Well I got an interview with mercy, so I was curious if anyone knows the type of questions they may ask? I also plan on looking at the different questions on others forums but figured I'd ask anyway. And is there something I should bring or dress in a specific way?
Interview
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Bring a pen and a small notepad in your jacket pocket. Wear either a navy blue or charcoal gray suit with an appropriate, nicely matched, professional shirt and tie combo and a good clean pair of nice leather shoes with a matching belt.
This question has been discussed repeatedly, I would do a search for interview dress. Needless to say I hope you were aware that you needed to wear a suit...if not I'm worried for you...
Hey everyone! I've been prepping for my interviews and I was wondering if anyone had any advice on current issues or controversies in physical therapy and what type of healthcare information I should familiarize myself with.
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Definitely familiarize yourself with the APTA. It's a good resource, and schools will expect you to be familiar with it, especially since the majority of them expect their students to be members. Every program is different. I've never been asked by an interviewer about current issues in PT, but it's good to be prepared.
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I didn't check that link posted above but definitely Direct Access.
Also, I've been asked a lot of general ethics based questions that caught me off guard. Things like this to give you an idea:
Examples:
You are in your first clinical at a busy outpatient clinic and you've heard that an ultrasound machine isn't functioning properly. Your CI's patient is very particular and likes her routine beginning with US and feels she gets the best results from it but all machines are in use except for the broken one. Your CI tells you to use the machine anyway because your patient wants it and he/she doesn't want to get behind. How do you proceed?
Your PT tech severely burned a patient with a hot pack, how do you proceed?
A classmate and friend has posted online an answer key to your upcoming practice board exam. What do you do?
Yikes. What did you determine were the correct answers to these questions? Or if you couldn't really figure out what the right answers were, what did you say?
I suppose these questions didn't necessarily have right answer...sometimes they ask these things just to make sure you will maintain composure and not either freeze up or babble like an idiot...but a lot of the time, I think they have an answer they are looking for.
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It looks to me that questions focus on ETHICS. I've already come up with a few good answers, in my opinion. But if you were going to answer any of these, follow the PT's code of ethics.
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of what
Kind of what was mentioned below... I used my best ethical reasoning to determine what I thought was the best choice of action. I have myself plenty of time to process and think it over (aka didn't just start blurting stuff out) but in most cases I was on the right track and the interviewers coaxed me into the right direction to end at what they were looking for.
As far as the first two questions, if you have every worked at a health care facility, your training should have covered situations exactly like these. The hospital I work at has very specific protocols in place if someone is injured or if you see a coworker doing something wrong (how you report incidences, who to tell, etc). To me, these questions are not cases of ethics, but safety.
The last question is a matter of academic integrity. All schools have policies regarding cheating and dishonesty. Most of the time, if you do not report someone else, you are also violating the rules.
These questions absolutely have right and wrong answers. The problem with saying, "I would use my best judgement," is that your judgement leaves room for error and could lead to litigation.
A simple, "I would report the incident to my superior/safety reporting group/program director," will do. Or, "I would follow my institution's/company's protocol for this type of event." Do not waver. If you took any other course of action, you can bet you would be fired or dismissed immediately.
ETA: The thing is, it is not up to us to decide what is ethical. Our governing bodies (APTA, state gov't, school) have already done that. There is no gray area. It is all about integrity. Not following these laws and rules shows a lack of integrity.
The last question is a matter of academic integrity. All schools have policies regarding cheating and dishonesty. Most of the time, if you do not report someone else, you are also violating the rules.
These questions absolutely have right and wrong answers. The problem with saying, "I would use my best judgement," is that your judgement leaves room for error and could lead to litigation.
A simple, "I would report the incident to my superior/safety reporting group/program director," will do. Or, "I would follow my institution's/company's protocol for this type of event." Do not waver. If you took any other course of action, you can bet you would be fired or dismissed immediately.
ETA: The thing is, it is not up to us to decide what is ethical. Our governing bodies (APTA, state gov't, school) have already done that. There is no gray area. It is all about integrity. Not following these laws and rules shows a lack of integrity.
