Tell me about a time someone placed unreasonable expectations on you. How did you respond?
Questions like this allow the interviewer to gain insight into your professionalism, attitude, communication skills, and ability to problem-solve. The reality is that healthcare can be challenging because facilities are often short-staffed, which means heavier workloads and times when it will feel like the volume of patients to care for or tasks to complete in a shift are not possible. The interviewer wants to know that you can handle the pressure of challenging situations and that you can remain calm and communicate effectively when things are overwhelming. Give a description of a time that you've experienced this in the workplace, during clinicals, in school, or even in a volunteer capacity if you don't have work experience. Try to use the STAR method when responding to this question, which will help you stay on track as you talk through the situation, task, action and result. Focus on skills that you used that would transfer well into this role.
"One semester, I had a communications course that was very challenging. I was assigned an in-depth presentation with three other students and the project itself included about forty hours of research, writing, memorization, and public speaking. We only had three weeks to complete the project and prepare to present it to the class of about 100 students. My team worked together to delegate tasks and create a strategy, however, at the end of the first week, my three teammates dropped the class, leaving me alone on the project. My professor wouldn't reassign me to another group and expected me to complete the project alone. I requested a meeting with my professor, and I went in with a calm demeanor and factually explained the hardship I was facing with such a large project to complete on my own in such a short amount of time. I proposed that the project be modified in some ways and offered alternatives to certain aspects of the project. Together, we were able to come to a compromise and solution that we both felt was fair. If faced with this situation as a new grad nurse I would follow the same approach. I would remain calm, approach my supervisor in a professional way, discuss the challenges, and provide alternatives or solutions to the problem at hand. Through communication and collaboration, I would hope this would help resolve the issue at hand."
"During clinicals, I was working on a busy pediatric floor of the hospital. I was assigned the most patients that day and I found my list of duties to be very extensive. As I looked at the acuity of patients and the responsibilities I needed to address during my morning shift, I realized it would not be possible. I tried to evaluate my workload and see what could be reprioritized, however, there were no alternatives. I quickly approached my supervisor and let her know that I felt like patient safety was in jeopardy with the volume of patients I had and asked if there were any other students available to provide extra support. I assured her that I'm a team player and was by no means complaining, but I felt that I could not address each of the patient's needs in a timely manner. By taking this approach, she was able to delegate some of the duties appropriately. I thanked my team members for supporting me and assured them I would be there for them if they ever found themselves in a similar situation."
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