Entry-Level Nursing Mock Interview
Practice 40 Entry-Level Nursing interview questions covering clinical scenarios, patient care priorities, and ethical challenges.
Question 4 of 40
Aside from your clinical rotations, tell me about your experience caring for patients.
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Kelly Burlison is an experienced healthcare and quality measurement professional with experience interviewing in the healthcare field focusing on IT.
While required clinical rotations that are a part of nursing education programs ensure entry-level nurses have hands-on practical experience, employers like to see additional patient care experience on a candidate's resume. This experience does not have to be nursing experience, especially for entry-level nursing; you can mention your experience as a nursing assistant, care partner, paramedic/EMT, hospital volunteer, or other position that provides direct patient care. This patient care experience gives entry-level nursing candidates a competitive edge over candidates without such experience. The interviewer asks this question to determine if you have additional patient care experience and to what extent. When answering this question, you should be honest about your experiences providing patient care, as your experience will be reflected in your job performance once hired.
Kelly Burlison is an experienced healthcare and quality measurement professional with experience interviewing in the healthcare field focusing on IT.
"Once I decided to change my major to nursing, I obtained my nursing assistant license and got a part-time job at a nursing home. During the last two years in college, I worked at the nursing home and cared for patients by changing them, bathing them, helping them to the restroom, taking vital signs, and getting them up to socialize and attend daily activities. It wasn't the most glamorous job, but it allowed me to get experience caring for patients, and I was able to care for some great people."
Kelly Burlison is an experienced healthcare and quality measurement professional with experience interviewing in the healthcare field focusing on IT.
"My official experience caring for patients is limited to my clinical rotations, as I had to maintain my full-time job as an accountant while in nursing school. However, while I do not have additional official experience caring for patients, while my mother was undergoing cancer treatments, I was her primary caregiver. I was there to care for my mother on her best days, her worst days, and all days in between. I know this isn't what you are looking for, but I believe this experience will help me empathize with the patients and family members I am caring for when they are facing their best and worst days."
"During the final year of my program, I worked as a student nurse extern on the cardiac step-down floor. During most shifts, I assisted the nurses by taking vital signs, obtaining blood glucose readings, and helping patients bathe and use the bathroom. On some shifts, I was assigned to be the sitter for a patient who was confused or a fall risk. As the nurses on the unit got to know me better, they often pulled me into a patient room to help them with other skilled tasks, like IV insertion, inserting a urinary catheter, or changing a dressing."
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Anonymous Answer
I became a CNA before I started nursing school. I worked in an assisted living facility before getting a per diem position on a postpartum unit. I learned many valuable skills and gained experience through my time at both positions. Time management, prioritization, and critical thinking were all skills I gained experience of.
Marcie's Feedback
Excellent answer. It's great that you have a lot of prior experience caring for patients; the interviewer will appreciate this. Consider adding some more details to your answer about those experiences. For example, what did you enjoy most about the assisted living and postpartum positions? Perhaps include a brief example of a specific patient you cared for who impacted you as this will make your answer even more memorable to the interviewer.
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