1. Why are you interested in this type of work?
You're looking for someone who enjoys working with the elderly, or a caring, sociable, and nurturing person.
2. What kind of patients have you been caring for previously?
I have mostly worked with old people having Alzheimer's, paralysis, physical disabilities, dementia, depression, epilepsy and the like.
3. Are you able to cope with stressful situations?
Yes, I find the best way is to take a step back from the situation and decide what actions or steps will result in a positive outcome.
4. Do you have any work experience in care-giving or similar areas?
Start with a broad question that encompasses more than in-home health work to give you a general sense of the person. Try to identify patterns or trends that show experience in caregiving, companionship, and working with people, even if it isn't specifically with older adults. Look for experience that indicates an ability to work independently, without close supervision.
5. Can you provide at least three references?
This question is reserved for the person who meets your requirements. Ask for at least three - two professional and one personal. When they are provided, call. When you make contact, tell the person exactly why you want to hire the worker. Assure the individual you contact that anything he or she says will be kept confidential. Regardless of how you feel about the candidate (impressed, excited, etc.), you must follow up and check references. It could make the difference between finding a good, healthy situation and one wrought with problems.
6. Do you have any questions for me then ask me?
Open up the floor and encourage a dialogue.
7. How do you ensure the patient's dignity while providing care?
I am fully aware of the HIPPA guidelines regarding patient's dignity and I ensure the same by allowing for privacy and maintaining client confidentiality at all times.
8. Are you currently certified as a home health aide in this (your parent's) state?
If the answer is "yes," ask that the candidate bring a copy of his current certification to the interview. A state certification is evidence that the candidate was specially trained and also demonstrated a level of competency in the treatment for older adults. Aides are taught how to prevent skin breakdown (bed sores) for non-ambulatory patients, change bed linens while the patient is still in the bed and bathe a bedridden individual.
9. Are you comfortable dealing with my loved one's emotional or mental state?
You'll need to adapt this question depending on your loved one's state of mind, but it can cover such things as anger, silence, sadness, moodiness, and memory problems. (Obviously, you'll probably want to ask this particular question without your loved one present.) Laying this out before hiring someone is a win-win for you and job applicants. You can get a sense of how they'll be with your loved one, and they'll get a sense of interpersonal skills required for the job.
10. If your replacement hasn't arrived much after your shift has ended, how would you deal with it?
I would stay and continue my work even if my shift has ended. Care giving is all about sensitivity. I would call to find out why my replacement hasn't arrived but will never leave my ward unattended.
11. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Do not just rattle off your educational and school history but rather discuss how your experiences will make you a great CNA.
You can reply by saying, "I get along with people very well. This has made me a team player at all jobs I have had. In my previous employment as a sales associate, I got along well with the public and went out of my way to help both customers and co-workers. I am thrilled to have an opportunity to apply my people skills and caring attitude to a job as a CNA and hope to make all patients feel a little more at home and very well cared for. Having worked two jobs while also completing my CNA training, I know I have the ability to work long hours and multitask without losing my energy or positive attitude."
12. What was your most rewarding at home-patient-care experience?
My most rewarding at home -patient -care experience was when my patient told me she always looked forward to my coming to work.
13. Why do you want to work as a CNA?
Provide an answer showing your passion to work in the health care field but with your own personal touch. Say something like, "I have known since I was a child that I wanted to work in a job where I could truly help others and know that I want to enter the health care industry in some way. When I was in high school, my grandmother became too ill for us to care for her on our own. My family hired a home health agency to provide nursing care for her. Now my grandmother is doing very well and I truly believe a lot of that is because she had such wonderful nurses. I decided to become a CNA because I would like to help others the way those lovely ladies helped my own grandmother."
14. Tell me about yourself and your activities?
I am a compassionate and friendly person. After completing high school I went to a vocational coaching center and got certified as a Home Health Aide. I have been providing high quality home health care at various institutes and residential facilities for the past 6 years successfully.
