Have you ever had to adapt quickly to changes in the workplace as a registered nurse? If so, how did you handle the changes?

"Change is something that every person needs to be ready to adapt to in every aspect of life, and this is especially important for those who work in healthcare. Mount Sinai Hospital has always been at the forefront of new technology, innovation, and research, and I'm excited about the potential to be a part of that. I've proven my ability to thrive in a changing atmosphere by being young in my college career during the pandemic in 2020. At that time, classes were shifted to virtual, and students had to learn new programs to attend classes and complete coursework. During this time, it was unfortunate to see so many students drop out in hopes of resuming at a later date. My mindset during this time was to remain positive, take the time to learn, and thrive in any situation. These are qualities I look forward to bringing to work here."

As a leader in the healthcare field, Mount Sinai Hospital is continuously bringing aboard new technologies and ways of providing care to patients. The registered nurses there must be quick to adapt to and adopt changes in the workplace. Your interviewer hopes to hear that you can do so with competency, grace, and professionalism.

Before your interview with Mount Sinai Hospital, think about a time you had to rapidly adapt to change in the workplace and come ready to discuss how you welcomed and thrived in a new way of doing things. If you are a new graduate or young in your career, you can certainly discuss the changing times you've experienced during your schooling or earlier in life. Keep in mind that agility, or the ability to be flexible and quick to adapt to changes, is a core value of Mount Sinai Hospital, so be sure to express your ability to be agile in all that you do.

"It's funny because they say people in medicine are 'lifelong learners.' But on top of that, registered nurses are in this digital revolution, and everyone has to learn new software and technology all the time. I'm finally getting old enough to realize that it's difficult to be constantly adapting. My 75-year-old aunt telling me how to use my iPhone helped me appreciate that it's all about humility. Not WHO is teaching you, but if you are willing to learn. In the medical context, I just took an updated CPR course. The procedure changed from the 15:2 compressions to continuous compressions, and I had to adapt my way of thinking."

Tell us about a time you were proud of a team you worked on. What role did you play in that effort?

"Coming to work at The Mount Sinai Hospital as an RN has me so excited to work with a diverse care team in your critical care unit as a new graduate. The team effort I'm most proud of up to this point in my life was winning a conference championship as a college volleyball player two years ago. Looking back, the dedication, focus, and camaraderie needed to achieve our goals that season took the greatest of efforts from everyone on that team. As a team captain that year, I coordinated offseason workouts and teambuilding activities off the court. I surely learned a lot about being a positive role model and leader that year, and I look forward to bringing these traits to my career as a nurse."

As one of their primary core values, Mount Sinai Hospital believes that they are better together by including input from all team members to achieve great outcomes versus the individual efforts of any one person. They expect a full team effort and collaboration from their RNs, so your interviewer gives you the opportunity to talk about a time you worked hard as part of a great team effort.

Before your interview with Mount Sinai Hospital, think of a time you felt a sense of pride and accomplishment in a team effort as a Registered Nurse. Try to paint a clear picture for your interviewer of the situation and the outcome. Discussing a patient care scenario is the best in this situation, but ensure that the team effort you discuss highlights your actions. If you are a new graduate looking to enter the nursing field, you can discuss your experiences from your clinical rotations or previous jobs you've held.

"Having worked in the emergency care setting for over 15 years, there are so many collaborative team efforts that I can think of that led to the successful treatment of a patient. The one that sticks out from a few years ago was the night of a bad bus accident where over 20 badly injured patients came to our emergency room. As the lead nurse that evening, I immediately took charge and ensured patients were triaged appropriately. It was crucial to get in contact with as many extra staff as I could to come in to help. I worked fast and furiously that evening. A key to success was open communication and not letting stress get attitudes down."

Think about a difficult colleague, manager, or physician you've worked with in the past. What made them difficult, and how did you successfully interact with this person?

"During my clinical rotations, I was at a small medical facility where the primary physician was demanding. When he would walk into the facility, employees would quietly announce that he was in the building so that everyone could be prepared for his arrival. Watching my preceptor interact with him was eye-opening and something I will bring to Mount Sinai Hospital. She was very forthright and upfront with him, keeping conversations focused on patients. If he balked at anything she said or recommended, she held firm while hearing him out."

The RNs at the Mount Sinai Hospital work closely with many different people, including patients, colleagues, physicians, and other support staff. Your interviewer knows that you will likely be working with some difficult people or some personalities that you clash with, so it will be imperative that they know you can handle those interactions respectfully and professionally as an RN on their team.

Before your interview with Mount Sinai Hospital, think about that one person you've collaborated with who was hard to please. Talk openly about what made this person challenging and their relationship with you. Avoid speaking poorly of anyone, and focus on ending your response on a positive note. In your answer, you want to show the interviewer that you work well with most personalities even though you recognize there will be some staff at Mount Sinai that are pretty difficult to please.

"In my current RN role, I have a colleague who sometimes doesn't pull their weight. While it was frustrating at first, some simple conversations made it clear that she was bringing some issues from home into work, and it was hindering her performance at work. I was the one person on our team who took the time to truly listen. Things continue to get better, but she still has her days. We have a great relationship now, and she knows she can approach me at any time to talk."

Have you ever been confronted by an irate patient or family member of a patient? If so, how did you handle that situation, and what was the result?

