interview for healthcare

[miggsy]

Hi everyone, I have an interview on Friday for a healthcare assistan, im really nervous of the questions they might ask me, this is thev3rd time ive been shortlisted and I really want the job, has anyone recently been for an interview bfor hca or could give any advice. ? Thanks..

Think about why you want to be an HCA, what experience/skills have you got that you think would make you a good HCA. Think about the speciality you're applying for - is it surgery, elderly care etc.? think about the needs of those patients, the needs of a 80year old dementia patient who's just had a stroke will be very different to the needs of an otherwise fit and healthy 30 year old who's just had surgery.

Did you get any feedback from the two other interviews?

I don't know about healthcare, but for any interview, being prepared is good. Practical stuff, like knowing how to get there (especially if you don't know the route), leave in plenty of time (it's bound to be the day there will be traffic delays), and take a couple of minutes to pop to the loo when you get there to brush your hair, take a deep breath and so on. If you get nervous, try to remember to think about breathing, and try to breathe slowly and deeply - when we get nervous, we tend to breathe more rapidly and shallowly, so consciously slowing your breath can trick your body into feeling calmer. Make sure you sit up straight and look them in the eye, speak out clearly. It's okay to take a moment before answering a question - it shows you're thinking.

Think about standard interview questions (can you give an example when you did...) and try to remember the STAR technique - Situation, Task, Action, Result - describe the situation, describe what your task was, describe what you did, and describe the outcome. Try to have a few examples prepared which are healthcare-related.

(It's 22:30 on Thursday, so hopefully you're off to bed to get a good night's sleep, and this is probably too late, in which case apologies - but good luck!)