How the Four "C"s Can Help Improve Your Nursing Dean Interview

Remember that Oscar Wilde quote, “You only have one chance to make a good impression?”

Whether it is an interview with the dean of nursing or college dean, or a job interview to determine your future career, you will only have one chance to make that first good impression, so you want to get it right the first time. So, how will you know if you got it right?

Think about your own personality, skills and abilities. Ask yourself this question: do I have the “four ‘C’s”? Am I caring, committed, capable and can I communicate? Keep those four words in mind during your interview.

Caring

Everyone thinks they are a caring person. But do you sincerely feel and exhibit a concern and have empathy for others? Without a caring personality, you will find that you may have a very difficult time working in the medical field. You have to care, and you have to show the dean of nursing you not only care for yourself, but for the well being of others, and you want to put that first above all else.

Commitment

Commitments are usually considered an agreement to do something in the future. The commitment that the dean of nursing is looking for is for you to commit the time necessary to be successful in your nursing classes, and to commit to stay the course and graduate.

Capable

You have to show you have what it takes to make it through; that you are smart, savvy, motivated, and capable of getting the job done. Are you capable of showing up in the morning for class even though you were on a 14-hour shift at your clinical site the night before? Are you capable of finding alternate ways to work if your car breaks down? Are you capable of working with your classmates in a team setting, just as you will at work? You have to show you are capable of doing what it takes to graduate, and get one of the most rewarding, highly trusted, and respected careers in any industry today.

Communication

Nothing can happen if you can’t communicate; not caring, commitment, and capability. If you can’t sit one-on-one and communicate, your caring ability, your commitment to your career, and your capability to be successful in school, then how can the dean evaluate if you are a good fit for the program? How can you exhibit these traits to a potential employer? You have to be willing to talk and to communicate in your dean interview, your classroom, your workplace, and most of all, with your patients.

Got the four “C”s? Then bring them to your dean interview and talk—really talk—and listen—genuinely listen—then revel in the words you hear when the dean welcomes you into the nursing program. It’s a life-changing experience.