"In these situations, I know it will be important to put myself in the patient's shoes and realize that they may be experiencing pain, fear of the unknown, or any combination of emotions causing frustration and anger. While I haven't been in a direct patient situation like this as a graduating RN, I'm confident I would come to Mount Sinai Hospital with great skills to calm any potentially bad patient situation. I firmly believe that simply listening and empathizing with the patient calms down most situations, as long as I can take action to make things better for them. Of course, if a situation ever got out of hand, I would follow all procedures to ensure that security was called safely and efficiently."

As one of the premier healthcare institutions in one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world, your interviewer knows that you will be working closely with a wide variety of patients as a registered nurse with the Mount Sinai Hospital. Along with that territory comes handling patients who are mad and downright angry. To seriously consider you to join their team, your interviewer needs to be assured that you would come well-armed with the tools and tactics for diffusing any angry patient you would encounter on their unit.

First, acknowledge your awareness that this is a part of the job as a registered nurse and that you don't let situations like this phase you in any way. Before your interview with Mount Sinai Hospital, think of a situation from your past that shows your ability to diffuse a high-conflict situation. When dealing with someone angry, it is essential to demonstrate your listening skills, problem-solving skills, and ability to remain calm and collected and not escalate the situation.

"Early in my career as a nurse in a busy pain clinic, we had a very angry patient demanding more narcotics for her pain. He had walked into the clinic without an appointment to demand another prescription. As the only nurse in a small clinic that day, I sat the patients down to talk to them. I used a calm voice and listened to what they were asking for. After listening, I explained that I would need to check their records for their last prescription and speak with the attending physician in the clinic that day. After seeing that their last prescription was written many months ago and the patient had missed their last appointment, I talked to the physician to get another prescription written. Once prescribed, I explained to the patient how it was important for them to keep their regularly scheduled appointments, and he walked away happy."

At the Mount Sinai Hospital, we seek registered nurses with ambitions of growing their career. Where do you see your career in three to five years?

"As a new RN embarking on my career, I'm very excited about this opportunity to join a reputable organization like the Mount Sinai Hospital and have many career advancement opportunities in the future. My dream is to one day work in a NICU and care for newborns who need the most help and care possible. By starting my career in a maternity ward here, I will look to build my skills and become an essential member of your team quickly to help me achieve this goal here."

As a major academic medical center, Mount Sinai Hospital puts a lot of time, effort, and resources into the professional development of its staff at all levels of the institution. To get an idea of your career goals, your interviewer is giving you the time to talk about where you see yourself with their hospital in the coming years if you are offered the job there.

First and foremost, this is your opportunity to carefully describe where you want your career as a registered nurse to take you in the years to come. This can include specific medical specialties you want to gain experience in and any leadership opportunities you aspire to achieve. Before your interview with Mount Sinai Hospital, be sure to do some reading and research on all of the different career opportunities the organization could provide for you and come to your interview excited about the potential to grow and thrive there.

"One of the attractive points about working for Mount Sinai Hospital is that you care about the growth of your employees. I'm motivated to learn and am looking for a long-term fit. In three to five years, I'd like to be grounded in the clinic, learn about this site and your patient base, and earn certifications that would help the unit advance. As you can see from my resume, I've started my experiences in nursing leadership and one day hope to be in nursing leadership and administration to close out my career."

How do you ensure your patients receive education and information in terms that they understand?

"I feel fortunate to have worked under some great preceptors during my clinical rotations regarding informing patients about their treatment plans. In the primary care setting, it comes down to getting to know my patients and their mindset and then educating them in a manner where I talk at their level. I love to let my patients repeat the information to ensure they understand. I will inevitably encounter a patient who won't take their treatment plan seriously. In this situation, I learned that giving them challenges and following up down the road is important and would be a tactic I would bring to work here at Mount Sinai Hospital."

Registered nurses play a crucial role in patient education, from providing information on medical conditions to giving discharge instructions to hospitalized patients. At Mount Sinai Hospital, you will be expected to do the same, and your interviewer wants to hear the methods that you are familiar with to ensure that your patients are informed.

Ideally, the team at Mount Sinai Hospital wants to hear that you can gauge each unique patient and their understanding of information so that you can take a personalized approach to educate every patient you would be working with there. If you have an example of a time you successfully educated a patient in the simplest terms, discuss that in your answer. Another great thing to do before your interview is thoroughly read the job description to understand what types of patients you will be educating.

"My mindset as an RN has been to always keep my patients' needs at the top of my mind at all times, and ensuring they understand their care and how to take care of themselves is vital in my work. My first step is to listen to my patients, taking their concerns and health goals to heart. From there, I use my expertise to get them the right information clearly and concisely and ensure they understand what I am teaching them. As a nurse in the telemetry unit at Mount Sinai, teaching patients how to ensure their monitoring devices will be essential in my work, and I look forward to working with your patients every day in their care."

When necessary, how will you effectively communicate bad news to patients?

"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."

In almost any clinical setting, registered nurses are often tasked with having difficult conversations with their patients, and the RNs at Mount Sinai Hospital are not immune to this fact. To seriously consider you for hire, they need to hear that you are willing and ready to handle difficult situations with your patients and that you'll always do so with a forthright and empathetic approach.

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.

"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."

Safety is our number one care value. If you witnessed a nurse colleague not taking proper safety precautions on the job, how would you react?

