Behavioral Nursing Mock Interview
Practice 35 Behavioral Nursing interview questions covering de-escalation, crisis response, and therapeutic communication.
Question 11 of 35
Despite our best efforts in providing care, sometimes there are family members who are unhappy with the care the patient is receiving. Tell me how you would handle such a situation.
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Kelly Burlison is an experienced healthcare and quality measurement professional with experience interviewing in the healthcare field focusing on IT.
Having a family member or loved one who is ill and/or in the hospital can be a very stressful situation, and sometimes, despite the best efforts of clinical staff, family members of patients are unhappy with the care their loved ones receive. In such situations, it is important for nurses and clinical staff to avoid becoming defensive, and to express their empathy for the family member, even if they are unhappy with them. If a nurse is unable to resolve the situation with the patient's family, they should escalate the situation to their supervisor. To successfully answer this question, you should tell the interviewer that you would listen to the family member's concerns and try to meet their needs, if possible. A more successful answer to this question would include an example of how you successfully mitigated such a situation in your nursing career.
Kelly Burlison is an experienced healthcare and quality measurement professional with experience interviewing in the healthcare field focusing on IT.
"I have dealt with many situations like this in my nursing career, and I have found that usually, the family member just needs someone to listen to their concerns and reassure them. I have rarely had situations where I had to escalate the complaint to my supervisor. I actually dealt with such a situation a couple of weeks ago, when I was caring for a pediatric patient who was severely injured in an accident. The patient's family members were beside themselves with worry and grief, and after a couple of days, began to complain about the care they were receiving. I did not take offense to the complaints, but instead, I listened to the family members' concerns and then reassured them that my colleagues and I were doing everything we could, and we would continue to do so. Having this reassurance helped ease the family's concerns, but I think they really just needed to express their frustrations."
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