SAMPLE NURSING INTERVIEW QUESTIONS & TIPS

1. Please tell me about yourself?

2. Why did you choose nursing?

3. What have you done since graduation?

4. Name 3 words to describe yourself.

5. What is a strength you have? What is a weakness you have?

6. What are your short term goals (6 months)? What are your long term goals (5 years)?

7. Did you research the hospital before you came today?

8. How did you hear about (Hospital)?

9. What aspect of our mission statement appeals to you the most?

10. What do you know about the New Grad program?

11. Why do you want a job in this area/facility?

12. What skills did you do in clinical?

13. Have you worked with CNA's?...How did it go?....What tasks did you delegate?

If you were offered this position, would you be okay to move to (city)?

14. What is common sense?

15. Why should we hire you?

16. What questions do you have for us?

17. What do you like about working as a nurse?

BEHAVIORAL BASED QUESTIONS

1. Have you ever had a conflict with a coworker? How did you resolve it?

2. If you make an error charting, how do you fix it?

3. Tell me about your most difficult patient.

4. Tell me about a time you saw something unethical or not done correctly by another

coworker/boss/doctor.

5. Tell me about a project you did for a class or hospital unit, and what were the results?

6. Tell me about a time or situation when you were under pressure.

7. Tell me about a time you had to care for a patient with another cultural/religious belief.

8. Have you ever witnessed a breach of confidentiality & what did you do? If not, what

would you do?

9. Tell me about a time where you had to delegate care or take a leadership role.

10. Define critical thinking. How did you use critical thinking during your preceptorship?

11. Was there ever a time when something in your patient care needed to be changed?

What did you do? What was the result?

12. Did you ever have a situation "go bad"? What did you do/how did your preceptor

intervene?

13. Have you ever called a rapid response....or a code?

SCENARIO QUESTIONS

1. If you were the nurse for a patient going into surgery what are the pre-op and post-op

teachings you would discuss?

2. If you were working on a floor and a doctor came up to you and yelled at you referring to

patient that wasn't yours and you had not been taking care of, how would you respond?

3. If you were a nurse on a floor and you walked into a room and the patient was short of breath

and said they were having trouble breathing, what would you access and why? You hear

wheezing and you note that the patient has a history of asthma then what would you do? How

would you chart this scenario?

4. If you are a nurse on a unit and you have a patient who is asking for pain meds, a patient who

is leaving for the OR and the OR doc calls and says they are coming up in 5 minutes and you

need to have the patient ready, a patient who needs to use the restroom, a patient who feels

sick and a patient who wants someone to sit with them, who do you see first and why?

5. If you have a diabetic patient who is not communicative, what do you do?

6. If you are a nurse on a floor and one patient is experiencing transfusion reaction, another

patient that is in shock and a third patient with low blood pressure, who do you see first and

why?

7. If you have an older patient that has been in bed 2 weeks, is short of breath, and has a

respiratory rate of 40, what do you do?

8. If you are a nurse on a floor and the ventilator alarm is sounding and the high pressure alarm

is sounding, what do you do?

FINAL TIPS

Know the national patient safety goals

Know the order of vital signs (Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Pain, .) and emergency situations

Know your head-to-toe assessment as well as other unit specific assessments, (i.e. LATCH

score, measuring lochia, fundal height for maternity)

Think of an experience that moved you from your clinical/preceptorship – something you will

always remember

Stress your teamwork skills

Pay close attention to the job description if there is a technique you are unfamiliar with research it, i.e. “Sharp Experience"