"As a new graduate from a great nursing program, I've spent the last four years intensely learning the importance of patient safety in all work that I will perform during my career and will always be at the top of my mind as a registered nurse at the Mount Sinai Hospital. If I saw a colleague not being safe in the care of a patient, I would first step in and say something to my colleague to ensure that it was addressed immediately in the best interest of the patient. From there, my next actions would be determined by what exactly the safety measure was. If it was something simple like forgetting to scrub in, that would not need to be reported. But if it were something more serious, I would follow the safety protocols for reporting at this hospital."

Protecting patients and colleagues from harm is Mount Sinai Hospital's top core value. Knowing that their registered nurses are on the frontline of providing a safe environment for patients, your interviewer needs affirmation that you would always take the initiative to do what is right in the name of safety for the patients under the care of your unit.

As an RN, maintaining a safe environment for patients takes many different forms. This ranges from the simple act of washing your hands before and after caring for a patient to intentionally mistreating a patient. To directly answer the question, you need to make it clear that you will address the safety issue immediately with your colleague and that you would do this in the name of safety for the current patient and all future patients your colleague would care for. Then, depending on the severity of the safety breach, talk about how you would report the incident as designated by the procedures of the Mount Sinai Hospital. Don't hesitate to give an example of a time you caught a safety issue and took the necessary steps to make it right.

"In our line of work, the safety of everyone in a medical facility comes down to simple and easy actions consistently. When I see my coworkers not taking precautions seriously, I talk with them immediately and in a positive frame, reminding them of the importance of safe work habits. If I notice a coworker skip handwashing, for example, I would talk to them privately and explain the importance of hand hygiene in keeping all patients and staff safe. If it came to continued blatant disregard, I would take the issue to my supervisor as quickly as possible."

If you join this team at the Mount Sinai Hospital, how much supervision will you need in your initial months on the job?

"This is a great question. I'm a graduating registered nurse with a lot of confidence in my clinical skills. My classwork and clinical rotations have taught me so much. I had many hours of training in the med/surg setting, so I think my learning curve will be quicker than most new grads coming to Mount Sinai Hospital in your department. For me, I think it will be important to have a good amount of shadowing hours with other nurses on the unit so I can get a great overall feel for the workflow, processes, and communication preferences of the entire team and would expect to be up and running on my own after two short months."

While this may seem like a tricky question upon first hearing it, it is not. Your interviewer will get a good sense of the skills and abilities you will bring to their team at Mount Sinai Hospital based on your interviewer and your work experience. But they pose this question to see how comfortable you feel coming into the role and to hear your thoughts on when you'll be comfortable being up and running on your following orientation.

Ideally, you want to show your interviewer that you would join Mount Sinai Hospital as a coachable registered nurse without being too dependent or needy. You also want to project that you are confident and competent without being arrogant or troublesome for the new colleagues you will be working with. Your interviewer wants the best of both worlds in looking for a new registered nurse to join their team, so be prepared to describe your competency, initiative, and willingness to both ask for and receive supervision and direction.

"I think it depends on the length of orientation I would receive upon starting here at Mount Sinai Hospital. I am confident that I bring a level of competency to the position with my experience, but every unit is different. I can be a self-starter with minimal supervision with regular cardiac catheter patients, but I would like access to supervision with more complicated patients. And I always appreciate supervision and feedback from nursing leadership to learn and improve."

What do you do to stay informed in the field of nursing?

"While pursuing my Bachelor's degree, I joined and actively participated in the ANA and the NSNA. Over the last year, I've been the secretary of my campus' chapter of the NSNA and helped plan the group trip to the national convention for those who wanted to participate. I plan to continue to be active in both societies in my career. If I'm fortunate enough to join the Mount Sinai Hospital as a Registered Nurse in critical care, joining the AACN would be a top priority. I've heard that the resources and networking available through that association are amazing!"

As one of the top medical centers on the East Coast, Mount Sinai Hospital prioritizes education and continued learning for all staff. This is true for the diverse team of nurses, particularly through their Center for Continuing Education. In asking this question, your interview ideally wants to hear that you are active in your pursuit of staying educated and informed in the nursing field through many different channels.

Openly discuss the publications, journals, societies, and groups you actively participate in as a registered nurse, and don't hesitate to give real-world examples where your participation has benefitted you in your career. Then, upon joining the Mount Sinai Hospital, talk about how you plan to further your education in the field. By reading about continuing education available for nursing staff, you'll quickly see that tons of online and live courses are available, and they range from training in infection control barriers to the identification and reporting of child abuse as a nurse. Be sure to show excitement for what would be available as an RN with Mount Sinai.

"Continued learning opportunities are necessary to be a competent and well-informed registered nurse, and it's something I've always prioritized throughout my career. I love attending regional and national conferences because of the opportunity to hear expert speakers talk and the ability to learn new techniques to bring to my daily work. I've also loved the opportunity to participate in continued learning opportunities, both through my employer and different nursing societies. Just last year, I attended a weekend continued learning workshop on alcohol abuse symptoms and treatment, and it's greatly assisted my work as a family medicine RN."

If offered this position at the Mount Sinai Hospital, can you work the required hours and shifts?

"As a new nurse who is excited to kickstart their career with a great organization like Mount Sinai Hospital, I'm very open to any working hours and will pick up any shifts I can. I'm not tied down to any family commitments at this point in my young career. Can you clarify how overall scheduling works for your unit and how far in advance the schedule comes out?"

As you are well aware, registered nurses are often required to work a variety of hours, which can depend on the particular department you are interviewing with at Mount Sinai Hospital. Your interviewer must know that you will be able to meet the hours requirements for the position and department you are being considered for.

