The FreshRN Podcast with Kati Kleber

In today’s episode, expect to learn 10 different smart questions to ask in an interview. We first will discuss questions to ask during a screening interview with a general hiring manager, and then more specific questions for an interview with a nurse manager who could potentially be your next boss! Make a great impression with these thoughtful questions. 

If you want to have a written version of this, check out this blog post: https://www.freshrn.com/questions-to-ask-during-a-nursing-interview/

Check out the Hired course here: https://courses.freshrn.com/p/hired

Sign up for the FreshRN email list here: https://www.freshrn.com/email-sign-up/

The FreshRN New Nurse Toolkit: https://www.courses.freshrn.com/p/toolkit  

We dig into a reader question for a newer charger nurse + some encouragement for those of you thinking of quitting.

0:14 Why I do this

1:46 My college journey and the price tag

3:44 Encouragement from Leah, RN

5:09 A helpful nursing resource

5:33 Career experience from Joy, RN

6:11 Encouragement from Jennifer, RN

6:46 Charge RN question from "Sarah"

8:54 Stepping into your earned authority

10:04 Dealing with challenging personalities

12:17 It's giving professional

13:50 Being a charge RN is like being the coach for a shift

15:54 What to do with gossip in the moment

17:19 Run a tight ship

19:14 A team mentality works tbh

23:05 Pls share kthanksbye 

My course for new charge nurses: https://courses.freshrn.com/p/charge-nurse-jump-start

Crafting Your Dream Career (affiliate link): https://freshrn--wholelifenurse.thrivecart.com/cydc/

All-Access Pass: https://courses.freshrn.com/p/membership

YouTube video on Commanding Respect vs. Earned Authority: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEzmFieWtUY&t=16s

Sign up for my email list: https://www.freshrn.com/email-sign-up/

My blog: https://www.freshrn.com/blog/

Follow me on social!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreshRN

X: https://x.com/Kati_Kleber

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/Fresh_RN/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kati_kleber/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@freshrn 

This episode is part of a PodSwap, where we swap episodes so each of our audiences can learn from one another! We are swapping episodes with Nurse Mo, MSN RN from Straight A Nursing. She currently works in the PACU, teaches in a BSN program, and manages her educational platform for nursing students.

In this episode, Nurse Mo is sharing all the reasons why older nursing students can (and do!) thrive in their programs. Hit play on this episode so you can focus on the positives, recognize your strengths, and realize it’s not too late to follow your dream!

(affiliate)  Crucial Concepts Bootcamp - Start nursing school ahead of the game, or reset after a difficult first semester with this nursing school prep course, Crucial Concepts Bootcamp. Learn key foundation concepts, organization and time management, dosage calculations, and so much more.

FREE CLASS – If all you’ve heard are nursing school horror stories, then you need this class! Join me in this on-demand session where I dispel all those nursing school myths and show you that YES… you can thrive in nursing school without it taking over your life!

Straight A Nursing Website - Learn nursing concepts and get tips to help you thrive in school and at the bedside.

Learn more about the FreshRN All-Access Pass here: https://courses.freshrn.com/p/membership

To see our latest course catalog (med-surg, ICU, precepting, charge nurse, ortho, cardiac, neuro courses, and more), click here: https://courses.freshrn.com/

Get weekly tips, encouragement, stories from the bedside, and more - just for nursing students and new nurses at: https://www.freshrn.com/email-sign-up/

Connect With Me Online!

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreshRN

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kati_Kleber

• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/Fresh_RN/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kati_kleber/

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@freshrn

Music credit: Keep My Cool by Benj Heard

We sit down with Will Kelly, MSN FNP-BC, who has experience as a telemetry nurse, ER nurse, ER nurse practitioner, and inpatient hospitalist. We discuss:

• Our first codes and lessons we learned

• Advice for students in clinical

• Tips for rapid response situations and calls

• How to be calm and collected in the face of controlled chaos

For ALL of our ICU nursing content: ​​https://www.freshrn.com/critical-care-icu-nursing/ 

For our free mini-course ICU Drips For Beginners, click here: https://courses.freshrn.com/p/icu-drips-for-beginners 

For a 14-page ECG cheatsheet: https://bit.ly/3Ws75NT

Will’s FreshRN course, ECG Rhythm Master: https://courses.freshrn.com/p/ecgmastery 

To learn more about our comprehensive ICU prep course, Breakthrough ICU: A Crash Course For New ICU Nurses, click here: https://courses.freshrn.com/p/breakthrough-icu 

Learn more about the FreshRN All-Access Pass here: https://courses.freshrn.com/p/membership

To see our latest course catalog (med-surg, ICU, precepting, charge nurse, ortho, cardiac, neuro courses, and more), click here: https://courses.freshrn.com/

Get weekly tips, encouragement, stories from the bedside, and more - just for nursing students and new nurses at: https://www.freshrn.com/email-sign-up/ 

Check out Will’s resources and website here: http://healthandwillness.org/ 

Connect With Me Online!

