What questions should I ask in a nursing school interview?

Resilience, passion, empathy, compassion, patience, skill, organized, are all the important traits a nurse should have, and choosing the right candidate among many is a tricky task. Being a nurse isn’t easy. Their job requires steady hands even though the patient is in the worse condition. The interview process should cover all important areas like the candidate’s domain and education, crisis management, critical thinking and decision making, patient care, confidence check, and professionalism.

With the following list of nursing school interview questions, we are sure that you will find the kind of a nurse who has all these traits.

Q1. Why do you want to become a nurse?

Nursing is a respectable and rewarding career because they save lives. Asking this question can then deep to know their intentions. If the intentions are selfish and not motivating, you can pull the plug. A sensible person will talk about helping people, saving lives, opportunities, retirement benefits and other perks, loving the profession, etc.

Q3. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Another most common but important question from the list. Choosing a candidate cannot happen if you can’t differentiate one’s traits from the others. Few things to keep in mind. Once the strengths are revealed, you should check each of the strengths by asking some questions if someone says “my biggest strength is my passion for helping others” your next question should be “Have you volunteered somewhere for the right cause?”.

When it comes to weakness if someone says “I faint when I see blood or I don’t have any weaknesses” that means he is obviously not fit for the job. No one is perfect but we try to become one. Weaknesses that can be corrected are acceptable.

We have a list of Online Mock Tests that is helpful to improve your skills.

Q4. Have you been in a crisis situation? How did you manage it?

This question is a must-ask question because nurses have to deal with crisis and emergency situations on daily basis. They should be able to handle pressure and work fast and efficiently. Nurses should be able to handle multiple patients within a certain period of time. Asking this question helps to reveal how good a Candidate is in a stressful situation.

Q5. Tell me what qualities should a candidate must-have for this role?

The question will provide you with a brief note on the personality type and thinking process of the candidate. Whether the candidate speaks about compassion, empathy, industriousness, sincerity, etc it should display the same candidate’s character. It will help you find out the real motivation behind choosing this role as a career option.

Q6. How do you handle a stressful situation during the job? Imagine if a patient doesn’t like your service how will you manage the situation?

This is a perfect question to understand the psychology and behavioral pattern of the candidate. Getting negative feedback from the patients is not good for the hospital’s reputation therefore hospital’s have strict guidelines for their staff to prevent them. A negative or weak person can make a situation worse by getting a complaint so it’s necessary to check this thing early during the interview itself. Consider a candidate who mentions a calm attitude, is ready to learn more, tries to correct the mistake, don’t hesitate to take help from the senior to prevent the current situation.

Q7. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Hope, commitment, and an ambitious attitude is the demand of today’s competitive world. You will know whether a candidate is determined or have a career goal where the one can raise the standard of your hospital and a vision to take an important role in the core team.

Never select a candidate who only has temporary goals and does not has a solid career path.

Conclusion: Some more basic questions can also be asked like “How will you make a positive impact here” “What inspires you to join this profession” or “What one thing you don’t like in this profession” etc.

If you are trying to make a career in nursing, you can visit our page for more nursing school interview questions .