Common Nursing Interview Questions and Answers

Preparing for an interview means conditioning your mind and body. You have to look good and feel good to put your best foot forward. The uncertainty around what you will be asked can be extremely daunting, and can often result in some unsettling nerves. That’s why it’s important to have a good understanding of the types of questions you might be asked, and more importantly, how to answer them. Being prepared can lift your confidence remarkably and will allow you to hold a more productive conversation with your potential employer.

But firstly, no matter what position you’re interviewing for, there are a few basic principles that you should follow before you get to your interview.

6 Interview Principles

Study the organisation (i.e. hospital, clinic, corporation, health centre) you are applying for. Know their goals, and how they conduct their business.
Wear something formal and dress to impress — no t-shirt, baggy pants, and rubber shoes.
Wear make-up sparingly. Use muted or neutral colours as much as possible.
Know who will be interviewing you, and if you get a chance check out their LinkedIn profile.
Be prepared with extra copies of your resume, and a notebook and pen.
Go to the interview location 10-20 minutes ahead of schedule.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

Above all, the best way to prepare for an interview is to practice answering interview questions. Generally, you can expect three types of interview questions – skill-specific, situational and behavioral. There are a plethora of sources online that will help you develop appropriate answers to behaviour questions, so in this article, we look at some specific questions you might be asked in a nursing interview.

Example Interview Questions

Question: A patient is in severe pain, but the attending physician states nothing is wrong with the patient. What will you do in this situation?

As a nurse, we are taught that pain is subjective. If the patient perceives it, it does not mean it is not there. There was a reported similar case when a patient died due to extreme pain because the nurse disregarded his complaint.

However, careful assessment is still required. I will perform the necessary pain assessment using a pain scale rating to quantify the level of pain the patient is experiencing. I will correlate this to his/her chart and look thoroughly at his medical history to trace the source. Also, to safeguard the hospital against issues with dispensing controlled substances, I will also assess for depression, alcoholism, and possible substance abuse.

Question: What are the items inside a crash cart?

A defibrillator, ET equipment such as tubes and laryngoscope, central vein catheters, cardiac drugs, and a bed board

Question: You saw a team member making careless but minor mistakes, and he tells you to ignore it. The patient, however, is concerned. What is your course of action?

As a nurse, we are the patient’s advocate above all else. I will talk again to my teammate and state that the patient is worried about the lack of attention to detail. If my team member continues with such an attitude, I have no choice but to report it to my immediate superior.

Question: Looking back, what trainings did you wish to have gotten from your previous position?

My previous position was demanding and the tasks were not easy. I was fortunate enough to have superiors who supervised with honing and improving my skill. However, I believe that oncology care for children requires better attention to assessment and patient communication. I would have loved to know more about how to assess these patients better because they do not understand what they are experiencing and what they are going through.

Question: Describe a situation where you were able to perform under pressure

We were doing our routine assessment in a respiratory ward when a patient with severe respiratory infection suddenly showed difficulty of breathing. I instantly rushed for the emergency crash cart while my colleagues called for the physician and performed CPR. I assisted with the intubation, keeping a close eye on the monitor. Unfortunately for me, another one had a respiratory arrest in the same room. It was a difficult situation, but we all managed to intubate and resuscitate both patients.

Question: How much supervision do you need?

As a new member of your institution, I would like to request supervision for 1 week. The first 2-3 days will be for close supervision, while the rest of the period will be for sensitive or critical care cases or on a must-need basis. After that can confidently work well on my own and will approach my superiors if I have problems.

Question: You have an impressive background in pediatric nursing. Why shift to surgery?

I want to push myself and provide more than just pediatric nursing care. I believe my extensive background in pediatrics will come in handy whenever a pediatric patient is admitted for operation.

Question: What are the six rights of medication administration?

Right patient, right route, right time, right medication and, right dose. The sixth right is a new addition, which is right documentation. This should be done after administration otherwise it’s a nursing act violation. Failure to document also means drug administration was not performed.

Question: How do you update yourself with evidence-based practice?

I subscribe to nursing journals that publish research and scholarly paper such as the Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing. I also attend seminars related to the advancement of nursing surgical practices.

Question: Why did you choose our company?

One of your core values was to provide family-centred care for your patients. Since the family is familiar with the habits and personality of the patient, I believe that having them involved in the development, implementation, and evaluation of care has a significant contribution in improving patient care delivery. We get better results and patients will increase their trust in our health care system.