NYU Langone Per-Diem Interview Prep

Tell me about yourself, why nursing?

My name's Rakibul Rafin, my friends call me Rick. 

I'm about to be a senior in the generic nursing program at the Hunter Bellevue School of Nursing and we're set to graduate May 2027. 

I mainly got into nursing because I had a really positive experience with nurses when i was hospitalized for childhood asthma. And that compassionate care I received inspired me to pay it forward and be a nurse myself to help people during their medical crises. 

I've also always been interested in science courses growing up and in helping other so nursing seemed like the ideal intersection of these 2 interests. 

And really getting to see the role of nurses up close throughout my schooling has helped further solidify my desire to be a nurse.

Why NYU? Why you?

I really want to work at NYU because It’s a very renowned healthcare company.

—> So I feel like it’d be a great learning environment that’ll provide me with necessary and invaluable undergrad professional development towards my goal of becoming the most competent healthcare provider I can be. 

I believe I’d be a great fit at NYU due to my steadfast work ethic and genuine commitment to improving myself which carries into all aspects of my life.

I’m always doing well in school and asking questions wherever I can, which shows I’m not only dedicated to learning, but very interested in the material as well.

I’ve even completed multiple certifications in my free time to further my skillset such as stroke scaling, seizure recognition, and even my ACLS.

And I’ve consistently displayed strong leadership skills through my participation in nursing student government and my various mentorship roles. 

Please tell us about your favorite clinical. What did you enjoy most about it?

My favorite clinical rotation was Med-Surg because I found the broad range of patient conditions, medications, machinery,procedures, and expertise I got to see as really engaging/interesting.

It was definitely a lot more intensive which allowed me to further expand my clinical knowledge and skillset.

I also had a wonderful clinical preceptor whose instruction really helped me to build my critical thinking and competence as a provider.

Together, this really helped develop my interest in complex patient cases and environments.

Please tell us what you liked least about your clinicals.

I don’t really dislike a lot of things about clinicals, but I feel like the main thing that’s ever frustrated me has always been the limitations or restrictions placed upon me in my role as a student nurse.

There’s been some times where I saw that a patient might need something but I couldn’t really do anything because I’m only a student and I don’t really have the permission to help them how they need.

Instead, I’d just have to tell their nurse or hand the task off to someone else. Initially this made me feel like I wasn’t really doing anything because I always wanted to be able to help more.

But over time, I realized I could use this opportunity to further improve my patient communication and advocacy. So now I’m more proactive about anticipating patient’s possible needs and fulfilling them.

I didn't really dislike much about my clinical rotations except for some of the restrictions placed upon us in our role as student nurses. For example, sometimes I'd see that a patient needed help but I couldn't really do anything because I didn't have those permissions at that facility. So that would be frustrating feeling like you can't help someone. But over time I've learned to be more intuitive to patient's needs so that these things happen less. So I'll always ask them if they'll need anything else before leaving the room or pick up on their body language.

Please share what area of nursing you see yourself entering after graduation. 

I’ll most likely be going into the ICU post-grad because I find myself drawn towards higher acuity settings.

I really liked my med-surg clinical rotations and getting to briefly visit the ICU during that time because of the broad range of conditions, medications, and expertise required in these areas.

And since I’m very type A and always trying to improve myself, I’ve kept trying to get relevant experience in these units however I can like through internships or volunteering which has also furthered my interest in these settings.

Preferably I’d like to start with a fellowship or residency to really learn the most I can. Then I’d specifically like to go into the CVICU or MICU since I’ve always liked working with cardiac or med surg patients.

At NYP, we take pride in providing a high quality patience experience.  Please tell us about a time in your student clinicals where you went above and beyond for a patient. (1 minute response time)

Over the course of my Med-Surg clinical rotation, I got more involved in patient care as I received more complicated cases. But one time when I really went above and beyond was this day I had a very elderly patient on life support with multiple types of cancer and IVs. At the start of the shift, I did vitals for this patient and performed a 5 minute assessment which helped their nurse better assess which medication to give or hold. I assisted in medication administration twice that shift. I got to give IVs, injections, and even parenteral feeding. In addition, I did a solo EKG and assisted the nurse and CNA in giving them a bedbath. I also got to build my communication skills with the patient’s son as I took the time to address some of their concerns, better inform them on the course of their loved one’s care, and even assisted in doing some physical therapy exercises on their father. 

Example of good clinical judgment

One day during med surg clinical, I read that my patient that day had neurological issues and was at risk for decompensation so I knew to look out for any s/sx. So when I went to do my head to toe assessment on them with my classmate and I saw that their eye didn’t accommodate to light, I had my classmate lower the HOB, attach the patient’s oxygen mask, and stay with the patient while I went to grab my nurse. And thanks to that, my nurse was immediately aware of the patient’s change in condition which allowed for prompt assessment and treatment. 

Example of leadership skills

Mainly in school + work 

1st to reach out for school projects + organize everything 

Help build + gather study materials for whole class before exams → helps alleviate burden of nursing school 

People usually ask me questions if they’re unsure of content  

NYP CUIMC, running ekgs and other tasks with my clinical group to help alleviate the nurses’ workload that busy day 

Freshman orientation leader + CUNY bridge coach, mentorship and guiding youth  

Describe a time when you had to advocate for a patient.

1 time me and my nurse had a Bengali patient during my clinical shift and I actually helped translate what the patient was saying to the nurse. 

Adaptability is important in this role.  Please tell us about a project, clinical, or work assignment where you needed to adapt.

I feel like I’m a pretty adaptable person in a lot of settings. Like just this last semester, me and a couple classmates realized the current final schedule was really inconvenient. So what we did is advocated for ourselves by bringing this topic up for class discussion which resulted in us getting a better scheduling. I also helped organize efforts to make study materials. And during my fall spring 2025 clinical, there was this one day where the nurses were really busy. So I got my classmates together and we assisted our nurses by performing whatever tasks we could do in our capacity. And since I was the only one who knew how to do EKGs, I taught my classmates how to do them as well so that we could further lessen our nurse’ workload.

What do you think is your biggest weakness? 

I think my biggest weaknesses is that I can be too diligent.

I’ll get tunnel vision on 1 task because I like to be a perfectionist and then neglect other things because I’m so focused on work.

But over time I’ve realized that I don’t always need to put so much effort into 1 task especially when I have multiple deadlines.

So now I’ve learned more efficiently time management and when to ask others for help in order to lead a more balanced life while still putting forward exceptional work.

Tools and strategies that have helped you 

Taking short mental breaks, assessing the situation, organizing a plan + efforts

Focusing on the bigger picture (helping others, being the best you (I like to always challenge myself to grow))