"My approach in this situation will always be direct and display the utmost respect and care for the patient. The best way to do this is by putting yourself in the patient's shoes and realizing that you want to know anything bad that is going on with your health. I will strive to ensure the patient understands what I am telling them and then make myself open to their questions and concerns. I would always act as an advocate for them in tough times."

"As you can see from my resume, my career as a registered nurse has put me in the family practice, critical care, and oncology settings. During the last five years working in a large cancer center, I've learned about patient gratitude, hope, and empathy. More often than not, the patients I care for already know their diagnosis. But there are times when our conversations reveal a lot more information to them than what they got from a primary care provider. My approach in this situation is to be as honest and educational as possible. If a patient has a spouse, parent, child, or other loved one with them, I involve them in every bit of the conversation."

To best answer a question like this, think about the mission and core values of Mount Sinai Hospital and ensure that you portray your ability to live them in tough times like this. The organization strives to have a deep understanding of their patients through a respectful and caring approach. Display how you will live their value of empathy when discussing bad news with a patient. If you can, think of a time when you had to do this and talk about an instance with a positive outcome. To sell your ability to handle delivering bad news to patients, talk about your ability to understand the patient's perspective and be open and available for questions from the patient.