Introducing myself. Lookiing for pearls of wisdom on upcoming interview

[jmontanus]

Hello. I have been a lurker here for quite sometime and have finally decided to peek my head out. I am a 55 yo woman who like so many others, dreamed of a nursing career. I scrimped and saved, then depleted said savings to attend nursing school and graduate with honors and an ADN. I then worked for 3 years in critical care, thinking this would be a great way to gain clinical expertise. I found it very stressful and was less than enchanted with my career, although I loved caring for my patients. That job ended with me being forced to resign by new management, who was less than enchanted with me. I have since hid out at home ashamed at my failure, not really sure where to go or what to do, or how to find my niche. Today I have hope, as I have a job interview scheduled for possible work in the home health sector. I am trying to compile a list of questions for my prospective employer and am coming up with a lot of blanks. Any good questions you can suggest? Also, I did resign, but was forced to do so. How do I broach this topic without putting myself or my past employer down? Is it necessary to divulge this?

[jackie345]

Hello out there...From where I sit, the best advise is to always be forthright. As happens with some new grads, the orgainzation is not a good fit. You can't tell this on interview unless you are very savy and are not afraid to ask questions about culture and from manager's perspective, what type of candidate has been successful in the past. Unfortunately, age and life experience can also play into the equation. It is often personality clashes that is the cause of failure. Knowing how to identify personality types and deal with them will be helpful. Think back to psych and soc 101. You have the education, now you may need to review the books to find how to deal with the "people" (besides the patients) that make up your work environment.

Think of what area you enjoyed the most in school and seek out positions in those areas. The rule that new grads must have med/surg experiece first is old hat. Sometimes the "adult" new grad needs to not work in acute care. Home care is not a piece of cake. It is very loney and you have to have a good head on your shoulders and be able to make decisions, without asking others. If you are looking at priviate duty in the home,then that is different...that might be the best match for you.

Let me know what happens
J