, number three, this also is a really important tip.

02:23 Hey, if you can shadow or maybe follow another nurse for the day to see how the environment of the floor is.

02:30 See if you can shadow, but, if the manager says no to the shadow, "Hmm, this may be a red flag." There should be no reason why a manger isn't completely transparent about the details of the floor. And if they don't want you to shadow, this may be a red flag for you to probably go somewhere else.

02:50 Now, this may seem a little funny, but number four, just walk the unit.

02:55 Observe it. I even had a nursing student tell me that she just randomly as a, oh, just a person in street clothes went up to her unit one day, to where she want to work.

03:06 She just walked through just one loop around and then that time she saw nurses bickering, she saw bad teamwork, she saw people not really answering patient call lights, so just that small interaction, she was like, ahh, this doesn't seem a supportive environment for me, so, not a bad idea.

03:26 Alright, number five, guys, is your orientation process.

03:31 When your interview or just even, the hospital policy on orientation as a new grad.

03:37 You want to check in to this thoroughly.

03:40 Now, if the orientation seem short, so, let's say you're signing up for an ICU or a home health position, or dialysis and they say, "You got about a week." That should flag you as a nurse.

03:53 That's never appropriate and you may want to compare with other new graduates with other facilities or maybe other unit and see how long the orientation processes for similar floors.

04:06 And does the orientation seems supportive? Meaning, do they have, I used to like to call them "milestones" with my new grads.

04:15 So periodically, I check in with my new grad that I've hired on the floor and say, "Hey, how are things going for you? How is the nursing preceptor?" So, something to look into, nursing orientation helps you to become successful.

04:29 Now, getting to the latter part of the lesson, number six.

04:33 Same kind of thing about just general environment.

04:36 If you walk up to interview on a floor and literally you're standing at the front desk, no one greets you, no one smiles at you, this is also a red flag.

04:47 That's poor customer service and when you get into nursing, that's a big part of what we do.

04:53 And number seven we kind of already touched on this, but if there's a large and a quick turnover rate, this is a huge red flag.

05:01 That means your nurse-to-patient ratio is probably going to be more, the environment's not good, so make sure you ask that question.

05:10 And finally, we're at number eight.

05:12 Let's say you're really excited about a unit and you contacted the unit manager, but they don't seem to want to answer your questions, you tried to email, you want to call them and set up an interview, or maybe you just want to reach back out, and they just don't seem welcoming, very informative.

05:32 They really just don't want to take the time to speak to you, also another red flag.

05:37 This is the person you're going to be working under for your first nursing position or any other nursing position. So if that's already coming up already, it's a good chance that's the culture of that manager's management style.

05:51 Alright, guys, so these are just eight points. Now is this true of every place? No. But just key points to watch out for in regards to a nursing position for you.