Before applying as a registered nurse with Mount Sinai Hospital, you have hopefully done your homework on the work hours requirements and ensured that you can meet them. To answer this question, be honest about your availability regarding evening, night, weekend, and holiday shifts. While reiterating that you are open and flexible, make sure that your interviewer knows of any personal commitments you have because these things must be discussed during the interview process.

"I am open to working any shift on any day as long as I am aware of the schedule at least two weeks ahead of time. With my husband having a full-time job, I need to be able to plan for childcare during the weekday hours should the need arise. We are fortunate to have a great support system with family and friends if needed. How is scheduling typically released?"

If you are offered and accept this position, you must be able to pass a full criminal background check. Will you consent to a full background check at that time?

"I have a clean criminal record and am happy to comply with any background check process here at Mount Sinai Hospital if I'm offered to join as a registered nurse."

On the candidate experience section of their career site, Mount Sinai Hospital makes it clear that they follow the healthcare industry protocol and ensure that all new staff pass a criminal background check as part of their onboarding process. At this point in the interview process, your interviewer needs to be assured that you will consent to a background check if hired and that you'll bring forth anything that may come up in the check itself.

Knowing that it will eventually be part of the hiring process at Mount Sinai Hospital, you want to give a resounding 'yes' that you will consent to all onboarding procedures there if you are offered and accept the job. If you have any blemishes on your criminal record, now is the time to disclose that to your interviewer. If you don't and anything negative shows up, you could subject yourself to having an offer withdrawn close to a potential start date. As embarrassing as it may be, you need to let the interviewer know you have a criminal background.

"That will not be a problem. I've had to comply with state and employer caregiver background checks throughout my career. In my early 20s, I had a conviction for a DUI on my record and have long since learned from that mistake."

What do you feel is your greatest weakness as a registered nurse? What are you doing to improve that weakness?

"As I approach my graduation date, I know my number one weakness as a new RN will be learning the processes, policies, and procedures of any unit that I join. I feel confident that I'll be able to pick up quickly because my clinical rotations have landed me with a few large hospital systems and small private clinics, so I've had exposure to many different ways of doing things. If I'm fortunate enough to join the Mount Sinai Hospital, I will focus on learning the overall way of doing things and workflow from day one so I can step in and work on my own in short order."

As one of the premier healthcare institutions in the country, Mount Sinai Hospital is very experienced concerning recruiting, hiring, and onboarding registered nurses. If there's one sure thing in this process that your interviewer knows, it's that every nurse comes with their own set of weaknesses. This question allows your interviewer to be sure you are aware of your on-the-job weakness and to hear that your awareness has led to action to improve.

Your interviewer expects honesty and transparency with this question, so be honest with yourself and Mount Sinai Hospital. It is okay to focus on a weakness related to your work as an RN, but not one that is an essential job duty for the role you're interviewing for there. For example, suppose you say your weakness is your verbal communication skills. In that case, the interviewer may pass you over for another candidate since that skill is an essential part of being an excellent registered nurse.

"Throughout my career, I know that my weakness has been not delegating work that could get delegated. I know what I want to be done and how I want it done, so it's often easier to do it myself. However, it can inhibit my ability to grow and care for my patients. In recent years, I've been working towards building trust with the CNAs, LPNs, and other support staff I work with so I can ensure that everyone is handling their area of expertise. Here at the Mount Sinai Hospital, I plan on continuing to work through my ability to build solid relationships with all of my new colleagues and can delegate tasks when needed."

What do you find most attractive about working for The Mount Sinai Hospital as a Registered Nurse?

"As a new Registered Nurse approaching graduation soon, I've made a list of qualities that I want in an employer where I can hopefully spend my entire career, and the Mount Sinai Hospital certainly checks every box for me! First and foremost, I've dreamed of living my life in New York City, and coming to work at the Beth Israel Hospital would be a dream come true. It's also important for me to one day pursue research opportunities in nursing, and the Icahn School of Medicine has so many exciting opportunities that I would love to work for down the road."

The nursing field is wide open with employment opportunities, and the team at Mount Sinai Hospital is well aware of that. To ensure your long-term success as a Registered Nurse there, your interviewer wants to hear you talk about the finer points that drew you to a career at Mount Sinai.

The Mount Sinai Hospital has many positive aspects, qualities, and values for anyone considering employment there, especially registered nurses. As you prepare for your interview, be sure to read about the organization and the location that you are interviewing in. With locations all over the New York area, maybe you are drawn to life and experiences in the big city. As an academic medical center, perhaps you are drawn to this side of medicine. No matter how you answer, speak from the heart to sell yourself to your interviewer and your long-term success at Mount Sinai Hospital.

"As I began searching for my dream job in a NICU setting, Mount Sinai West seemed like the perfect opportunity. I'm dedicated to spending the remainder of my career working with neonatal intensive care patients and have been working for this for a long time. On top of this, my husband just got his dream job in Newark, and we will be relocating there for a very easy commute for me."

What makes you the ideal candidate for this role?

"As I approach my graduation date from my nursing program, I know there are so many options out there for me, and I'm narrowing my search down to find an organization that meets my values. As I've researched many great organizations, I love that Mount Sinai Hospital values allowing your staff to be creative in problem-solving and that you value a diversified team effort in all you do. On top of having values that align, I'm confident that you won't find a more motivated and engaged nurse than me to join your team."

Your interviewer at Mount Sinai Hospital knows they may come down to a difficult decision at the end of their interview processes on who to extend an offer to. Knowing that, they give you the chance to give your best sales pitch on why you are the best RN for the job.

