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100 Nursing Interview Questions
Your interview allows you to make a personal and lasting impression. Knowing what the interviewers may ask you can make you feel prepared and relieve some of the stress you will feel on interview day.
Commitment
In these questions, the interviewers want to understand if you have the motivation and principles to be a nurse. Try to think of answers that are both truthful and passionate, which show you are motivated to be a nurse in a way that truly resonates with you.
- Talk us through your personal statement.
- Why do you feel nursing is for you?
- Why does the role of a nurse interest you, rather than becoming a doctor?
- When did you first think about becoming a nurse?
- Is there an influence or experience that made you want to pursue a career in nursing?
- How has your previous work experience influenced your passion for nursing?
- What area of nursing interests you most?
- Why have you chosen this type of nursing?
- What do you feel is the most positive aspect of becoming a nurse?
- What do you think will be the most challenging parts of being a nurse?
- What personal attributes does a good nurse need?
- What are the 6Cs of nursing?
- What is the role of the Nursing and Midwifery Council?
- Why do you see yourself in an adult nurse role instead of a paediatric or psychiatric nurse role?
- In what environments can Nursing take place?
- What might a ‘standard’ day look like for a nurse?
- Tell us your thoughts about some current healthcare issues in the news.
- What do you know about the term confidentiality?
- What do you know about the term consent?
- How do you think the role of a nurse has changed in the last 50 years?
- How do you think nursing will change in the next 20 years?
- What is the Royal College of Nursing?
- What new technology are you aware of in healthcare?
- What challenges does the NHS currently face?
- How has Covid-19 affected nursing and healthcare?
- What are the most important challenges to global health currently?
- What do you know about the history of nursing?
- What do you know about the progression through the career of nursing?
Academic Competence
Your chosen university will want to know you have the motivation and competence to progress and thrive in an academic environment. Interviewers will also want to know if you have the drive to push yourself academically and the foresight to manage a degree that requires both academic and practical placements.
- Why are you interested in studying at this university?
- How can you contribute to the university?
- Does our course/curriculum fit your learning style?
- What attracts you to this area?
- What do you think is unique about this course?
- What attracts you about the range of placements and hospitals?
- What differentiated our course from others that you were looking at?
- How does your choice of A Level subjects suit our course?
- How will you deal with the amount of independent studying on the course?
- How will you deal with placements away from university?
- How will you handle the mixture of academic workload and practical placements?
Previous experiences of care
These questions may relate to your personal experiences related to caregiving. Interviewers may also wish to expand on work experience or voluntary roles listed on your application.
- What nursing-specific work experience have you done?
- How did you organise your work experience?
- What surprised you most during your nursing work experience?
- Was your work experience a good reflection of the practice of Nursing in general?
- What caring roles have you undertaken?
- What relevant skills have you developed in your other job roles?
- How do you feel your work experience has prepared you for the job role of a nurse?
- Describe a positive instance of nursing care you have experienced.
- Tell us about one challenging situation that you encountered during your work experience.
- Have you taken on any volunteering or charity roles?
- How did you try to undertake a range of different work experiences?
Communication
You will be working as part of an interdisciplinary as a nurse. You will need to communicate effectively, safely and with confidentiality in mind.
- Tell us about a team that you have been part of.
- Do you work better in a team or independently?
- Why is teamwork so important to Nursing?
- Why is communication so important to Nursing?
- What kind of team do nurses work in?
- Can you lead a team effectively?
- Tell us about a time when your communication skills were essential to your or your team’s success.
- Tell us about a team or group activity that you organised.
- Tell us about a time your communication skills failed and what you learnt from the experience.
- Tell us an example of effective team communication you have been part of and what you learnt.
- What barriers to communication may a patient have?
- How may you discuss and communicate a challenging topic with a patient?
- How are communication and confidentiality related?
Compassion
Nursing is challenging, tiring and, at times, frustrating. There is always a person at the end of your care; your actions and attitude will impact them and how they view you and the setting you work in. It is important to maintain a compassionate and empathetic approach throughout.
- What does the word compassion mean to you?
- What is the difference between empathy and sympathy?
- Should you feel for your patients?
- Tell us about a time that you showed compassion.
- Have you held a mentoring role at school?
- Imagine that one of your friends at university is going to drop out as they are struggling with the workload. What might you say to them, and what questions might you ask them to see if you can help?
- Why is empathy/compassion so important for nurses?
- Imagine that one of your patients has become agitated and distressed. They believe that their medication is causing their state to worsen. How might you speak to them?
Courage
Nurses often face ethical dilemmas and difficult situations both on personal and organisational levels. Understand that the interviewer is not looking for you to answer these issues perfectly. They will be impressed by someone who can be diplomatic and resolve conflicts and dilemmas with courage and compassion.
- Should nurses be able to go on strike?
- Should parents be able to smoke in front of their children?
- How should nurses Make Every Contact Count?
- Should we prioritise length of life or quality of life?
- Should the NHS offer treatment for self-inflicted problems?
- Should those with alcohol-related injuries be treated in A&E?
- Should we legalise recreational drugs?
- Should euthanasia be legal?
- What would you do if you discovered that your supervisor was drunk at work?
- Should one’s religious beliefs affect the care that one provides as a nurse?
- What would you do if a patient was highly verbally aggressive?
- What would you do if a patient asked only to be treated by men?
- What would you do if a doctor was repeatedly rude and condescending to you?
- What would you do if you witnessed two nurses arguing in front of a patient?
- Should the NHS be privatised or otherwise altered?
- What would you do if you caught a friend looking at confidential patient notes?
- Should healthcare workers be better paid?
Finally, A Bit About You
The interviewer wants to ensure you have the personality and attitude to succeed in a nursing role. Student nurses must also be resilient to complete their qualifications and continue their careers. Interviewers may ask:
- What role does resilience play in nursing?
- Tell us about a challenge or struggle that you have faced.
- How will you deal with the pressures of studying here?
- How will you deal with the pressure of working as a nurse?
- What are your coping strategies in times of stress?
- Do you see nursing as challenging?
- How would you deal with the death of a patient?
- What are your biggest strengths?
- What are your greatest weaknesses?
- How would your friends describe you?
- How would your colleagues describe you?
- How would you want to be remembered?
- What would you like your impact to be on the field of Nursing?
- Are you good at managing your time?
- What ambitions do you have?
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