7 Nurse Interview Questions and Answers
Whether you are preparing to interview a candidate or applying for a job, review our list of top Nurse interview questions and answers.
This question is an attempt to get to know the candidate better as an individual. Everyone has a reason for going into their chosen profession and this should this should be viewed as an opportunity to explain what one’s motivations are and why they chose to nurse. It would be a good idea to provide a personal example if applicable, but the answer should be honest and sincere.
A good example of an answer would be “I decided to become a nurse because I genuinely love working with people and caring for others. When I was a child, I had an appendectomy and was really apprehensive about it. The doctors were great, but only spent a limited amount of time with me. It was the nurses who spent time, answered questions, and helped put me and my family at ease. They were fantastic during my recovery and that has always stuck with me. That is a big reason I decided to become a nurse.”
Nursing is a field in which you work with many different people during difficult and stressful times. There will always be difficult patients and this question seeks to gauge one’s reaction to a common issue.
“I remember one particular patient who was in a lot of pain and did not want to be touched, was verbally abusive and constantly complaining about their pain. I reviewed his chart and spoke with the attending physician to ensure that we were doing everything we could to manage his pain. After doing so, I let him know that we were doing everything possible to make him comfortable. While what I could do for him was limited, I made sure that he felt listened to and that we weren’t dismissive.”
This is a question to determine what the candidate knows about the facility and if they did their homework. Before interviewing, it is important to research the office, hospital, or facility beforehand and to be able to ask or answer related questions. If a job applicant does not know anything about the office, hospital, or practice it shows a basic lack of preparation and casts serious doubt on whether or not they actually want to work there.
“I would like to work at this hospital because of its excellent reputation for emergency medicine. I started as an EMT and had the opportunity to transport patients to various emergency rooms throughout the city and I was always impressed at the thoroughness, professionalism, and skill of the doctors and nurses that I encountered here. I know that this particular facility gets a good number of advanced trauma patients and I am looking forward to applying what I have already learned while still having the opportunity to learn from a seasoned and professional staff.”
This question is another way to get to know the candidate. Different specialties require different personality types and each has their own unique challenges. The best answer to give is one that provides some insight as to what drives the decision-making process.
“I have always loved aviation and was naturally drawn to emergency medicine. I spent time in the Army as a combat medic and as such spent a lot of time around helicopters both for transportation and for medical evacuations. After I left the Army, I knew that a flight nurse was the best way to build upon my previous interests and experiences in the civilian world.”
This question is great for gauging a candidate's understanding of the complexity and human side of nursing. Nurses require a number of skills, especially interpersonal skills in order to successfully work with doctors, patients, family members, and other staff.
“In my opinion, the personality traits that make nurses most effective are patience, compassion, and attention to detail.”
This is a great way to gauge whether a candidate is staying up to date on trends and news in the industry.
“In my opinion, the biggest challenges and issues facing nurses today are mandatory overtime, safe staffing levels, and workplace safety. The current nursing shortage has led to potentially dangerous practices like mandatory overtime and unsafe staffing levels. This increases the stress on nurses, decreases the quality of patient care, and increases the likelihood of medical errors. ”
This is an opportunity for the candidates to sell themselves and talk about past education and experiences.
“I feel that I am qualified for the job because I have my Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), I am a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), and have 6 years of practical experience as a nurse anesthetist. I also stay on top of industry news, studies, and attend seminars or symposiums at least twice a year. I genuinely enjoy what I do and put in extra effort to be the best that I possibly can.”
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![See if the offer is too good to be true
There is a fee to be paid to "process" your employment
You get the job right away
Unprofessional job interviews
Job scams
In 2013, a South African registered nurse was approached by a man outside the hospital she worked in. The 25-year old man was a recruitment agent for the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Health . He offered her a job at another institution, for better pay and work hours.
The nurse saw this as a great opportunity. She accepted it, and he produced a contract and offered her the job. Then he requested USD220 in cash for the job.
Thankfully, the nurse grew suspicious, and realized she was being scammed. She immediately alerted hospital staff who arrested the man.
Grey's Hospital, where the incident happened.