Because a question like this can come in many different forms, try to have a prepared, but not rehearsed, answer as to why you should be the top candidate to join Mount Sinai Hospital. Highlight your skills and how they will benefit the registered nurse role you will join and the patients you will be caring for. You can also discuss the traits that put you above the competition for the position.

"I am a great candidate for this position because I will provide the best care to every patient regardless of circumstance. My experience has instilled a deep dedication to my patients, and this is a value I look forward to bringing to work at Mount Sinai Hospital. Everyone deserves respect and quality care while in the hospital without judgment. Showing compassion is just as important as nursing skills, in my opinion. I have strong nursing skills, care, and compassion for each patient I interact with."

Out of our six core values here at the Mount Sinai Hospital, which resonates the most with you and why?

"This is such a great question because the core values at the Mount Sinai Hospital are essential for any healthcare organization to live and breathe. But empathy is the value that speaks to me the most and is the reason I have trained to become an RN. The day-to-day care of patients, making them feel at home and making their day brighter during a difficult time, is something that I look forward to bringing to your patients in this role."

As frontline caregivers to every patient who walks through their door, the registered nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital are expected to live the institution's core values every moment of every day. By directly asking this, your interviewer wants to be assured that you've familiarized yourself with your core values and to hear which one speaks the most to you as a person and as an RN.

As you research Mount Sinai Hospital before your interview, you'll find that safety, equity, agility, creativity, empathy, and teamwork are the six core values that drive what they do every day. On their website's mission and values page, the institution outlines what each of those values means. Before your interview, think about which one of these values means the most to you, and come to your interview prepared to talk about how you will live this value on the job.

"I can honestly say that all of the core values at the Mount Sinai Hospital are values I've strived to live by throughout my career. As I've grown throughout my career and been a part of many amazing teams, your core value of teamwork resonates with me today. Complex patient issues typically aren't solved by just one person, and working as part of a team to provide great outcomes is something I would look forward to helping bring here on your team."

As a registered nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital, you will care for a diverse patient base. How will you provide excellent care for a patient whose cultural beliefs were different from yours?

"While I am very active in my church and a devout Christian, I grew up on the East Coast and have many close friends from all different cultural backgrounds and belief systems. I was raised with an open mind and welcoming heart that I would bring to work every day as an RN here at Mount Sinai. As a new nurse, I will always strive to give the best care possible to all my patients, despite how different their religious or other beliefs may be from mine. I will always treat every patient as if they were my family member."

In the cultural melting pot of the New York City metro area, working as a registered nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital will require you to care for patients from all over the world. Your interviewer needs to be assured that you would join their team with an open mind and the ability to care for patients from all walks of life in this role.

In an RN role with the Mount Sinai Hospital, you will encounter patients from all walks of life and all racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, religions, and other belief systems. To provide the best care to all your patients, you should always be aware of any conscious or unconscious biases you may have and set them aside while providing care. To successfully answer this question, you should give a specific example of a time when you recognized a patient's values and beliefs different from yours and explain how you worked with them in a compassionate and caring manner.

"Throughout my career as an RN, I've enjoyed caring for and working closely with people from all walks of life. It's amazing to learn from and grow from what others have taught me in their life lessons. In my current position, I often have patients from India. Some of my colleagues get frustrated with patients from India as they have a different way of dealing with pain, and often nurses feel they can't do anything for themselves even though they physically could. But when you get into the subject with them and start learning about their culture, it is not normal for a patient to care for themselves. They often have a family member with them who takes care of them. In their culture, if you are sick or have given birth or had surgery, you rest in bed while everything is done for you. They believe the patient needs to rest and will heal by resting. Instead of being negative about this, we need to support these patients as best we can. It is hard to be in a different country where you may not speak the language well, or at all. I always think about what it might be like to be in a hospital in another country. I would be scared, to be quite honest, not knowing what they are doing or why they are doing it. So giving compassion to these patients is very important."

Do you have any supervising or mentoring experience?

"As you can see from my resume, I've been an active participant in athletics through my younger ages, in high school, and into college, and have been the captain of many teams. I'm a motivational person who stays positive in the face of adversity, and I know this will benefit me on any team here at Mount Sinai Hospital. My goal throughout my career is to grow into leadership roles and one-day nursing administration."

Whether the nursing role you are interviewing for at Mount Sinai Hospital is a formal leadership role or not, leadership skills as a registered nurse are important to your interviewer. While your resume may reveal some of this experience from your past, your interviewer wants to hear you discuss any supervisory or mentoring experience you would bring to their team.

To successfully answer this question, talk about any experiences you have in formally supervising others and any experiences you have in mentoring colleagues or students. If you do not have experience supervising or mentoring other nurses, a supervision or mentorship experience in another setting would suffice for your answer. If you are young in your career and lack this overall experience, be sure to express your interest in any future opportunities to lead as part of the team you'll be joining at Mount Sinai Hospital.

"Yes, I have been involved with new-hire nurse training and having students or other new nurses shadow me. I have assisted with projects involving the education of the nurses and student nurses who do clinical rotations on our floor. These experiences have taught me many great qualities about being a leader that will help me greatly as an RN with the Mount Sinai Hospital."

What EMR programs do you have experience with? Can you talk about how you approach patient documentation as an RN?

