Interviews
I love job interviews. It keeps me sharp and up to date with different styles of questions. There are some interviews I felt like Homer Simpson and others I have answered questions like Stephen Hawking would.
Then the dreaded, "Do you have any questions for me?"
If they are a PT, I can ask about their experience working with PTAs and how many OTs and COTAs are in the department, etc.
I really want to ask three questions: 1) If a patient presents with a SLAP tear, what are some goals you feel are appropriate and what precautions would you inform me about? 2) What are your objective findings with a patient that presents with Angelman syndrome? 3) What are the differences between infection and contamination in a wound, and what changes would you recommend to promote healing?
If a director can answer these, I would say they are pretty well rounded and I would join their team. However, I was asked one time what I could bring to the department. Meaning what skills do I offer that are not already being offered. Great question. I flubbed my way through it and again I was asked the same question. Again I flubbed.
It got me to thinking, what do I offer the department, what skills do I possess that no one else does? We all know basic exercises; we know A and P; we all talk to the patients and families and can motivate them in different ways. So what exactly do I bring to the department? Perhaps that question cannot be answered so simply. Or then again maybe it can: I bring me to the department with all my quirks, jokes, smart alec remarks and goofy ways about me. Yes, all these are skills crafted over time and ready to be unleashed in your department if you hire me.