You want to determine if (a) the candidate truly grasps the reality of your parent's condition or issues, and (b) he or she has the necessary experience to draw upon. This is where you learn if she truly understands the job that has to be done. An experienced health care worker will be willing and able to discuss the issues. Don't be afraid to ask the hard questions and find out specific details.
16. What type of diagnosis have you had the opportunity to care for? What was your experience?
Most of the patients that I have worked with have been dementia sufferers. Initially, I felt that looking after people with dementia is more challenging than I want my work to be. Now, I feel that there are very few people who can handle such patients effectively and I find the challenge very intriguing.
17. Tell me what are some positive personality traits that will help you in your job?
Instead of saying something generic like, "I am a great communicator or I pay close attention to detail", provide a personal story. "I have always been the type person to go the extra mile in everything I do in life. I give it 110%. When I was completing my training course, I was working with a patient I had gotten to know well. Her conversations with me one morning were nothing like we had before. I just had a feeling something wasn't right even though she looked well and her vitals were fine. Even so, I talked to my supervisor to let her know something was wrong. The doctor was called and it turned out the patient was ill that day. Since I had always taken time to really talk to and understand my patients, I was able to help when she was not well."
Don't assume anything about a candidate. This question provides another opportunity to speak frankly about your parent's needs and get a sense of the candidate's true level of understanding and professionalism.
Working as a home health aide is not about my feelings; it is about my ward's and his or her family's feelings. There is nothing personal about this. If a patient tries to make me feel unwelcome, I usually just shrug it off as a work hazard. Clearly, the patient needs help and I have been hired to help him. There is no personal element here.
I fill in observation report forms regularly which are signed by me and the patient's family on daily basis to ensure communication. I also remain in constant contact with the patient's family and doctor through meetings and on the phone and efficiently communicate any changes in the patient's health to them.
If the answer is "yes," ask that the candidate bring a copy of her current certification to the interview. This important document attests to the candidate's fitness to perform the tasks required, primary among these is the ability to keep you parent safe. A worker must be able to lift your parent, lift heavy items, and bend and move appropriately. She must be able to support your parent's weight in the event your parent falls or is injured.
Last year I was assigned an old patient who had multiple medical conditions. From day one, he refused to be fed. No matter what I cooked or offered him, he did not accept. The family was quite worried about the issue. I probed the family about the patient's meal preferences and cooked the meal daily and left it by his chair without offering feeding assistance. He tried to eat it sometimes but could not due to paralysis. It took me 3 days to build rapport with the old man, but once I did he was a really easy patient to handle.
23. Explain what is the most difficult situation you have had to face and how did you tackle it?
The most difficult situation is when , when I was trying to help my patent or client to the toilet but she was agitated and trying to hurt me. At the same time she was pooping.
24. What specifically makes you qualified for working with my loved one?
Here's where you ask about specific training or courses pertaining to in-home health work. Also ask for details that apply to your loved one's needs, such as experience bathing, feeding, dressing, cooking, cleaning, or lifting from, for example, a wheelchair to a toilet or bed.
25. Basic Home Health Aide Interview Questions:
► Can you provide me with your full name, address, phone number, social security number and current photo ID so that I can run a background, including credit, check? (If interviewing an agency candidate, request contact information only.)
► Can you (your agency) provide me with copies of current documentation related to personal insurance, bonding, workers' compensation, and current health status (TB test, immunizations, etc.).
► Can you (your agency) show or provide me with current documentation related to specific services and assistance (dementia care, CPR, etc.) you are trained/certified to provide?
► Tell me about your experience as an in-home aide - how long you have been providing care, previous work situations, etc.
► Can you (your agency) provide me with references related to past clients and employers.
► Why did you leave your last position? (If they have not left this position, ask how they plan on coordinating schedules.)
► What are your expectations if I hire you?
► What hours and days will you be available?
► What hourly rate do you expect, and how do you expect to be paid?
► How do you like to get feedback and suggestions?