"I am new to nursing, as I just finished nursing school, but I understand how important clinical documentation is. During my clinical rotations, when I had the opportunity to document my clinical encounters, I made sure to document everything. Before signing the note, I would double-check to ensure everything was correct. Since I am new to this and have not had a chance to develop my efficiencies, I cannot speak to that. Still, I can say that my background in IT project management will allow me to think outside the box, and I can see myself coming up with ideas for standardization. I received a good amount of hands-on work in EPIC during my clinical rotations and look forward to further training during my orientation here."

For the Mount Sinai Hospital, accurate and timely charting is vital to the safety of all patients. Your interviewer will want to hear how you prioritize your charting duties as a registered nurse and take the time to ensure that your patients' notes are accurate. To get an idea of the type of training you will need if hired, they leave the floor open for you to discuss the EMR systems you have worked on in the past.

To effectively answer this question, be prepared to talk about how you approach documentation from beginning to end and give examples of any strategies you have used in the past to improve efficiency on the job as a competent registered nurse. Before your interview, think back on the programs you have worked in during your career so you can talk about your ability to learn and master any program. It's important to know that Mount Sinai Hospital utilizes the EPIC system, so any experience you have there will go over well with your interviewer.

"In my time working on busy inpatient units, having a system for my charting was important because things could get quite hectic. Ideally, I chart after each encounter with a patient. Sometimes, this is not possible, depending on the needs of my other patients on the unit. I've been keen on jotting down patient notes if needed, but I take time and chart when possible. Over the last 14 years of my career as an RN, I have worked on Cerner, EPIC, and a customized EMR system and have found I can learn and pick up things easily when training. I'm confident I would pick up quickly on EPIC as I've only been away from it for four years now."

The work of a registered nurse can sometimes seem like a thankless job. How can Mount Sinai Hospital keep you motivated and engaged, even on the days when you feel your work goes unnoticed?

"My whole life, I've been most engaged in helping people, and I've pursued my degree in nursing to take this to the next step and make it a career. If I'm fortunate enough to join the Mount Sinai Hospital nursing team, working with pre-op and post-op surgical patients will be all I need to stay motivated and enthused. Of course, working on a dynamic and fun team will always help keep me in a great mood."

Long days on the hospital/clinic floor, handling irritable patients, and facing a demanding patient load are a few of the contributing factors to burnout in the nursing field. The Mount Sinai Hospital is well aware that RNs face these challenges, and your interviewer is ideally looking to hear what keeps you motivated and driven in your work, no matter what each day brings. They'll also use this question to learn how you like to be led if you were to join their team.

A question like this is an opportunity to let your interviewer know what keeps you the most motivated in your work as an RN and how you can help live out the core values of Mount Sinai Hospital in your work. It can be a great tactic to talk about what led you to pursue a career in nursing. If possible, focus most of your conversation on being motivated by the patients you care for every day. Try to incorporate Mount Sinai's core values of safety, equity, empathy, and teamwork into your response here.

"My chosen career was helping people at exactly the point they were least capable of helping themselves or giving back. So, I stopped needing thanks from my patients. It's not like I don't need positive reinforcement. Everyone does. But I made a point to find it in other places instead of expecting it from my patients. Nowadays, I make an effort to expressly thank the people I work with when they do a good job, and I look forward to bringing this same atmosphere to the Mount Sinai Hospital team."

How will you keep your work organized and on-track during a busy shift?

"As a new RN, I feel confident in the organizational skills I've built during my nursing training and clinical rotations. If I'm fortunate enough to join a reputable institution like the Mount Sinai Hospital, you'd get a nurse who can tune out distractions and focus on the task at hand. I will prioritize the patients with the highest medical needs, and then move on. I don't take on too much work and would never hesitate to ask for help if a patient needed immediate care, and I couldn't leave what I was doing."

For any registered nurse, handling a busy workload successfully and safely comes down to solid organizational and time-management skills. The Patient Experience Office at the Mount Sinai Hospital knows that their team of frontline care providers is the greatest resource in providing excellent care. Your interviewer wants to give you time to discuss your ability to efficiently handle a large workload.

First and foremost, this is a perfect question to draw from your past experiences. If you can, explain firsthand how you successfully navigated a busy shift in a clinic or on the hospital floor using solid communication and organizational skills. Some things that your interviewer will be looking to hear are your ability to use the tools and resources at your disposal to help you do your job and your ability to put the immediate needs of the patient first. Empathy and safety are core values at Mount Sinai Hospital, so focus on them when faced with a busy workload.

"Having worked in the emergency department for the last eight years, there have been times when the action was crazy with patients coming in. During these times, I always remembered that the needs of the patient come first, so my triage skills came into use to prioritize which patients are the highest priority and which ones can wait. Communication is essential for patients and something I would always utilize as an RN here at Mount Sinai Hospital. If a patient ever has to wait, I communicate that to them and check in with them when I can. It is equally important for any team of nurses and physicians to stay in communication. From there, I always stay calm and handle patients with quality care, one at a time."

If you don't know the answer to something, how will you seek to find the right answer?

"As a new Registered Nurse with The Mount Sinai Hospital, I would start by speaking with the charge nurse on the floor for that shift. If it had to do with a policy, I would look up the policy to make sure I was following it correctly. If it had to do with medication, I would call the pharmacy as they are the best to ask those types of questions. I have no problems asking for help when needed, so I would keep asking or looking for the answer until I found it to ensure patient safety."