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That first example sounds crazy. I wonder if someone said, "Well I'd set it up and it surprisingly began working" or "Well I set it up and it didn't work. So we fell behind schedule anyway."
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I interviewed at FIU two weeks ago and was the only person there (of about 8 applicants there at that specific time) not wearing a suit (or black and white, for that matter). I wore a blue dress shirt, navy blue tie and khaki pants. I was accepted
Perhaps I'm an outlier though. HahaSpeaking as an engineer who has worked in environments with electrical machinery, the answer to this question is very simple: you unplug the machine and you put a "Do not use" sign on it. Anything else could expose you to lawsuits and unwarranted attention from OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration).
In any field you will work in, safety is always the absolute #1 priority.
You won't appreciate this fully until you have lived and worked in 3rd-world countries.
I interviewed at FIU two weeks ago and was the only person there (of about 8 applicants there at that specific time) not wearing a suit (or black and white, for that matter). I wore a blue dress shirt, navy blue tie and khaki pants. I was accepted
I have never stated that the way you dress will necessarily determine whether or not you get accepted. It is likely that it doesn't effect your chances of acceptance much at all, actually. But remember that anecdotal evidence in either direction does not mean that correlation implies causality. First impressions have a significant effect on the human mind and wearing full business attire has been and always will be the appropriate way to dress for a professional interview. I could have sped today and not gotten a ticket, but the existing rules still stand despite the possibility of breaking them and getting away with it. For me, wearing khakis implies that you have a lackadaisical attitude toward the interview. Again, correlation does not imply causality, nor does a lack of correlation imply a lack of connection.
With that being said, congratulations on your acceptance.
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I see your point. Though with your example, I feel like the person speeding knows that he or she is doing something wrong, whereas I don't think I did anything inherently wrong by not wearing a suit (I say "wrong" because of the implication of rule breaking you mentioned). I still felt that I dressed professionally. However, with that being said, I'm not foolish enough to say that first impressions don't matter. A suit certainly does make a person look better. Thanks for the congratulations. I enjoy reading your posts
I enjoy reading your postsRegarding suit color: I can't speak for @knj27 but the reason I am such a stickler for suit color is I was raised in a suit-wearing household. My father wears one to work everyday and probably has 50 or so suits in his closet. I was taught from a young age the "rules" of suits. When it is appropriate to wear navy, black, pinstripe, plaid, seersucker, black tie, white tie etc. How a suit should fit. What socks should be worn with what suit and shoes combo. So my opinion is definitely skewed by my experiences. Hell, I've been told on multiple occasions to change out of a hoodie and put on something appropriate before leaving the house.
But I know that many people may only own one suit for weddings, funerals, and job interviews. And many people may not own a suit at all. If a non-black suit is not in your budget, make do with what you have. But for god's sake wear a tie and iron your clothes.
Meanwhile, knj27 and I will be cringing in embarrassment for you. But just ignore us and focus on getting into PT school!
But I know that many people may only own one suit for weddings, funerals, and job interviews. And many people may not own a suit at all. If a non-black suit is not in your budget, make do with what you have. But for god's sake wear a tie and iron your clothes.
Meanwhile, knj27 and I will be cringing in embarrassment for you. But just ignore us and focus on getting into PT school!
I think a large proportion of the current generation of college students simply never had a need to dress professionally and/or never had parents that really taught them how.I have seen non-ironed clothes more than once on the interview trail this year...I've even seen gray-colored jeans and a zip-up hoodie worn over a shirt and tie...yeesh...that one really left me cringing with embarrassment...along with a well-above-the-knee skirt with fuzzy brown boots combo...plenty of other less blatantly offensive but still highly questionable ensembles too.
Although I've noticed that as the caliber/competitiveness of the schools I have interviewed at has increased, so has the standard of dress among the interviewees. Went to an interview today and it appeared that there were only about 1000 black suits rather than the usual 1.5e6...
I kid to some extent, but it really was nice to see only 40 or 50% of the men there wearing straight black, rather than the 90%+ I have seen elsewhere.