► What do you like and dislike about home care?
26. Typical Home Health Care Aide Interview Questions:
► Why are you interested in care giving?
► What type of diagnoses have you cared for in the past?
► Imagine that your shift ends at 2 p.m. and your replacement hasn't arrived by 2:15 p.m. How would you handle the situation?
► How do you handle patients that are characteristically upset and/or difficult?
► How would you handle a patient that resists your care?
► After an extremely demanding day with a patient, a family member comes home and criticizes your work. How do you handle this?
► Please explain in detail how you would appropriately transfer a patient from a bed to a wheelchair.
► How do you keep a family informed of a patient's progress and well-being?
► Have you ever cared for someone in a condition similar to this patient? Is there any aspect of this patient's condition that makes you uncomfortable? Are there any tasks required of this position that you are uncomfortable or unwilling to do?
27. Home Health Care Aides Interview Questions:
► What would your last two employers say about you if I called them?
► Have you received professional training in tasks such as bathing, moving patients in their beds, and helping with prescription medications?
► How do you ensure that you always respect the dignity of the person for whom you are caring?
► If you suspected your patient was being abused in their home what would you do?
► Do you have any experience or training in working with patients with dementia?
► Why do you want to work for this agency?
► Have you ever documented the wrong information? What steps did you take to correct the error?
► Describe a time when you had to provide emotional support to a patient.
► How do you tell a patient something they do not want to hear?
► Do you have experience with monitoring a patient's vital signs (temperature, respiration, etc.)?
► Have you ever shown up late for a job?
► Do you have a current CPR certificate and first aid training?
► Why did you leave your last agency or job?
► Are you familiar with basic nutrition and personal hygiene standards?
► Have you ever lost your patience with someone you were caring for? If so, did they know it?
► Do you have experience with transporting and accompanying patients to a doctor's office or other appointment?
► Describe a high-stress situation you have dealt with.
► Have you ever missed a dose of a patient's medication?
► Has a family ever complained about your work?
► Have you ever gone above and beyond the call of duty for a patient?
28. Why do you do this kind of work?
Ask the person to discuss his or her background and work experience. Everyone likes to talk about themselves, especially when they know someone is listening. So begin the interview with a broad question to draw the candidate out. Your objective is to get a sense of who this person is and if your parent (and you) will feel comfortable with him or her in your household. Is he able to communicate effectively? Have a sense of humor? A confident person? Ultimately, the person you will want to hire is respectful, compassionate, convivial and nurturing.
29. Why did you choose this field as Home Health Aide?
Being diabetic since childhood my visits to hospitals were frequent which developed in me a sense of compassion and empathy. Then later, my grandmother who was on dialysis had an HHA come in twice a week to assist her in dialysis. She was a very nice lady and I clearly saw the difference she made in my grandmother's life. That was when I decided to choose this profession and I'm proud of my decision.
30. Explain what is your philosophy towards work?
My philosophy towards work is to always do my best in whatever assignment I am ask to perform.
31. What days and times are you available?
Am available to work during week days from 9 to 5 Monday to Friday.
Continuity is an important part of eldercare. When you hire someone - whether the assignment is short- or long-term - it is critical to your parent's well-being, not to mention your own, that the homecare plan runs smoothly. The only way that can happen is if your worker can and will follow the schedule. Better to get these questions answered now rather than later.
33. If you're hired, will you be willing to sign a contract?
Signing a contract will protect you and the worker. The document should include: a task list, salary specifics, benefits (if applicable), details concerning schedule, house rules, etc. Before drawing up any sort of contract, you may want to consult an attorney.
34. What qualifies you to handle a medical emergency?
I am first aid certified from AHA and also possess a first class BLS certificate.
35. What particularly interests you within the personal care arena?
Looking after people who have trouble handling themselves is a source of great comfort to me. This is interesting work not only because of the new challenges one comes across every day but also because it gives me a great sense of achievement to know that I have assisted someone in keeping their health intact.