As a new Registered Nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital, the organization will put forth time, effort, and resources into your onboarding and training. But your interviewer also knows from experience that difficult issues and questions happen daily, and they need to be assured that you will join their nursing team as a confident and resourceful RN.

To directly answer the question, discuss how you would be an open communicator who would see the help of others and utilize all resources at hand to get to the bottom of a difficult situation or question. Draw upon past situations where you tapped into the physicians, nurse colleagues, policies, or any other materials to help solve an issue. As you review Mount Sinai Hospital's core values before your interview, be sure to use your creative mind and ability to be agile when finding answers to something.

"To be as prepared as possible for any situation I encounter at Mount Sinai Hospital, knowing all on-staff experts would be essential. Even though I've worked closely with many different physicians throughout my career, getting to know the new physicians I would be working with here would be important as they all have their preferences. I would also take the time to get to know the charge nurses, nurse educators, and my new nurse colleagues and their areas of expertise so I could tap into them when needed. During my orientation, I would also prioritize learning all policies and procedures for the nursing staff here."

Mount Sinai Hospital takes great pride in our handoffs among our nursing staff. How will you ensure that you make seamless transitions during shift changes in this role?

"During my clinical rotations over the past year, I've had the great opportunity to witness shift handoffs on many different units at several hospitals and clinics. I have a good feel for what works well that I can bring to work here at Mount Sinai Hospital. Having an in-person huddle and being present is vital for all communications on current patients and ensuring that nothing is missed. Here, I would prioritize my attendance and participation in handoff meetings. Also extremely vital at shift handoff is ensuring that all patient notes are well documented, and I would prioritize this at all times."

As a frontline nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital, their core values of teamwork and safety will come to life for you twice a day at shift handoff time. Knowing that they have their own standardized shift handoff procedures that you may not be fully aware of as an interviewing candidate, your interviewer will want to know that you understand the basics of a shift handoff to ensure that no care is missed for the patients on the unit you will be joining.

In almost any department at Mount Sinai Hospital, handing off a unit at shift change time smoothly is essential. In your answer to this question, you'll want to showcase your communication and listening skills and talk about how you take information and put it to work. Walking step by step through your previous employers' handoffs can also be beneficial because it will reassure the interviewer that you are familiar with sound processes in these situations.

"In my current job as a registered nurse, we have a transition process at shift change. To start, the RNs coming off shift and those coming on have a huddle led by the unit supervisor at each shift change. In the huddle, any significant issues with patients are discussed. Next, if any work remains to be done with a patient, we communicate with each other one-on-one to ensure that the needs of our patients are met. As a nurse here at the Mount Sinai Hospital, I'd be very excited to learn your shift change processes and be an active part of them."

How do you handle the stress and maintain a work-life balance as a registered nurse?

"I love a fast-paced work environment and am excited to start my career as a registered nurse with the Mount Sinai Hospital. My schooling has certainly prepared me to maintain composure in any situation and use the skills I have learned and my ability to communicate to help me through any situation. I'm confident that I wouldn't let any situation here get me down for too long. With that said, I'm also appreciative of a couple of preceptors I worked under during my clinical rotations who instilled the importance of taking care of myself outside of work and not bringing work-related stress home with me. Heading into life as a full-time nurse, I'll maintain a fun yet relaxed lifestyle with my fiance and our dogs as we look to establish ourselves in our careers."

No matter what medical specialty or unit you are interviewing with at Mount Sinai Hospital, you will likely be stepping into a busy workplace. Your interviewer is also well aware of the national RN shortage and multiple studies that prove the high amounts of stress that those in the field feel. In asking this question, your interviewer will be looking to get some insight into your mental fortitude and ability to handle any stresses that come your way on the job.

This is an opportunity to have a great open conversation with your interviewer about your ability to handle the day-to-day pressures of being an RN. First, it is okay to acknowledge that you sometimes feel stressed in your work. Talk about how you create a work-life balance and the activities outside of work that help clear your mind and relax your body. Then, think of a specific time you had to manage a stressful situation on the job and describe how you handled it. Talking about what tools or resources you used and explaining the outcome will prove to your interviewer that you will come to Mount Sinai Hospital with the right tools to handle the job.

"Sitting here today and reflecting on my career up to this point, I can honestly say that I've learned so much about myself regarding handling the daily pressures that come with being a competent and successful RN. Early in my career, it was easy to leave a shift with tears in my eyes and then go home to sleep for over 10 hours. Through the help of some great colleagues and just years of experience, I've learned some great tactics to help myself manage stress. I prioritize taking care of myself by maintaining a great diet, exercising, and getting plenty of rest outside of work. While inside the walls of the clinic, I've learned to take small moments to recharge and collect myself. Learning how to establish boundaries on the job has also been very important for me."

Talk a bit about the working relationships you've had with physicians in the past. What would your ideal physician relationship look like?

"At Mount Sinai Hospital, my ideal physician relationship will be based on open communication and trust. I know I am a new nurse, but I want to prove myself from day one so the physicians I support will trust the care I provide. Conversely, I want the physicians I work with to listen to my questions and give me constructive feedback when I need it."

According to the Mount Sinai Hospital nursing careers page on their website, 'Creating Excellence Together' is the employee value proposition statement created by the team of nurses at the institution. The statement embodies the communication and teamwork necessary for all patient caregivers to improve care every day. Your interviewer knows that your relationship with the providers you will be working with will be vital to fulfilling this mission, and they want to hear you talk about what you value and bring to your working relationships with physicians in your job as a registered nurse.

