What Questions Do I Ask When Interviewing With The Hospital?

When you have your recruiter send your file to a hospital that you would like to work at, the hospital will usually have someone call you to see if you will be a good fit for them. They want to make sure that you have the proper skills necessary to deal with the patients they get.

When they call, you should also be ready with a series of questions to ask to make sure you totally understand what the working conditions will be like, before you sign any contracts. After you sign, it might be too late to back out if you learn something that would be detrimental to you.

First of, know that you should ask anything you want. Don't be shy. Get as much information as possible and ask anything that you are concerned with that will make your decision easy to make. If in doubt, ask.

Here is a short list of what to ask:

• What is the dress code like?
• Do you float your nurses to other units?
• If yes, how often?
• How does the scheduling work? Self schedule or does the hospital dictate?
• How many holidays and weekends are we required to work?
• What is the patient to nurse ratio?
• What happens if we get canceled? Do we still get paid, do we have to make up the day, or do we just not get paid for that day with no other consequences?
• What is the parking situation? Is it provided?
• Is it a teaching hospital?
• How critical are the patients?
• Can the hospital cancel your contract ahead of time and what happens after that?
• Is there anything you need to do before you start work?
• How many days of orientation do you get?
• How many breaks do you get?
• What are the shift timings?
• Is there a completion bonus and what are the requirements to get it?
• How is the cafeteria food?
• What is the staff to travel nurse ratio?

If anything else comes to mind, add it to this list. And if you have any specific questions to ask about your unit, ask those as well. Get as much information as you can. One hidden benefit of asking questions, is that it gives a positive impression on the person interviewing you. You sound like you know what you are talking about, even if it is your first assignment. This will cause them to have more respect for you and will give you someone to hear you out if you later have a problem at the hospital. Also, if they have one position available and it is between you and another travel nurse, the most knowledgeable and friendly nurse will get the job.