23 Nurse Interview Questions for 2023

Nursing professionals are in short supply and when you have a small hiring pool, you need great RN interview questions. You want to ask questions that hit at your candidates’ motivations, views on nursing, and job performance. 

Better nurses means happier patients. So, check out our list of the 23 best questions to ask in an interview for the healthcare industry in 2023. 

Questions about nurse-patient relationships and patient care

• Tell me about a situation when a patient’s family was unhappy with your care. How did you deal with that situation?
• Describe an occasion when you successfully educated a patient or their family. How do you educate those who are completely unfamiliar with medical terms?
• Describe a time when a patient or a member of their family was really grateful for and appreciative of your treatment.
• Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a hostile patient. What happened as a result of how you handled the situation?
• Talk about a situation when a patient did not disclose critical information. How did you handle this and what were the consequences?

Questions for nurses about their motivation

• What is your most significant professional achievement, and why?
• Have you ever experienced job dissatisfaction as a nurse? What could have been changed to improve it?
• What about being a nurse do you find most challenging? And – what is your favorite part of your job?

Questions about teamwork

• Tell me about a time when you took on a leadership role.
• Describe a time when you had to collaborate with a challenging coworker. How did you deal with the situation? 
• Discuss a dispute you had with your healthcare team. What was the source of the disagreement, and how did you resolve it?

Interview questions for nurses on adaptability

• Describe a situation when you felt a lot of pressure. What was happening, and how did you handle it?
• Tell me about a time when you couldn’t figure something out at work. How did you go about finding the answer?
• Describe a time when you failed. How did you handle this scenario?

Questions for nurses about time management and work-related stressors 

• Think of a time when you worked in a fast-paced environment. How do you set priorities while still providing the best possible patient care?
• Describe a time when you had a patient who was seriously ill and took up a lot of your time. How did you manage this patient’s care while making sure the needs of your other patients were met?
• Describe a time when your workload or patient list made you feel overwhelmed. How did you deal with the burnout?

Interview questions for nurses on bedside manner

• Describe a time when you were successful in getting a patient to agree to something. How did you convince the patient?
• Describe a situation when you failed to communicate effectively. How did you resolve the issue?
• What is most important to remember about communicating with patients? 

Questions for nurses about their motivation

•  What is your most significant professional achievement, and why?
• Have you ever experienced job dissatisfaction as a nurse? What could have been changed to improve it?
• What about being a nurse do you find most challenging? And – what is your favorite part of your job?

Better questions + better interviewing tech = more informed nurse hires

Asking the right question is important, but equally important is the digital interviewing technology you’re using with your candidates. Interview scheduling tools and video interviews enable you to get in front of your best applicants faster than your competitors. Hire nurses faster and make smarter hiring decisions with interviewstream.

We provide video interviewing and scheduling technology to hospitals and healthcare organizations across the USA. See how we can help you hire more nurses for your patients here or read more about the advantages of adding a scheduling tool to your hiring process.

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.