This section covers commonly asked and expert level Nursing Interview questions and answers. The types of questions covered are general, behavioral, situational and experience based. You can also find interesting examples and sample answers with each question.
Who are these Nursing Interview Questions useful for?
General and behavioral questions on nursing will be very useful for all registered nurses including new graduates. Staff nurses and senior nurses will find competency management, conflict resolution and other situational questions very useful.
Video : Nursing Interview Questions and Answers
1. Tell us something about yourself.
Answer:
This is usually the first question in any interview and possesses an immense power to give you the right start, if answered correctly.
Nurses are the people who build connect between the patients, doctors and the hospital. They are the face of the hospital's management and the comfort providers to the patients.
To answer this question effectively, you must know the qualities and skills that a nurse is expected to possess and how you relate to them.
A sample answer to this could be something like:
"I have been working as an ICU nurse in XYZ hospital since last three years. In my role as an ICU nurse, all the cases that come to me are critical. They need me to be emotionally very stable so that I can manage the stressful and sad situations easily without sulking. Anticipating the problems and solving them before they arise is something that I have learnt with experience. A quick response to the situations needs me to be physically and mentally very fit. And, I regularly practice yoga and meditation for this.
Many patients that come to us need more counselling and care than others. This needs us to have tremendous patience to deal with the patients and their family without missing out on any details about the patient's health or instructions provided by the doctors.
I see that you are currently looking out for a head nurse for your ICU and I believe that with the type of practical experience that I possess in dealing with these type of patients, I'm a good fit for the role.
2. Why did you choose the nursing field?
Answer:
Knowing the tight routine of nursing job, professionals who enter into this domain have more empathy and compassion to give to others. If you are inspired by someone in your family or close circle to be a nurse, you can talk about them and how they had an impact on your decision while choosing nursing as a career.
If you do not know any nurse closely and were inspired out of your inner voice, you can talk about the feelings that led you to this decision.
For e.g. "My elder sister is a nurse by profession. She has always had a tight schedule but she is able to give care and compassion to others very easily. When her patients get well and are discharged, I see a tremendous amount of satisfaction on her face. It is the environment at home which inculcated these qualities in me as well and I decided to take nursing as a career."
3. Why do you think you are fit for a nursing job?
Answer:
Some of the important qualities a nurse is expected to possess are:
i. Communication skills,
ii. Ability to anticipate the needs of the patients,
iii. Emotional Stability - ability to manage stress and sad situations,
iv. Empathy - Ability to provide comfort,
v. Flexibility,
vi. Attention to detail,
vii. High interpersonal skills,
viii. Physical strength,
ix. Problem solving - Anticipate and solve before they arise,
x. Quick response
xi. Respect for others and rules
xii. Patience
Make a list of all the qualities that you can relate to. These are the reasons for you to be a good fit for the role. However, ensure that you do have examples ready to justify your reasons.
4. Being a nurse is quite stressful. How do you handle that?
Answer:
Stress of work and situations is an inseparable part of a nurse's life. It is very important for a nurse to stay objective and be able to offer care and compassion at the same time. Every nurse has his/her own way of dealing with it - Talk about your ways.
For e.g. you can say something like, I believe in open communication being a very effective tool in managing the stress. If your patients are well informed, they feel more confident and are able to trust you. With this, they don't keep coming back to you stressed which in turn reduces your stress. Similarly, an open communication with the colleagues and doctors helps you in dealing effectively with the case. And, even if anything happens, I understand that it is not personal. So, I don't react in stressful situations. We are the face of the hospital for the patients and if any such thing happens, I inform my floor manager immediately.
Also, I believe in staying organized and prioritizing my tasks so that I know what is to be achieved.
I have been able to find my mentor in my head nurse and if there's something that's bothering me, I discuss it with her and she helps me with the advice and experience.
