Nursing Mock Interview

Practice 50 Nursing interview questions covering clinical scenarios, patient care priorities, and ethical decision-making.

Question 6 of 50

Describe your typical relationship with physicians you work with.

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Community Answers

Elisabeth Walter

Elisabeth Walter is an experienced Recruiting Consultant and Enrollment Advisor.

As a nurse, you have a working relationship with several physicians. This question will enable you to showcase your relationship with the physicians that you have worked with and what your communication style is. As a nurse, building trust with physicians is important as well so some examples of how you've built that trust can be beneficial.

Elisabeth Walter

Elisabeth Walter is an experienced Recruiting Consultant and Enrollment Advisor.

"During my career, I've taken great pride in being able to communicate and relate to the physicians that I have worked with. Together, we ultimately work as a team to provide the best care that we can for each patient and our working relationship is key in accomplishing this goal."

Ryan Brunner

Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.

"During my clinical rotations, I had the chance to work with and relate to many different physicians. By getting to work with and learn from so many different physicians, I obtained a much greater understanding for what they are looking for in a great nurse and how I can better work with them to treat our patients. At first, I was intimidated by the fact I'd be working directly with a doctor, but after communicating and working with them, I look forward to building more of these relationships with my first employer as a nurse."

Ryan Brunner

Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.

"In my time as a dialysis nurse, I have worked with many Nephrologists in direct patient care. As the first contact with the patient, it was my duty to communicate any changes in patient conditions to the Nephrologist and I never hesitated to so. Over my career, I took great pride to get to know how each physician prefers my communication and working style to be with them and I was able to tailor my approach for specific physicians that had particular preferences."

Kelly Burlison

Kelly Burlison is an experienced healthcare and quality measurement professional with experience interviewing in the healthcare field focusing on IT.

"I pride myself in the fact that I am able to develop and maintain very professional relationships with the physicians I work with. As I nurse, I am part of the care team, but I look to the physicians I work with for orders and for guidance. While there are times that I must bring various things to their attention and ask questions in a professional manner, I do not blatantly challenge the decisions physicians have made like I have seen some of my nursing colleagues do in the past. Also, when it comes to dealing with difficult physician personalities, I never take any difficult encounters personally. I recognize that physicians are typically under a significant amount of pressure and stress and if their emotions run high because of this, I do not need to add stress to their lives by complicating the situation."

Tabitha Cumpian

Tabitha Cumpian is an RN Lead with experience in multiple clinic specialties and has functioned as a program manager.

"Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work with many physicians with varying personalities. I have always communicated in a clear, friendly, and professional manner. I believe we are both part of the same healthcare team and ultimately we are here to help the patients return to a state of health. I always want to ensure I am doing my part to make that happen and for me, it begins with having clear communication with the physician."

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Anonymous Answer

As a nursing student, I have had the opportunity to work with many physicians in my clinical settings. The physicians I've communicated with have always been helpful, encouraging, and understanding.

Rachelle's Feedback

It sounds as though you've had many harmonious workplace relationships. Way to go!

Anonymous Answer

My typical relationship with physicians has always been professional and cordial with the patient's care being a priority. It is important to maintain a good relationship with physicians as we are both integral to good patient care.

Rachelle's Feedback

This answer is a good start! Are there any specific actions you take to achieve this type of relationship? For instance, can you further unpack the ways you act professionally/cordially? If you have an example of a time when you built and maintained a great relationship in the workplace, this is a good opportunity to provide a specific story-based example.

Anonymous Answer

I have always had a good communicative, professional yet friendly relationship with the physicians I work with. During my rotation term and as a staff nurse I received positive feedback of being reliable and hardworking. I was easily approachable for requests of tasks to be done and never hesitated to escalate to them when need be which they always appreciated and acted on.

Describe your typical relationship with physicians you work with.

50Nursing Interview Questions & Answers

1.What motivates you to provide top-of-the-line nursing care?

2.How do you stay current on the latest health research?

3.Tell me about a time when you committed a medical error in your nursing career. How did you handle it?

4.How have you responded when your supervisor asked you to work an additional shift to fill vacancies?

5.How do you prioritize when multiple patients and procedures demand your attention at once?

6.Describe your typical relationship with physicians you work with.

7.Tell me about your education.

8.Tell me about a time in which you had to handle an irate physician, co-worker, or patient. How did you handle it and what were the results?

9.Are you specialized in a particular area of nursing, i.e. neo-natal, pediatric, geriatric, or women's health?

10.Describe a recent issue you had with a doctor or co-worker's decision. How did you handle it?

11.How do you make seamless transitions on shift changes?

12.Tell me about a time when you had to assist with an administrative project or task. What did the project/task entail and which software programs did you while completing the tasks?

13.How do you approach providing patient discharge instructions or patient education?

14.What precautions do you take with a patient in poor health?

15.Tell me about the greatest challenge you have faced in your nursing career? How did you overcome it?

16.Tell me about a time when you cared for a patient whose values or beliefs were different from your own. How did you handle the situation?

17.Tell me about your experience and abilities in collecting lab samples, such as blood, tissue, and and other specimens. Elaborate on the entire end-to-end process of collection.

18.What was your least favorite patient? What was the situation.

19.Tell me about your IV skills. Are you able to start an IV?

20.Why are you leaving your current position?

21.How many patients is a full workload for you?

22.Tell me about a time you had to communicate bad news to a patient. How did you effectively communicate that news and what was the outcome?

23.Tell me about the most stressful situation you've had to deal with in the workplace.

24.What is your work availability? Are you able to work nights? Weekends?

25.Talk about a time you had to communicate a complicated medical issue to a patient or their family. How did you go about relaying the message?

26.Tell me about an experience when you had to use ACLS, BLS, or PALS protocols in your nursing practice.

27.Talk about a time that you had to deal with a significant change in your work procedures or in your workplace. How did you handle that change?

28.We are interviewing several candidates for this position. Why should we hire you?

29.Do you have any questions about the specific requirements or responsibilities of the job?

30.Tell me about a time that you had to deal with an unexpected emergency on the job. How did you handle that situation?

31.Are you able to handle the physical requirement of the job?

32.Tell me about a time when you have recognized that a patient is in a difficult or dangerous situation. How did you respond and what was the outcome?

33.Tell me about your experience supervising or mentoring other nurses.

34.How do you approach the documentation of patient records? Do you have specific strategies that you use?

35.Have you ever been disciplined or asked to resign from a nursing position?

36.Can you tell us about what attracted you to a nursing position with our facility?

37.What did you like the best about your last position as a nurse?

38.Can you describe a career nursing role model and why?

39.What professional organizations do you belong to and which ones would you like to join in the future?

40.Do you carry professional liability insurance? Why or why not?

41.Which nursing publications do you subscribe to and which one is your favorite?

42.How much supervision do you want or need in your role as a new nurse in a new position?

43.What are your professional nursing goals?

44.What are your goals in reference to furthering your education?

45.Do you have plans to pursue certification in your chosen field?

46.Do you have nursing management or leadership goals?

47.How much orientation time do you feel is reasonable?

48.How will you promote a culture of teamwork and collaboration?

49.Tell me a bit about yourself.

50.What are your greatest weaknesses?