Nursing School Interview Questions

Nursing school is just as serious as any other academic institution. And the possible Nursing School Interview Questions they may ask can be daunting if you’re not fully prepared!

However, it takes a bit of extra thought and feeling. There is a shortage of nurses; however, many applicants never make it to nursing school. This is because it takes a special kind of person to be a nurse. This means that nurses, although not regarded as highly as doctors, are just as valuable, and just as elite.

You may be interviewed as part of your application process, to make sure that you are a good fit as a person, and not just on paper. So, let’s take an in-depth look at the…

Most Common Nursing School Interview Questions

Why Do You Want To Be A Nurse?

A generic answer will not help you here. You will have to make it personal. An account of witnessing nurses care for you or a loved one at some point is always a plus.

You may also mention that you would like to learn about medicine and mention if you have a specific interest, such as working in an operating theatre or assisting in births. The point is to make it clear that you have put some thought into this as a career choice, that it was not chosen because some aptitude test said you would be good at it, or because you simply love helping people.

Why Did You Apply To This School?

People often apply to more than one nursing school, and they do so for various reasons. It’s good to have backup schools in case your first choice rejects you. No one will hold that against you. However, they may not particularly want to hear that they are your third choice.

Before an interview, it is best to do some research. Learn as much as you can about the school’s achievements, its ethos, and its mission and vision statement. Mention the prestige and how you would like to have a stellar education from a reputable school.

If it’s close to home…

If the school happens to be in your hometown, or you have family members that are alumni, it may also be a good motivation to emphasize your loyalty, but this should not be the only reason.

How Do You Feel About This Policy?

When it comes to things such as mandatory vaccinations and other difficult personal questions, there are some realities that you will have to come to terms with.

Every job will, at some point in your life, expect you to do something that may not be in line with your beliefs or your freedoms. This is one of them. If you lie about being ok with it, you may get in. However, you may get kicked out if you do not comply later. You will have to decide on this and accept any repercussions that may follow, should you decide against it.

What Skills Are Important For A Nurse To Have?

Compassion and a good bedside manner are helpful, but there is a lot more to it than being a caregiver. You will need the endurance of a workhorse, think quickly on your feet, and have excellent listening abilities. Not only to listen to what patients are telling you, but also to the instructions of doctors.

You will be in charge of administering medications, assisting in emergencies, and doing a lot of heavy lifting – physically helping patients up or down, turning, and even bathing them. All of this while remembering all sorts of details to record in their charts, or to report, should anything go wrong.

You cant let your feelings get in the way…

It is also important to be able to compartmentalize. You will be required to be happy with a mother who birthed a healthy baby. Later, you may have to empathize with a mother who just lost her child. Then, you will have to put your feelings aside, and deal with them later, because your feelings cannot interfere with the rest of your workday.

What Scares Or Intimidates You About Being A Nurse?

It is normal to have a fear of being responsible for the death of a patient, death itself, or perhaps repercussions, such as the family of the patient being less than thrilled with you.

There are many things you could be afraid of. The important part is to acknowledge this and think of ways to conquer the fear or to deal with it.

Ability to overcome that fear…

If you are afraid of making mistakes, you will always be well prepared and not act on impulse. If death itself is what you fear, you spend some time with cadavers or in the morgue, assisting. Whatever you fear, own it, and show the interviewer that you will take the steps necessary to overcome it, rather than hiding from it.

How Will You Handle Upset Family Members?

We all love the drama on TV shows where a character puts someone in their place. But in the real world, this could get you into trouble.

It is better to always listen to their concerns and to reassure them or put them at ease somehow. However, your responsibility will always remain to the patient first. If a patient is uncomfortable with a family member being there, you can step in and remind them of visiting hours.

What Would You Do If Presented With A Language Barrier?

You will likely have to care for a tourist or an immigrant that does not speak English or any other language you may be familiar with.

At this point, you may ask anyone to help with interpretation; you can also make use of translation apps. The most important thing is to make sure that the information given is correct. A mistranslation can lead to deadly mistakes.

What if the patient is lying?

It is also possible that the person with the patient may either lie to you or the patient about vital information. You will have to trust your gut on this; if you feel you need to find someone with more authority to step in, do so.

How Do You Handle Difficult Learning Material?

Sometimes, medical sciences are incredibly difficult. You will, at one point or another, struggle to grasp something or find it difficult to memorize the work. The important part is to have some sort of action plan.

You can explain how you like to summarize and revise work after classes and make notes of difficult aspects to ask your teachers about in the next available opportunity. You would also rely on study groups, extra revision classes presented by teacher’s assistants, and extra learning resources.

Turn to older students for help…

Many students prepare for examinations by asking senior students for their old exam papers. This way, you get an idea of how the questions are formulated, and how a bunch of facts is presented as a scenario for you to figure out.

How Would You Handle Conflict With A Professor?

This is a tough one. Egos are often fragile. However, authority does not always make you right. And being right can be demonstrated respectfully.

If you were wrong, accept it as such, apologize and do better. If you feel that you have been wronged, speak to a student counselor about it. Ask for advice on how to handle the situation tactfully. If it is simply a class discussion, you may turn the other cheek and let it go. You will need thick skin in this profession, after all.

Sensitivity training might be needed!

However, if you feel that it is an ethical issue, where you are discriminated against, your rights violated, or that the professor acted unprofessionally or did anything untoward, that will reflect poorly on the school, it will be your duty to report it to their superiors.

How they then choose to deal with it will be their choice, but you have done your duty and should not fear retaliation.

Exam Preparation For Nursing School!

Trying to study and battling to prepare for those dreaded exams? Not to worry, Kaplan has brought out an excellent series: The Basics: A Comprehensive Outline of Nursing School Content, the Nursing School Entrance Exam Preps 2021-2022: Your All-in-One Guide to the Kaplan and HESI Exams, and the ATI TEAS Prep Plus: 2 Practice Tests + Proven Strategies + Online.

This also includes the Kaplan Nursing School Entrance Exam Study Guide 2021-2022: KNAT Exam Prep Book with Practice Test Questions and, alternatively, the Barrons Nursing School Entrance Exams: HESI A2 / NLN PAX-RN / PSB-RN / RNEE / TEAS to help guide you through the process all available online in 2023.

Lastly, once you’re accepted, check out the Nursing School Thrive Guide, the NURSING MNEMONICS: 100 + Memory Tricks to Crush the Nursing School & Trigger Your Nursing Memory, as well as the controversial sounding Nursing School Cheat Sheets: 50 Tips for Making the Grade but proven to be extremely helpful!

Final Thoughts

Preparation is key here. You are not qualified yet, so no one expects you to have all the answers.

To become a nurse, however, your eagerness to learn should be shown through your actions. Such as showing that you are prepared and that you possess emotional maturity. Have a sense of right and wrong, loyalty to patients and coworkers, and self-awareness of your shortcomings with the will to improve on them.

Good luck with your exams, and enjoy attending Nursing School!