Deck 12: Your Nursing Career

Question 1

Paul Delane is interviewing for his first nursing position after obtaining his RN license. He has been interviewed by the nurse recruiter and is now being interviewed by the nurse manager on the pediatric floor. After a few minutes of social conversation, the nurse manager begins to ask some specific nursing-oriented questions: How would you respond if a mother of a seriously ill child asks you if her child will die? What attempts do you make to understand different cultural beliefs and their importance in health care when planning nursing care? How does your philosophy of nursing affect your ability to deliver care to children whose mothers are HIV-positive?
Paul is very flustered by these questions and responds with "it depends on the situation," "it depends on the culture," and "I don't ever discriminate."
What responses would have been more appropriate in this interview?

Answer 1

Situation:
In this situation, PD is interviewed for his first nursing posting after getting registered nurse license. There were two rounds of interview taken by the nurse manager and recruiter. The following questions were asked by the nurse manager to PD:
• How would PD treat a seriously ill kid and respond to the child mother's questions?
• What attempts does PD take for understanding different cultural beliefs and importance in health care while planning nursing care?
• How does PD's philosophy of nursing affect his skill to deliver care to children whose mother is affected by Human Immunodeficiency Virus positive?
PD's response for the above questions depends on the situation, even depends on the culture aspects, and he does not have any discrimination against patients.
Responses that would be more appropriate in this interview are explained below:
The following are the responses made for the above questions:
Question 1: How would PD treat a seriously ill kid and respond to the child mother's questions?
Appropriate answer: In case of a seriously ill child admits in hospital. The mother will be obviously worried for her child and tries to ask the doctor whether her child will be well soon. Here, the doctors have the responsibility to positively talk to them and inform regarding the treatment that the child undergoes.
Question 2: What attempts does PD take for understanding different cultural beliefs and importance in health care while planning nursing care?
Appropriate answer: According to various cultures, different people have diverse beliefs. As per registered nurse all the beliefs should be taken into picture while treating a patient.
Question 3: How does PD's philosophy of nursing affect his skill to deliver care to children whose mother is affected by Human Immunodeficiency Virus positive?
Appropriate answer: In this profession, there should not be any discrimination among patients. The main motive of this profession is to serve everyone equally. Therefore, in this case Human Immunodeficiency Virus positive mother is treated equally with other patients.

Question 2

Evaluate personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats using a SWOT analysis.

Answer 2

SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat) analysis:
SWOT analysis is termed as a guide in discovering the internal strengths and weakness as well as opportunities and threats. This helps in job search and career planning.
The following are strength, weakness, opportunities and threat of B using a SWOT analysis:
Strengths of B are as follows:
• Relevant work experience
• Advanced education
• Knowledge about work
• Communication and computer skills
• Flexibility
Weakness of B is as follows:
• Ineffective communication skills
• Inflexibility
• No interest in further education
• Inability to manage work life balance
Opportunities of B are as follows:
• Expanding markets in health care
• New applications about technology
• Nursing shortage
Threats of B are as follows:
• Increased competition among health-care facilities
• Changes in government regulations

Question 3

Using the SWOT analysis worksheet developed for this chapter, how will you articulate your strengths and weaknesses during an interview?

Answer 3

SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat) analysis:
SWOT analysis is termed as a guide in discovering the internal strengths and weakness as well as opportunities and threats. This helps in job search and career planning.
The following are strengths and weakness of 'B' during interview:
Strengths of 'B' are as follows:
• Relevant work experience in the field
• Advanced education with practical knowledge on health care factors
• Knowledge about recent health care innovations and issues
• Communication and computer skills
• Flexibility in all dimensions of work
Weakness of 'B' is as follows:
• No interest in further education
• Inability to manage work life balance
• Lack in confidence while executing the responsibilities

Question 4

Paul Delane is interviewing for his first nursing position after obtaining his RN license. He has been interviewed by the nurse recruiter and is now being interviewed by the nurse manager on the pediatric floor. After a few minutes of social conversation, the nurse manager begins to ask some specific nursing-oriented questions: How would you respond if a mother of a seriously ill child asks you if her child will die? What attempts do you make to understand different cultural beliefs and their importance in health care when planning nursing care? How does your philosophy of nursing affect your ability to deliver care to children whose mothers are HIV-positive?
Paul is very flustered by these questions and responds with "it depends on the situation," "it depends on the culture," and "I don't ever discriminate."
How could Paul have used these questions to demonstrate his strengths, experiences, and skills?

Question 5

Develop a résumé including objectives, qualifications, skills experience, work history, education, and training.

Question 6

Design a one- to two-page résumé to use in seeking your first position. Are you able to "sell yourself " in one or two pages? If not, what adjustments are you going to make? Develop a cover letter, thank-you letter, acceptance letter, and rejection letter that you can use during the interview process.

Question 7

Compose job search letters including cover letter, thank-you letter, and acceptance and rejection letters.

Question 8

Using the interview preparation worksheet developed for this chapter, formulate responses to the questions. How comfortable do you feel answering these questions? Share your responses with other classmates to get additional ideas.

Question 9

Discuss components of the interview process.

Question 10

Evaluate the job prospects in the community where you now live. What areas could you explore in seeking your first position?

Question 11

Discuss the factors involved in selecting the right position.

Question 12

What plans do you have for advancing your career? What plans do you have for finding a mentor?

Question 13

Explain why the first year is critical to planning a career.