Practice 35 Behavioral Nursing interview questions covering de-escalation, crisis response, and therapeutic communication.
Question 13 of 35
How to Answer
Example Answer
Community Answers

Kelly Burlison is an experienced healthcare and quality measurement professional with experience interviewing in the healthcare field focusing on IT.
Unfortunately, nurses and other clinicians are often subjected to violent acts, committed by patients and/or family members. Many times, when patients become violent, it is unintentional and a result of confusion, pain, mental health issues, or other ailments. However, whether the violence is intentional or a result of a medical issue, these situations put nurses in stressful and dangerous situations. In such situations, it is important for nurses to stay calm and follow protocols, such as alerting colleagues and security of the situation. Primarily, it is important that the nurse not attempt to mitigate the situation themselves and/or become defensive and retaliate against the aggressor. To successfully answer this question, you should ensure the interviewer that you would stay calm, follow protocol, and not retaliate against the patient or family member. A more successful answer to this question would include an example of how you followed protocol and effectively dealt with a violent or threatening situation.

Kelly Burlison is an experienced healthcare and quality measurement professional with experience interviewing in the healthcare field focusing on IT.
"In my nursing career, I have been in situations where patients have become violent, but all were due to dementia or confusion, as I have spent a significant amount of time caring for elderly patients. In these situations, I have always followed protocol for de-escalating the situation or using restraints, if appropriate. If I were ever in a situation where a patient or guest was intentionally violent or threatening, I would attempt to de-escalate the situation, and if I were unable to, I would follow protocol, which I hope would include involving management and/or security. Never would I retaliate against a patient or family member, and I would be sure to follow the policy of the company."

Interview Coach
Jaymie
A real coach, not AI. I read every answer myself and write back with personalized feedback.
Typically responds within 24 hours.
0 - Character Count
Prepare for scenario-based questions about patient safety and psychiatric care environments.
Get StartedJump to Question

Written by Kelly Burlison
35 Questions & Answers • Behavioral Nursing

By Kelly

By Kelly