Nurse Interview Questions & Answers part 1

Where do you see yourself in 3 years?

2. What do you bring to this position? How do you stand out from the other applicants?

3. What attracts you to this facility? To this position? What do you hope to get out of the experience?

4. How would you describe your ideal job? Your ideal work environment?

5. Why are you leaving your current position?

6. What did you particularly like about your last position?

7. What's your most important professional achievement?

8. Who are your career role models and why?

9. How do you set priorities in your work?

10. Do you have any time-management tricks other nurses could benefit from?

11. What are the most important lessons you've learned in your career?

12. How much supervision do you want or need?

13. What professional organizations do you belong to?

14. How have you participated in the professional organizations you belong to?

15. What nursing publications do you subscribe to?

16. Have you attended any national conferences? If so, how did you benefit from the experience?

17. Have you ever done any volunteer work? If so, what was it like?

18. How do you keep up with the latest information in your field?

19. What are your goals in terms of going back to school, becoming certified, taking on management responsibilities?

20. Can you give an example of a time you were a leader?

21. Can you give some examples of your problem-solving skills?

22. What do you think are the most challenging aspects of meeting patients' needs?

23. How do you handle a request you disagree with?

24. What happened the last time you put your foot in your mouth?

25. What actions would you take in your first month on the job?

26. Can you give some examples of your creativity?

27. Who is the most difficult person you've ever worked with and why?

28. What type of management style do you work with best?

29. Can you describe a time when you had to intervene for a patient, what you did, and why? What was the outcome?

30. How would you rate yourself in communicating with patients—and with families?

31. Can you describe a situation in which you dealt with a difficult family member?

32. How do you motivate patients?

33. Can you describe a time you went beyond the call of duty?

34. Can you describe a situation in which you thought that you were right and others were wrong—and what you did about it?

35. Can you describe a situation in which you were supposed to work with a person you didn't like and how you handled it?

36. Have you ever been in a situation in which a co-worker put a patient in jeopardy? If so, what did you do about it?

37. What would you do if you were asked to float to a specialty area you weren't familiar with?

38. Can you describe a time your work was criticized and how you handled it?

39. How do you handle delegation issues with unlicensed assistive personnel?

40. How would your co-workers describe you?

41. How would you describe your role in a recent code?

42. How do you handle stress?

43. Have you ever been fired or asked to resign?

44. What would a background check on you show?

45. Would your previous employer recommend you?

46. What would you do if you were caring for an alert patient who suddenly got acutely confused and disoriented?

47. What would you do if you found an elderly patient on the floor in his room? How would you document it?

48. Have you worked with many foreign nurses? If so, what did you do to help them?

49. How would you handle a situation in which you couldn't read a prescriber's orders?

50. If you were offered your last job again today, would you take it?

If you're returning to nursing after not working in the profession for a while:

51. How long has it been since you worked as a nurse?

52. What have you been doing since you've been out of nursing?

53. How have you prepared to return to nursing?

54. Did you take a refresher course? How did it help?

55. How have you kept up with changes in the profession?

If you're a student applying for your first position:

56. What's your most important achievement as a student?

57. When do you plan to take your NCLEX? Have you taken a course to prepare for it?

58. Where did you get your clinical experience? What units?

59. Did your clinical experience include putting in a urinary drainage catheter or starting an intravenous line access? Inserting or removing a nasogastric tube, or caring for a patient with one?

60. What was your favorite clinical experience? Least favorite? Why?

61. What types of charting systems have you used? What do you like about them? What do you dislike?

62. What do you think is a reasonable orientation time?

63. Have you worked with an electronic medication administration record? Bar coding?

64. What new technology have you used in school, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs)?

65. Are you on-line often? What are your favorite sites for reliable health care information?

66. Why do you want to be a nurse?

Variations of interview question: Why did you go in to nursing?

What the employer is looking for: Motivation and personal values as an indicator of what drives you.

Your answer: Healthcare employers prefer to hire nurses who are motivated by intangible ideals, not concrete realities such as money. Even if a good salary is one of your primary motivations, do not mention money as a reason.

It’s good to provide a short story or example here. Stories are remembered. “I’ve always been a helper. I get a lot of satisfaction out of making people comfortable. When there’s a need, I see it and act on it. It’s just a small example, but I’m always the one to open the door for a person in a wheelchair, or who is using a walker.”

Tell your story, whether it was because you helped care for a relative, or had an experience with healthcare yourself. When you are genuine, it resonates.

67. why do you want to work here?

Variations of interview question: Why do you want to work ED, ICU (fill in the blank).

What the employer is looking for: To see if you’re a good fit and understand the culture. That your goals align with their goals.

How to answer: Your reasons for wanting to work at this place of employment should be positive and show that you have an understanding of the unique culture. It’s also an opportunity to draw the connection between your career goals and how they can be achieved at this particular facility.  “Your hospital has been growing its oncology service line, and my ultimate goal and passion is to work with the top oncology program in our area.” Read Am I Cut Out to be an ED Nurse?

68. Tell us about a time when you made a critical mistake at work

Variations of interview question: Tell us a time when you made an error.

What the employer is looking for: You made it right. You self-reported. Your primary concern was for the patient or customer, and not yourself. You learned from your mistake and moved forward. You take accountability and don’t blame.

69. How to answer: Don’t be worried if they use the word “critical”. Maybe you haven’t made a bona fide “critical” mistake. You can instead tell about a time you had a “near-miss” but prevented an error by asking someone to double check you, or by listening to your inner voice. Be sure and have your example ready and include the event, what steps you took, and what you learned. Frame it as a learning experience you are grateful to have had.