As you likely have experienced throughout your career, physicians' personalities can vary greatly, and you need to be able to work effectively with any physician at Mount Sinai Hospital. Building trust with physicians is crucial as a nurse, so be sure to show examples of how you've built that trust during your career. To seal this answer for your interviewer, describe what an ideal relationship with the physicians you will be working with in this role will look like daily.

"During my career, I've taken great pride in communicating and relating to the physicians I have worked closely with. We ultimately work as a team to provide the best care we can for each patient; our working relationship is key to accomplishing this goal. My ideal relationship with the physicians at Mount Sinai Hospital would involve open communication, friendliness, and mutual respect for the care we each provide to the patients here."

The Mount Sinai Hospital Registered Nurse Interview Questions

Go Back

1. Have you ever had to adapt quickly to changes in the workplace as a registered nurse? If so, how did you handle the changes?
2. Tell us about a time you were proud of a team you worked on. What role did you play in that effort?
3. Think about a difficult colleague, manager, or physician you've worked with in the past. What made them difficult, and how did you successfully interact with this person?
4. Have you ever been confronted by an irate patient or family member of a patient? If so, how did you handle that situation, and what was the result?
5. At the Mount Sinai Hospital, we seek registered nurses with ambitions of growing their career. Where do you see your career in three to five years?
6. How do you ensure your patients receive education and information in terms that they understand?
7. When necessary, how will you effectively communicate bad news to patients?
8. Safety is our number one care value. If you witnessed a nurse colleague not taking proper safety precautions on the job, how would you react?
9. If you join this team at the Mount Sinai Hospital, how much supervision will you need in your initial months on the job?
10. What do you do to stay informed in the field of nursing?
11. If offered this position at the Mount Sinai Hospital, can you work the required hours and shifts?
12. If you are offered and accept this position, you must be able to pass a full criminal background check. Will you consent to a full background check at that time?
13. What do you feel is your greatest weakness as a registered nurse? What are you doing to improve that weakness?
14. What do you find most attractive about working for The Mount Sinai Hospital as a Registered Nurse?
15. What makes you the ideal candidate for this role?
16. Out of our six core values here at the Mount Sinai Hospital, which resonates the most with you and why?
17. As a registered nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital, you will care for a diverse patient base. How will you provide excellent care for a patient whose cultural beliefs were different from yours?
18. Do you have any supervising or mentoring experience?
19. What EMR programs do you have experience with? Can you talk about how you approach patient documentation as an RN?
20. The work of a registered nurse can sometimes seem like a thankless job. How can Mount Sinai Hospital keep you motivated and engaged, even on the days when you feel your work goes unnoticed?
21. How will you keep your work organized and on-track during a busy shift?
22. If you don't know the answer to something, how will you seek to find the right answer?
23. Mount Sinai Hospital takes great pride in our handoffs among our nursing staff. How will you ensure that you make seamless transitions during shift changes in this role?
24. How do you handle the stress and maintain a work-life balance as a registered nurse?
25. Talk a bit about the working relationships you've had with physicians in the past. What would your ideal physician relationship look like?

The Mount Sinai Hospital Registered Nurse Interview Questions

1. Have you ever had to adapt quickly to changes in the workplace as a registered nurse? If so, how did you handle the changes?

2. Tell us about a time you were proud of a team you worked on. What role did you play in that effort?

3. Think about a difficult colleague, manager, or physician you've worked with in the past. What made them difficult, and how did you successfully interact with this person?

4. Have you ever been confronted by an irate patient or family member of a patient? If so, how did you handle that situation, and what was the result?

5. At the Mount Sinai Hospital, we seek registered nurses with ambitions of growing their career. Where do you see your career in three to five years?

6. How do you ensure your patients receive education and information in terms that they understand?

7. When necessary, how will you effectively communicate bad news to patients?

8. Safety is our number one care value. If you witnessed a nurse colleague not taking proper safety precautions on the job, how would you react?

9. If you join this team at the Mount Sinai Hospital, how much supervision will you need in your initial months on the job?

10. What do you do to stay informed in the field of nursing?

11. If offered this position at the Mount Sinai Hospital, can you work the required hours and shifts?

12. If you are offered and accept this position, you must be able to pass a full criminal background check. Will you consent to a full background check at that time?

13. What do you feel is your greatest weakness as a registered nurse? What are you doing to improve that weakness?

14. What do you find most attractive about working for The Mount Sinai Hospital as a Registered Nurse?

15. What makes you the ideal candidate for this role?

16. Out of our six core values here at the Mount Sinai Hospital, which resonates the most with you and why?

17. As a registered nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital, you will care for a diverse patient base. How will you provide excellent care for a patient whose cultural beliefs were different from yours?

18. Do you have any supervising or mentoring experience?

19. What EMR programs do you have experience with? Can you talk about how you approach patient documentation as an RN?

20. The work of a registered nurse can sometimes seem like a thankless job. How can Mount Sinai Hospital keep you motivated and engaged, even on the days when you feel your work goes unnoticed?

21. How will you keep your work organized and on-track during a busy shift?

22. If you don't know the answer to something, how will you seek to find the right answer?

23. Mount Sinai Hospital takes great pride in our handoffs among our nursing staff. How will you ensure that you make seamless transitions during shift changes in this role?

24. How do you handle the stress and maintain a work-life balance as a registered nurse?

25. Talk a bit about the working relationships you've had with physicians in the past. What would your ideal physician relationship look like?