The Best Interview Questions For Traveling Nurses: Ask These 20 Questions To Find The Best Healthcare Providers

As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, and the nurse shortage worsens, the demand for experienced traveling nurses is on the rise. These professionals can help fill staffing gaps, provide specialized care, and offer a fresh perspective on patient care.

In order to find the best fit during the time-consuming recruitment process, it’s crucial to ask the right nursing interview questions. To be successful in their position, traveling nurses must be adaptable, flexible, and successfully negotiate high-stress, quick-paced environments. They must also be passionate about nursing and dedicated to offering the best possible patient care.

In addition to asking the right interview questions, you need to find a way to simplify the interviewing process. Because traveling nurses are often traveling or working outside the normal 9-5, they aren’t always available during typical business hours. One way to upgrade your recruitment process is by using an interviewing platform to help you alleviate friction. Let traveling nurses schedule interviews directly on the hiring manager’s calendar and respond to screening questions with a one way video interview.

To help you find the best traveling nurses, whether you’re screening in person or with a video interviewing platform, we’ve compiled a list of 20 interview questions that will allow you to assess candidates’ soft skills, hard skills, determination, and adaptability. These questions will help you assess each candidate’s strengths, weaknesses, and suitability for the role.

The Best Soft Skill Interview Questions To Ask Traveling Nurses 

Traveling nurses interact with patients and colleagues daily. Having the right soft skills to manage communication, patient concerns, and potentially stressful situations make a great nurse. By asking these questions, you can ensure that you find a traveling nurse who not only has the required medical expertise but also possesses the interpersonal skills necessary to provide the best care possible for your patients.

• Tell me about a time when you had to remain patient while caring for a difficult patient. How did you handle the situation?
• Can you describe a time when you had to communicate complex medical information to a patient or their family? How did you ensure they understood the information?
• Can you tell me about a time when you had to make a quick decision in a high-pressure situation? How did you stay calm and focused?
• How do you prioritize your tasks and manage your time effectively in a fast-paced healthcare environment?
• Tell me about a time when you had to think outside the box to provide excellent patient care in a challenging situation.
• How do you handle stress and ensure that you maintain a healthy work-life balance as a traveling nurse?

Interview Questions To Ask A Traveling Nurse For Hard Skills

These interview questions are designed to help you assess the candidate’s nursing knowledge and skills. Asking these questions will help you find a traveling nurse who has the right expertise to provide exceptional care for your patients. 

• Can you describe your experience working in different healthcare settings?
• How do you stay updated on the latest nursing practices and technologies?
• Can you tell me about a time when you had to handle a complex medical case?
• What nursing certifications do you hold, and how do they help you in your work?

Traveling Nurse Interview Questions To Discover Their Passion And Drive

Working as a traveling nurse can be demanding, and candidates must have the determination and drive to succeed. By asking these questions, you can get a better understanding of the candidate’s reasons for pursuing a career in nursing, what they enjoy about the profession, and what drives them to continue in this field. Understanding their passion and commitment to nursing will help you find a traveling nurse who is not only highly skilled but also truly cares about providing the best care possible.

• What inspired you to become a nurse, and how has that inspiration influenced your career?
• How do you handle setbacks and obstacles in your career?
• Can you describe a time when you went above and beyond to help a patient or colleague?
• What is the most rewarding experience you’ve had as a nurse, and why?
• What do you think is the biggest challenge facing nursing professionals today, and how can we address it?

Interview Questions To Ask Traveling Nurses About Their Adaptability

Traveling nurses must adapt to new environments, colleagues, and patients constantly. Find out how adaptable your candidates are by asking these questions about how they adapt to different work environments while keeping their standard of care at the highest level.

• Tell me about a time when you had to work with a new team or in a new healthcare facility?
• How do you approach working with patients from diverse backgrounds and cultures?
• Can you tell me about a time when you had to adjust your nursing practice to accommodate a patient’s needs?
• How do you ensure continuity of care when working in different healthcare settings?
• Can you describe a time when you had to navigate a difficult cultural or language barrier with a patient?

Ask The Best Traveling Nurse Interview Questions With An Interviewing Platform That Will Save You Recruiting Time

By asking these interview questions for traveling nurses, you can ensure that you find the best traveling nurses for your team. Combining these questions with a top-rated interviewing platform that saves you time and empowers your candidates to drive their hiring process can help you get ahead of the curve.

Traveling nurses can respond to interview invitations sent through an interview scheduler by booking directly on the hiring manager’s calendar – avoiding back-and-forth emailing that could take days to pin a date down. And, if you want to get a head start on screening interviews, you can send an on demand video interview invitation. Let candidates record their interview responses whenever suits them and review them when you begin your work day.

Try out interviewstream now and start asking the right questions, first.

About The Author

Caroline Chessia is the Marketing Operations Specialist at interviewstream. She loves color-coordinated graphs, hiking in the mountains, and every dog she meets—especially the Golden Retrievers.