Practice 35 Behavioral Nursing interview questions covering de-escalation, crisis response, and therapeutic communication.
Question 12 of 35
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Kelly Burlison is an experienced healthcare and quality measurement professional with experience interviewing in the healthcare field focusing on IT.
Suicide, unfortunately, is very common and, many times, signs that a person is suicidal are missed by family members, friends, and even healthcare professionals. Even if a nurse is not working in a behavioral health environment, they must always be cognizant of a patient's mental well-being and stay alert for signs of suicidal behavior. Even if a patient denies being suicidal or does not score high on a mental health screening, if a nurse feels strongly that a patient may be a risk to themselves, they must alert the patient's physician. To successfully answer this question, you should indicate that you would alert the patient's physician or the attending physician of your concerns, so a full mental health evaluation can be conducted. A more successful answer would include a specific example of how you successfully helped a suicidal patient get help.

Kelly Burlison is an experienced healthcare and quality measurement professional with experience interviewing in the healthcare field focusing on IT.
"I have never experienced this type of situation firsthand, but if I felt strongly that a patient was a danger to themselves, I could not allow it to go unreported, even if the patient denied such suicidal feelings. As a nurse, it is my job to protect patients, and to protect a patient in such a situation, I would alert the physician I was working with and ask them to further evaluate the patient. I am always cognizant of patient's behavior and mental health, even though I work in gastroenterology, because I am aware of how important it is to recognize a patient who is in a mental health crisis."

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Written by Kelly Burlison
35 Questions & Answers • Behavioral Nursing

By Kelly

By Kelly