The demand for nursing jobs increases day by day. About thousands of new nurse practitioners will emerge in the future, and there will be a big competition for this job. To face this competition positively you must be ready enough. Here are some common nurse practitioner interview questions
Although you have more enough qualifications, the way you face the interview and your first impression will be a reason to get rejected. So it is important to pay the attention to the interview.
According to the studies, there will be an approximately 26% increase in the number of nursing jobs in the next few years. So you have made the correct decision.
The questions that you will get will change depending on your position, [whether you applied for an administrative position, registered nurse, or less a trainee. ] company or the hospital, and also the way you interact with the interview board.
Although you have enough qualifications, the interviewer will imagine your personality, perspectives, values, and strengths during the conversation. Giving a correct answer is not the only thing you must consider, they will examine the way you speak, the way you respond and your decision-making ability will be assessed.
With answering their questions, you must be tricky to make a positive impression about yourself on them.
Make sure to read the job description and your application twice before attending the interview, if they ask about your past employments and experiences you must be confident enough to answer those questions well.
Most probably the first question will be related to your application and resume. Have a good idea about those things, so it will be easy for you to talk about your own experiences.
Read the job description and answer them, tell them why you are more suitable for the position. Provide evidence with your past experiences and show them how your experiences will be effective for the position you apply.
Research about the institute/ hospital/ company that you are going to be enrolled in. There is no use in memorizing such things. Waste a few minutes on the hospital or the institutional website and have a look. Read about their vision and mission. Get an idea about the structure of the hospital or the institute. These things will be helpful during your interview time.
In every aspect show them how it will be beneficial if they hire you, do not let them lose a strong person like you. Let them feel that you are important.
Sometimes your first interview may conduct over the phone or a video call. Remember to deal with them formally.
Common nurse practitioner interview questions and answers
Why you turn into this field and became a nurse?
Always be honest, tell them the truth. If you have a special highlighted reason to become a nurse, share it with the interview board. Or else if you have a childhood experience or a story behind selecting your carrier as a nurse, do not think to hide these things. Share your story with them. Storytelling is a good mechanism to track people towards you.
- If you do not have such a reason or a story. Tell the actual reason why you select this.
- I have to look after my parents so, I need a good salary.
- I was unable to be a doctor. So I became a nurse.
- I like patient care. I like to care for suffering patients from my hand. It will give me satisfaction.
- I like new experiences, I like emergency decision making, therefore, I choose this.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Talk about the strengths that you have, which will be beneficial for the institute. Tell them about work skills and soft skills. As a nurse, you must develop some soft skills such as time management, decision making, communication skills, and flexibility.
Do not give short answers such as, I am a good decision-maker. Explain to them how your decision-making ability can be used effectively in the position that you are going to hold. When explaining your weaknesses, try to tell them that you have already identified your weakness and how you are going to manage those weaknesses. Do not try to show that you are a hundred percent perfect person.
Have you ever faced a clinical emergency?
These types of questions are to assess your skills. Speak about the crisis situation that you have faced. The way you manage it, Explain what are the quick decisions you made and how these decisions became successful. Speak how you work as a team with other nurses and health care workers.
Have you ever made any disagreement with a person?
Explain to them that this will not happen often. Do not tell them that you have never made an argument with anybody because we normally make arguments. Do not explain the situation as a chatterbox. Rather than supporting your argument try to explain how these disagreements affect your interpersonal relationships. Tell them the way how you overcome or made decisions in such situations.
Have you ever experienced any unwanted invitations beyond the nurse-patient relationship?
Be honest with these questions and explain how you manage such situations and your idea about the nurse patient relationship. You may have limitations and how you directly reject and the ability you have to ‘say no’ directly to such invitations.
Have you ever met a difficult client?
If this is not going to be your first appointment, for sure you may have a deal with different kinds of personalities and persons with different mental conditions. Here also you can share a story which you can remember, the way you treat such clients and how you educate their families, and how you gain their help to improve the patient’s condition.
What makes you be suitable for this job?
Here is the point. Tell them how you acquire your skills and knowledge, and how those skills make you mature enough for this job. How your past experiences make you suitable for this position.
Why do you decide to be a nurse in this hospital/institute?
This may be your first choice, or else this may not be the first choice. Talk about how you feel about the hospital or the institute. Do not tell bad information about the previous workplace although you have bad experiences. Explain what kind of a reputation that you can gain after joining such a hospital or an institute.
How do you deal with physicians and other healthcare workers?
This question will assess your ability to work with a team. Focus on your patient and explain to them the nursing is always focusing on the patient. Not on the physician or the family members. Nursing is patient-centered care. Show your knowledge about nursing standards and nursing ethics. In a hospital, you may work cooperatively with the physician and other health care workers. Mutual understanding is very important when working as a team. Speak how the combination of the health care team will enhance the patient results.
What are your future goals?
If you have a future plan, you can tell. Because sometimes they can help you in achieving these goals. They need skillful nurses, explain how your future plan affect positively on the hospital or the institute.
- I am planning to do a master degree
- I am planning my doctorate in nursing
- I am planning a new research project
- I like to be a leader, I like to hold a leadership position.
What will be your duty as a nurse after working hours outside the hospital?
As a nurse, you have a responsibility to consider community health. You will get so many questions from society. You need to answer these as a nurse. You can not reject them as this is not your workplace. Society looks at you as a health care worker, so tell the steps that you take in such a situation. Your duty in a road traffic accident, your approach to basic lifesaving methods. Tell them that you will represent as a nurse whenever the society needs within your scope of practice.
Do you have any questions?
This will be the last question. Do not just throw ‘no’ on them. You may have questions, just ask them. If you do not have any questions. Ask them to clarify something that they have already mentioned. These things will greatly help you to make a good image of them.
An interviewer can ask anything from you. Or else they will start the next question from your answer that you gave to the previous question. Being a bit tricky will help you to get through this. You can turn their questions as you wish if you are intelligent. Whatever the questions they ask if you can answer confidently you can make a good impression on the interview board. Most of the institute searches for skillful, forward employees. Try to be one of them.
also read: How to become a scrub nurse
