Questions you should ask in your RT job interview
- RT Jaime
- Apr 8, 2021
- 3 min read
Job Interview: Questions you should ask!
Alright so you are getting ready for your job interview at a hospital and have no idea what to ask or what is going to be asked. Honestly this post is going to be mainly about what I think you should ask about the hospital and Respiratory Care Department. There are many important things to know before you accept a job offer from a hospital. However, remember it depends on where you have an in. Beggars can’t be choosers especially for your first job. Sometimes you have to grin and bear it for at least a year or two before you can write your ticket to your dream hospital facility.
Where to Apply
First of all you have to ask yourself where you even want to work and have an idea of why you want to work there. If you live in a small town you will have less options. If you live in a metropolitan area, you will most likely have more options. It is important where you work first, because you want to pick a challenging place that will help you learn and solidify your ICU skills as a new grad RT. I chose to work in Houston at a level I Trauma Hospital for the experience. Let me tell you, smooth water never made a skilled sailor. Now, I have that ICU experience in Adults on my resume and can flaunt it everytime I apply for future jobs. That is the type of job you want as a new grad. Unless you are dying to work in some other capacity as an RT, I recommend getting slammed and becoming a highly skilled RT in the critical care setting.
Questions the hospital may ask you
Why do you want to work here?
What do you like about our facility?
What patient population interests you?
How many hours of clinicals did you have?
Did you do clinicals here?
What ICU are you interested in working in?
What school did you go to?
Why did you choose to become a Respiratory Therapist?
Are you willing to work overtime?
That is all I can think of at the moment, but in my opinion, if you have a license in hand, that is all that matters to most managers.
Questions you should ask them!
THIS IS THE MUCH MORE IMPORTANT SECTION OF THIS BLOG POST.
What are the shifts available? Days/Nights
What are the opportunities for growth? (Charge RT, Team Lead, ECMO Specialist).
Is there a clinical ladder? (This helps you get paid more).
Are there equipment techs who help us restock our equipment? (If not, then you will probably be restocking and cleaning dirty equipment.)
How many hours of PTO do I accrue per pay period?
Is the schedule system self-schedule or matrix schedule?
How many weeks is the schedule put in for? 6 weeks? 4 weeks?
Do you offer a pension? 401K?
What kind of health insurance do you offer? Vision? Dental?
Are there opportunities for overtime?
Is there a pay raise with my bachelors or masters degree? (It may go in your clinical ladder).
Do you offer CEU’s throughout the year?
Are there research opportunities? (most likely part of the clinical ladder as well).
What is the pay differential for night shift and weekend shift?
How does the disaster response team work?
How are holidays scheduled?
What ventilator do you use?
How long is the orientation period for a new grad?
Do you hire new grads straight into the ICU?
What resources are available if you need help or have questions on your shift?
Closing Thoughts
So I can write a blog post about each of these FAQs, that is how much more in depth each question can go. It all depends on the facility, but you should have an idea of questions that mean something to you when you go in for the interview. If you go into the interview and do not have any questions, it just looks bad. It makes it seem like you are unsure of yourself. You need to at least google the hospital and learn some things about the RT department or know what the hospital is known for, like heart surgery, or being the largest hospital in your area, etc. Never go into an interview cold. Always practice and run mock interviews with your classmates, friends, or family members. I hope you got some good information from this blog post and keep an eye out for future blog posts. To stay in the look don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER!
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