4 Questions to Ask During Your Travel Nurse Interview
By Aaron Moore, MSN, RN-BC, travel nurse expert
I’ve always felt that the hardest part about travel nursing is the phone interview. Even though your recruiter can help you prepare, it can be hard to read someone over the phone. And after you get through the differing questions that each hiring manager may have for you, their inevitable next question is…“Do you have any questions for me?”
I’ve been stumped with this one at times, and, believe me, the awkward silence is not a good sign. So, over the course of many phone interviews for traveling RN jobs, I developed good standard questions I always asked. Below is my short list of go-to questions:
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1. How many beds are in your unit, and what is your average daily census? This question will give you a good idea of the pace of the unit where you will be working. Also, knowing the layout can help you visualize the working environment.
2. What are the characteristics of the patients you care for? Now if this is a post-surgical unit, you know it is mostly surgery patients; same for a telemetry or cardiac floor. But I like to dig a bit deeper with this question. What patient populations do you see most? Maybe neuro is huge in this hospital and you will have a head-start on brushing up on your neuro assessment.
3. What is your nurse-to-patient ratio? Such an important question. Some states (cough, cough, California) have set ratios that can’t be exceeded, but not all places are as fortunate. And some facilities are more conscientious about not overloading their nurses than others. Usually, I would add one more patient to what they tell you.
4. Do you have other travel nurses in the unit, or do you use travelers often? This will give you an idea of how traveler-friendly the facility might be. If you’re the first travel nurse to walk into that hospital, then be ready for what could be an interesting transition; you’ll need to be an advocate for yourself. But if they use a lot of travelers, your orientation and transition should be pretty straightforward.
These questions usually lead to more in-depth questions and a good conversation. I always felt by the end of the interview that I had a good beginning of a relationship with the manager. Travel nurse interviews tend to be fairly short, but these first steps can go a long way toward creating a good first impression and helping you confirm if the job is the right fit.
Are you still on the fence about becoming a travel nurse? I would encourage you to give travel a try; It can open up a whole new world of personal and professional experiences.
RELATED: The Travel Nurse's Guide to Interviewing: Free e-book
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