Nurse Practitioner Mock Interview
Practice 55 Nurse Practitioner interview questions covering clinical scenarios, prescriptive authority, and patient management.
Question 6 of 55
As a nurse practitioner with our organization, would you be comfortable making tough decisions in regards to a patients care?
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Community Answers
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
At some point during your interview, your interviewer wants to know how you handle difficult patient care situations to get a feel for how you will work as part of their team. Be sure to highlight your ability to think strategically and to make quick, thoughtful decisions. Provide an example of the confidence you have in your decision-making skills in patient care and the tough decisions that come with it to prove your ability to act quickly and soundly in this role.
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"I think my confidence in making tough decisions has grown over the years. As a new RN, I was more hesitant to make these decisions and learned a great deal from the more tenured nurses on my team. With my added education as a Nurse Practitioner, I make strategic and thoughtful decisions based on my knowledge and experience. I also am very comfortable asking for help in situations that may be new to me. I value the collaborative approach we have as a team."
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"As an RN, I decided to separate the feelings surrounding patient care decisions from my other emotions. The medical decision needs to be made factually and not based solely on feeling. For this reason, I do not find it difficult to make tough decisions. As I learn and grow as a new Nurse Practitioner in your practice, my confidence would continue to grow."
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"Yes, I am comfortable making tough decisions surrounding patient care. As an NP, I need to make recommendations to the doctors based on my findings, often related to terminally ill patients. It is never easy, but I am pragmatic. Last year, we had a patient prescribed a large dose of a medication administered by IV. When I was in their room, I seriously questioned the dosing and talked to the physician on duty who
t prescribed the dosage. Based on the patient's symptoms and weight, I was comfortable questioning the physician's dosage, and she really appreciated my concern and insight, and we changed the dosage moving forward. Looking back, I learned not to be afraid to question a decision if the health and safety of a patient are concerned."
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Anonymous Answer
As a nurse for the last 13 years, I have learned to adapt to a busy environment with patience and utilize nursing skills when needed. For example, recently, we had a patient who coded in the unit. As the first responder, I quickly assessed the patient's status and activated the response team to save a patient's life. It felt good.
Rachelle's Feedback
You should be very proud of your quick thinking and ability to make decisions under pressure. Perfect answer!
Anonymous Answer
Yes, I am confident that I will utilize resources and apply critical thinking for optimal patient outcomes.
Rachelle's Feedback
This is a solid answer backed by the fact that you will refer to your training and resources. Exactly what an interviewer would want to hear!
Anonymous Answer
Yes, I am confident in making tough decisions, and I utilize available resources for a given situation and make decisions.
Stephanie's Feedback
That's great that you're confident in making challenging decisions--that is an important component of this role! To strengthen your response, I suggest including a specific example of when you made a tough decision related to the patient's care and how you went about making that decision.
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