Difficult Nurse Interview Preparation Guide

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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.”

A patient that is appreciative of the care they are receiving. A patient that cooperates and is willing to do what is necessary to improve upon while they are under our care. Of course, finding a perfect patient will not always happen and you have to adapt and be just as courteous to a patient no matter how they behave.

The medical world is full of emergency situations, and anyone with any experience at all must have a few incidents to speak of. When answering this question, tell about some of the most challenging and difficult cases that you have faced. You can also talk about a specific problem and how you handled it. Make sure that you speak about the added value that the situation gave to your medical experience.

Having only 1 patient at a time as you do in the surgical setting I focus on that 1 patient. I will never forget a very young breast cancer patient, I think she was 26, drifting off to sleep with anes and a single tear drifted down her face...I tried to confort her during her last seconds of consciousness. She remembered that in a letter to the hospital...she felt I was a caring nurse.

XYZ Medical Center has a mission of improving the health of the people in their community through personalized and compassionate quality care. As a Critical Care Nurse it is important for me to provide kindhearted care and support to patients and their families through their heartbreaking experience. I am impressed with the level of compassionate care provided at Saint John’s and wish to accept a leadership position in the future where I can use my experience to mentor others.

Any medical institution will need to know how serious you are about the profession and where you see yourself in five or ten years. Clearly, they will want to hear that you are interested in a lifelong career in the medical profession; people prefer to hire employees looking for many years of work. If your plans are otherwise, be honest and play up your good points.

I had a patient who's pain control was unmanageable. I notified the charge nurse and we notified the physician to get a different medication or dose that would be more therapeutic, but the physician declined the request. Still advocating for my patient we tried different non pharma interventions but his pain as still unmanageable. I didn't like that we couldn't make him pain free.

I plan on being a career nurse. There are so many different floors and units to work on, with each providing their own change of pace. I enjoy nursing and patient care too much to ever consider a career outside of the hospital.

The interviewer is trying to find out whether the job in question involves tasks you dislike. Do not be too specific. Talk about the characteristic of your present company that are different from the company you’re interviewed by. For example, if your company is large, you might say you are frustrated with slow decision-making. Or if it’s small, you could say that there is a lack of opportunities to progress in your career.

I will always try to avoid being tardy by ensuring I have adequate time prior to the start of work. Further to that, I will continue to take care of myself to the best of my ability to avoid becoming sick which would be a potential cause for missing work.

Here is a chance to speak about your training, any courses you have taken, related books and articles you have read, as well as all the experience you have accumulated, including volunteer and part time positions.

I would say through confidence and showing initiative to learn. I think if they see you are open to learning and jump on those learning opportunities they will know you are working on becoming more competent and independent in your practice.

Tell a compelling story. Give an example where you benefited a former employer through your customer service skills. Or think of a time in clinical when you went over and above on behalf of a patient, or family.

When work becomes stressful this is where I prioritize my responsibilities so that everything gets done I do my best to deal with the matter at hand that is causing the stress the faster its solved the less stress for the day.

Critical situations and tough patients motivate me. In my last job, I was confronted with a patient, who was not handled by a number of nurses, later I took charge of him and solved his problem by understanding his situation. I really love to overcome challenges.

All jobs have advantages and disadvantages. As you respond, be careful – do not say anything that puts your previous jobs in a bad light, unless it was a well-known or extreme situation. Focus on the positive, mention a few good things about previous job(s). If you feel it is important, briefly outline any disadvantages. Close with more positive comments.

I ask them if there is anything i can do to them, and i evaluate how they are, and try and make them comfortable.

In my first job, I made a mistake in the patient’s chart. Fortunately, my supervisor noticed it. Since then, I always double- check my charts.

I would recheck if I have really accomplished all my duties and obligations on my shift, then I would talk to my patient make sure she is stable and all her needs were met, and if she needs anything before I leave. Maybe helpout other co-workers if they are getting behind their schedules.

I have outstanding leadership qualities and interpersonal skills, which help me to coordinate well with my colleagues.

I do not quit easily, until the work is done in a proper manner; it’s my major weakness.

If you want to leave your present job for negative reasons, be very careful in how you express this to an interviewer. Make it sound positive. Being negative or even rude about your current/previous employer or company will not work in your favour. Mention that you are looking for a new challenge, with more responsibility or a change of environment. It is advisable not speak of remuneration in connection with your desire for a new job.

This question is very common in various healthcare departments. These professions mostly have people who work for reasons other than the financials. Therefore, you should inform the interviewer about your inherent need to serve people and help them get better and the happiness you feel when successful.

My weakness is am a type "A" personality. So I need not to keep on double checking myself. The second weakness is I have a notion that i need to help other nurses on the floor, which then puts me behind sometimes in my work. Lastly, I like to do things on my own without telling the other techs that i need help.

I feel nursing is very professional. I don't have much exposure to nursing yet, so I would not know if there are improvements that need to be made.

The major reason of complaints is their diseases, which makes them unhappy. As a nurse, I would understand their situation, listen and reassure them that the best possible services are given to them.