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreshRN

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kati_Kleber

• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/Fresh_RN/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kati_kleber/

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@freshrn

Music credit: Keep My Cool by Benj Heard

In this interview, Kati chats with Jeannie Cisney, MSN RN. She is a 20+ year veteran of the CVICU (cardiovascular intensive care unit). We discuss:

• The types of patients you’ll see in a CVICU

• Her favorite and least favorite types of patients

• A walkthrough of the patient pathway of a typical CABG patient

• New grad vs. experienced nurse orientation experience into CVICU

• Unexpected challenges of CVICU RNs

• The advice she’d give her younger self

Jeannie is my co-author of Cardiac Confidence, a Crash Course for New Cardiac Nurses. To learn more and enroll, click here: https://courses.freshrn.com/p/cardiac-confidence 

For a 14-page ECG cheatsheet: https://bit.ly/3Ws75NT

For a free mini-course on how to handle afib with RVR: https://courses.freshrn.com/p/afib-with-rvr 

For my cardiac assessment checklist: https://bit.ly/4aV6RTO

For ALL of our cardiac content: https://www.freshrn.com/cardiac-nursing/ 

Learn more about the FreshRN All-Access Pass here - https://courses.freshrn.com/p/membership

To see our latest course catalog (med-surg, ICU, precepting, charge nurse, ortho, cardiac, neuro courses, and more), click here: https://courses.freshrn.com/

Get weekly tips, encouragement, stories from the bedside, and more - just for nursing students and new nurses at: https://www.freshrn.com/email-sign-up/ 

Connect With Me Online!

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreshRN

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kati_Kleber

• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/Fresh_RN/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kati_kleber/

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@freshrn

Music credit: Keep My Cool by Benj Heard

In this episode, we are re-sharing an episode where we sit down with Sean Dent, DNP ACNP APRN, a highly experienced ICU nurse practitioner. We dig deep into the types of equipment you’ll run into in the ICU. These include:

• Arterial lines

• Different options for monitoring fluid status

• Cooling devices

• CRRT

• Hemodialysis catheters

• Impellas and aortic balloon pumps

• Internal pacing

• Proning devices 

These episodes were originally recorded in 2019, but the information is still incredibly relevant today for ICU nurses. This content is for informational purposes only; best practices may have changed. 

For ALL of our ICU nursing content: ​​https://www.freshrn.com/critical-care-icu-nursing/ 

For our free mini-course ICU Drips For Beginners, click here: https://courses.freshrn.com/p/icu-drips-for-beginners 

To learn more about our comprehensive ICU prep course, Breakthrough ICU: A Crash Course For New ICU Nurses, click here: https://courses.freshrn.com/p/breakthrough-icu 

Learn more about the FreshRN All-Access Pass here - https://courses.freshrn.com/p/membership

To see our latest course catalog (med-surg, ICU, precepting, charge nurse, ortho, cardiac, neuro courses and more), click here: https://courses.freshrn.com/

Get weekly tips, encouragement, stories from the bedside, and more - just for nursing students and new nurses at: https://www.freshrn.com/email-sign-up/ 

Connect With Me Online!

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreshRN

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kati_Kleber

• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/Fresh_RN/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kati_kleber/

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@freshrn

Music credit: Keep My Cool by Benj Heard

In this episode, Kati interviews Elizabeth Fields, MSN FNP APRN, a nurse practitioner specializing in orthopedics. She sees patients in the hospital after they undergo ortho surgery, so she works closely with acute care ortho nurses! In this episode, we discuss:

• What new ortho nurses struggle with most

• Common surgeries acute care patients undergo

• Why ortho nursing is so great

• How to impress providers

• Examples of cringe-worthy moments

• General tips and encouragement for new ortho nurses

If you want to catch the video of this interview AND get a PDF summary download of notes, click here: https://bit.ly/3wgp66S

If you enjoyed Elizabeth’s perspective, check out our comprehensive online course created just for new ortho nurses - Ortho STRONG: A Crash Course For New Ortho Nurses - https://courses.freshrn.com/p/ortho-nurse-crash-course 

Learn more about the FreshRN All-Access Pass here - https://courses.freshrn.com/p/membership

To see our latest course catalog (med-surg, ICU, precepting, charge nurse, ortho, cardiac, neuro courses and more), click here: https://courses.freshrn.com/

Get weekly tips, encouragement, stories from the bedside and more - just for nursing students and new nurses at: https://www.freshrn.com/email-sign-up/ 

Connect With Me Online!