That could have ended a lot worse. Luckily in that nurse's case, she was able to spot the scam job offer. It is hoped that this post can help you to spot these harmful acts and avoid costing you your precious time, money, and dignity. Scammers know that finding a job can be tough, and they trick people by advertising where real employers do.
Scams are endlessly creative! This list might not encompass all of them, but it will help you in detecting these harmful job scams.
1. See If The Offer Is Too Good To Be True
If it seems like you’ve landed yourself the best offer in the world, DON’T . The hiring managers will say something to you like:
You can earn as much as you want, there is no upper limit on your salary. You decide what you earn. You can earn USD5,000 in one week by working at home!
Run away as fast as you can. These scams like to prey on those desperate for a new job. They take advantage of your desperation by having you excited of their offer. Once they’ve gotten you on their hook, those “employers” can start to demand money, information, and time, just to get your application moving.
Watch out for:
Really high pay with low amount of working hours
Ability to work anywhere, anytime
Really shady phrases, like “ Drive the sports car you’ve ever wanted after only a few months’ work! ” or " Earn USD3000 by only working FOUR HOURS a week! "
The person contacting you is the President or CEO or other executive level staff. Most of the time, the highest-ranking person contacting you for a job offer is some type of manager or human resources employee.
2. There is a fee to be paid to "process" your employment
If the hiring manager contacts you again and informs you that you have to pay [insert amount here] to complete your application, forget it.
You might see overseas job offers requiring you to pay a few hundred dollars to "process" your application. They'll claim it's to secure your employment. To sweeten the deal, some of them claim that you'll get back the money within days after you get in the company/institution.
Here are the most common ways job scams use to cheat your money, like:
Buying their software
Paying a fee to complete your application
Sign up for some insurance program that deducts money from your account every month
Job scammers make all kinds of promises about your chances of employment, and an astounding amount of them require you to pay them for their services to employ you. It's important to note that the promise of a job is not the same thing as a job. If you have to pay for that promise, it's most definitely a scam.
3. You get the job right away
You get the job, without much interviewing, or even applying through anything. The "offer" gets sent to your inbox. They often mention that they got your email from Jobstreet, CareerBuilder, or LinkedIn.
Most of the time, these job offers are sent with emails that are similar to emails of legitimate employers. Be careful!
Imagine if a David Chen from Ramsay Sime Darby emailed you about a sweet job offer. If he really worked at RSD, his email would be something like david.c@simedarby.com. Watch out for david.c.simedarby@gmail.com, david.c@gmail.com, david.chen.HR.simedarby@yahoo.com, etc.
When in doubt, call up the company and ask for that employee!
A real company would want to talk to a candidate before hiring him or her.
4. Unprofessional job interviews
Look out for interviews online, such as over Facebook Messenger . Worse still, are interviews using a software that the scammer asks you to install on you computer. You will risk having your computer infected with harmful malware that can record what you type , activate your webcam without notifying you , and hold your personal information as ransom .
Look out for interviewers with bad grammar or spelling. If it doesn't seem like what a real professional company would say, don't trust it.
With some common sense, and a bit of suspicion, you can easily spot scam job offers. The rule of thumb is that if it looks too good to be true, sounds too good to be true, and seems to good to be true, then it's definitely not true. Also look out for shady characters and language.
As mentioned above, there is no limit to the creativity of these scam artists and their job offers. The tips mentioned above might cover ALL the scam job methods out there, but at least you'll be better prepared, and more aware that these things can happen.
As a healthcare-focused job portal site, MIMS Career takes the legitimacy of any employer and job posting very seriously . We screen employers thoroughly, contacting them at various levels, to determine authenticity of said employers. Our privacy policy also dictates that we never share your personal information to unrelated third parties, nor do we sell them.
The next time you're in search of a job, apply through MIMS Career . Sign up, fill in your details, and apply for job vacancies from top healthcare institutions in Malaysia , Singapore , Indonesia , and the Philippines with one click.
Browse through our extensive database of job postings, updated daily. Our pages are mobile-responsive, so you can save jobs you're interested in on your desktop, and continue reading about it and apply later on your phone.
Can't find what you're looking for? Set a job alert, and we'll notify you once a job with your preferences is made available. Sign up now with MIMS Career . It's fast, convenient, and secure. We do the hard work of verifying scam jobs so you won't have to.
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