Pre-arrival: interviews

Hi everyone!
This will be my new site for journaling my outplacement experience, just stuff that I would like to have known during my first year. My personal online journal with random thoughts and etc. is www.xanga.com/autosmiler but I don't recommend viewing that b/c what I write there is dumb and I'm boring. Haha anyway, let's get on with it.

My two places will be Children's Memorial Medical Center (www.childrensmemorial.org) from Jan 3-March 3 and the University of Illinois at Chicago Hospital (http://uillinoismedcenter.org/) from March 20 - May 12. No schools for me!

Already I saw a major difference between the workings of these two places. They both wanted an interview, but Children's asked for me to bring along my resume and list of relevant courses, and UIC asked for nothing. Children's also asked for me to have a current CPR card for healthcare providers, a list of immunizations, and two kinds of liability insurance documents. UIC only wanted my TB results. Correspondence with Children's was always immediate and thorough (even asking for replies so that they know I've received something), while UIC waited weeks before responding with something fairly short, or not at all (and I had to call!).

Regarding the interviews, Dr. Louko said not to get too worked up about them because they usually just want to see if we were "weirdos" or something. Basically check us out. I think she's right - I don't think there's any reason any of us from Iowa will make them turn us down.

Children's lasted about an hour, and included a tour of the outpatient facility. My interviewer was an SLP who coincidentally went to Iowa for undergrad. She asked about my experience with clinic and children and my future practicum experiences in Iowa, but didn't quiz me about everything I new about children, which I was afraid of. There were a couple questions that made it feel more like a real interview. First she asked about my strongest and weakest areas. Next she asked me to give a percentage for my level of independence. My interview was mid-spring semester, so I had not had a lot of clinical experience at the time (which she understood), so I told her that it varied with each practicum team I was on. For example, I was quite comfortable and independent on the voice team (up to 80%), but not so much on phonology team (about 50%). She also asked what kind of "hours" I'll need, and I told her I expected that I should get all my hours from Iowa. As it is, I do have more ASHA client contact hours than is required in many of the areas on that yellow form, except for child speech evaluations. But looking at the schedule they sent me (which I will summarize for you in future posts), I'm certain to get it all filled out. Lastly, she asked where I wanted to work - outpatient or inpatient, and whether I needed part-time or full-time status. I didn't know at the time, but YOU MUST HAVE FULL-TIME STATUS FOR OUTPLACEMENTS. I will be in the main hospital (inpatient) setting 3 days a week, and outpatient clinic the other 2 to make up my 40 hours.

UIC lasted about a half hour, and did not include a tour. This was just after ASHA this year, so I didn't have the excuse of not having a lot of experience anymore! But it turns out I was worried for nothing. The interviewer was in her scrubs and white coat, and asked me only about my practicum experiences. It was very casual, and she even brought in their current outplacement student to talk to me. She just said at first she was very nervous, but after the first couple days she was already on her own most of the time. I had a major edge over her because this was her first time in a hospital, while I've had UIHC and VA experiences. The interviewer was impressed, and said I will do fine there. I asked about their level of supervision, and she said I would be quite independent, and only helping if I wanted it. I will be working from 7:30am-3:30pm every day.

Well, that's all I feel like writing right now, so check back in soon! I've got a lot to say :-) Please feel free to ask any questions you want.