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreshRN

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kati_Kleber

• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/Fresh_RN/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kati_kleber/

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@freshrn

Music credit: Keep My Cool by Benj Heard

In this episode, Kati and two nursing professionals who interview new grad nurses for a well-known accredited nurse residency program walk through four common interview questions. We explore a bad and sub-par response as well as examples of dazzling responses.

The questions we outline are:

• Tell me about a mistake you have made.

• What are you most excited about, and what are you looking forward to most?

• Tell me about a time you went above and beyond.

• Tell me about a time you received feedback that was hard to hear.

For full notes on this episode, click here: https://www.freshrn.com/nursing-interview-questions-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/ 

For ALL of our nurse jobs and interview content: https://www.freshrn.com/nursing-jobs-interviews/ 

For our free 3-pack templates of nurse resumes, click here: https://bit.ly/3UIXpgI

For a PDF of the most common nurse interview questions, click here: https://bit.ly/3UGhsfu

For our ultimate guide to mastering nurse resumes and interviews, Hired, click here: https://courses.freshrn.com/p/hired 

Learn more about the FreshRN All-Access Pass here - https://courses.freshrn.com/p/membership

To see our latest course catalog (med-surg, ICU, precepting, charge nurse, ortho, cardiac, neuro courses, and more), click here: https://courses.freshrn.com/

Get weekly tips, encouragement, stories from the bedside, and more - just for nursing students and new nurses at: https://www.freshrn.com/email-sign-up/ 

Connect With Me Online!

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreshRN

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kati_Kleber

• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/Fresh_RN/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kati_kleber/

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@freshrn

Music credit: Keep My Cool by Benj Heard

Giving and receiving hand-off from an experienced nurse is pretty overwhelming to a nursing student or newly licensed nurse. In this previously released episode, Kati and Elizabeth discuss:

• What nursing report is for an acute care nurse

• Unspoken nursing report etiquette

• Basics of what should be communicated during a normal full hand-off report

Notes of this episode: https://www.freshrn.com/nursing-report-for-newbies/ 

For ALL of our new nurse content: https://www.freshrn.com/new-grad-nursing/ 

For ALL of our med-surg content: https://www.freshrn.com/med-surg-nursing/ 

For a free mini-course on report tips for new nurses (including my fave report sheet), click here: https://courses.freshrn.com/p/med-surg-report-basics 

To learn more about our comprehensive med-surg crash course, Med-Surg Mindset, click here: https://courses.freshrn.com/p/med-surg-mindset 

Learn more about the FreshRN All-Access Pass here - https://courses.freshrn.com/p/membership

To see our latest course catalog (med-surg, ICU, precepting, charge nurse, ortho, cardiac, neuro courses, and more), click here: https://courses.freshrn.com/

Get weekly tips, encouragement, stories from the bedside, and more - just for nursing students and new nurses at: https://www.freshrn.com/email-sign-up/ 

Connect With Me Online!

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreshRN

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kati_Kleber

• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/Fresh_RN/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kati_kleber/

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@freshrn

Music credit: Keep My Cool by Benj Heard

This interview comes from the archives! Kati interviewed Beth Hawks, MSN RN-BC, a highly experienced and amazing nursing professional development specialist and preceptor, on tips for new nurse preceptors. Expect to learn:

• How to give feedback in a constructive manner

• Tips for nurses going into the precepting role who are not yet confident in their own skills

• How to support nurses through reality shock

• Coping with preceptees who take correction personally

• How to handle preceptees who question absolutely everything

• And so much more!

As a bonus, this interview is a sneak peek into the valuable content you can expect from Kati’s comprehensive course, Preceptor Pro. If you're looking to enhance your precepting skills and advance your professional development, this course is for you. 

To enroll in Preceptor Pro: https://courses.freshrn.com/p/preceptor-pro 

A comprehensive blog post on precepting: https://www.freshrn.com/becoming-an-awesome-nursing-preceptor/ 

For ALL of our professional development content: https://www.freshrn.com/professional-development/ 

Learn more about the FreshRN All-Access Pass here - https://courses.freshrn.com/p/membership

To see our latest course catalog (med-surg, ICU, precepting, charge nurse, ortho, cardiac, neuro courses, and more), click here: https://courses.freshrn.com/

Get weekly tips, encouragement, stories from the bedside, and more - just for nursing students and new nurses at: https://www.freshrn.com/email-sign-up/ 

Here is an affiliate link to Beth’s latest book, First-Year Nurse: Advice on Working with Doctors, Prioritizing Care, and Time Management: https://amzn.to/3JfDeAt 

Connect With Me Online!

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreshRN

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kati_Kleber

• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/Fresh_RN/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kati_kleber/

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@freshrn

Music credit: Keep My Cool by Benj Heard