Nurse Practitioner Mock Interview

Practice 55 Nurse Practitioner interview questions covering clinical scenarios, prescriptive authority, and patient management.

Question 21 of 55

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

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Community Answers

Rachelle Enns

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.

In a busy practice, nurse practitioners face the challenging task of working directly with patients and collaborating with large teams of individuals. This list of collaborators includes supervising physicians, nursing staff, other support staff, and administrative staff. Healthcare institutions need to know their new NPs are both well-rounded practitioners and great people to be around and work with. To prepare for the open-ended opportunity to you to talk about who you are as an NP and individual, you'll ideally want to talk about the path that has taken you to this interview, what is motivating you for this opportunity and what kind of individual the team you are interviewing with would be getting if you were to be hired. How you lay out your response is up to you, but make sure to paint the complete picture of you that helps ultimately sell you as the top candidate for the job.

Rachelle Enns

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.

"With pleasure! I have over ten years of experience in the healthcare industry as a Nurse Practitioner in the Emergency Medicine field. I want to grow my career to the next level with your organization. On a more personal note, I love to read, hike, and spend a lot of my extra time volunteering with the local humane society."

Rachelle Enns

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 have a Bachelor's of Nursing from the University of Michigan and am working on completing my Master's degree. I graduate this May and am excited about my first practice opportunity. I have three years of experience as an RN. My most recent position was at the local children's hospital, and I'm currently looking for a position that will allow me to grow into a leadership opportunity in the future. In my personal life, I am a health nut that runs half marathons and trains pretty diligently for them."

Rachelle Enns

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 would describe my work ethic as reliable and consistent. The healthcare industry needs professionals dedicated to their craft who understand the importance of learning new patient care methods. I am dedicated to doing this. Outside of work, I am dedicated to my family with all of my spare time. I coach my daughter's softball team in the summer months, and my husband and I spend as much time possible on the water on our kayaks to help stay in physical and mental shape."

Ryan Brunner

Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.

"Thank you for the opportunity to talk about myself. Growing up with two parents in healthcare, I always felt I was destined for this field. After high school, I worked as a CNA while I pursued my nursing degree. Following graduation, I worked as an RN for six years in the family practice and emergency settings. I was inspired to pursue my NP by working with many great physicians and APPs, which instilled confidence that I had what it takes to succeed at the next level. While continuing to work full-time as an RN and pursuing my FNP, I graduated at the top of my class. If I'm fortunate enough to join your team, you'd be getting an empathetic and skilled caregiver that your patients are comfortable connecting with and opening up to. I'm a great team player and solid communicator who is always willing to lend a hand when needed."

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Anonymous Answer

My family migrated to the US in 2005. I worked briefly as a telemetry nurse. I then moved to Texas, where I have been at my current employer since 2006, with 12 years of oncology experience as an outpatient nurse in SCT and more than a year as an oncology inpatient nurse. I started my master's degree in the fall of 2016, graduated in Dec 2018, and passed the APN exam on 3/2019. On a more personal note, I am a mom of 3 good boys, ages 16,12, and 7, and I love to read and travel.

Kevin's Feedback

Wonderful answer! You give the interviewer a great overview of your professional career while adding a touch of personality. I've modified your answer for the sake of clarity, continuity, and flow.

My family migrated to the US in 2005. I am a mom of 3 good boys, ages 16,12, and 7. I love to read and travel. I worked briefly as a telemetry nurse before I moved to Texas, in 2006, when I was hired as an outpatient nurse in SCT. With 12 years of oncology experience, and more than a year as an oncology inpatient nurse, in the fall of 2016, I committed to pursuing my master’s degree. I graduated in Dec 2018 and passed the APN exam on 3/2019. Now I am excited and ready to start the next chapter of my career!

Anonymous Answer

I am originally from Liberia, West Africa. I got my nursing training here in the US. I was motivated to become a nurse because of the care I received from nurses who took care of me during my time of labor and delivery here in the USA. I earned my BSN in 2011 and my FNP in 2016. I worked for ________ system for about 8 years, 2 of those years as NP. As an NP, I was primarily responsible for admitting pt from ER to the hospital. I am currently looking for a position in a specialty.

Stephanie's Feedback

Good response! The "tell me about yourself" question is designed to better understand who you are as an individual, what professional experiences you bring, and why you're interested in this specific opportunity. You do a good job of covering all of that information in a way that feels natural.

Anonymous Answer

I am an overachiever type with a gentle side of compassion and strong comradery. My family and friend say that I am forever in school. I had 2 BS (Respiratory and BSN) and took 2 APRN certifying bodies. With my FNP, I other certifications such as Certified Medical Examiner, Botox/Filler, Weight Loss Management, Acne Management, and Sexual Dysfunction Certification. I am in the process of launching my website to help other NP students study for their board exams. They are right, I am not stopping at my MSN. I want to achieve my Ph.D. in 2 years.

Job Satisfaction

34.What is an issue in the current healthcare system that you would like to see change?

Clinic

Nurse Practitioner Mock Interview

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

55Nurse Practitioner Interview Questions & Answers

1.Why did you choose to advance your studies beyond your RN degree?

2.What do you like most about being a nurse practitioner?

3.If you could change anything about your current job, what would it be?

4.How did your experience as an RN, whether in clinicals or on the job, affect how you do your job as a nurse practitioner?

5.What qualities do you feel a should leader have?

6.As a nurse practitioner with our organization, would you be comfortable making tough decisions in regards to a patients care?

7.How do you feel when a physician criticizes your work?

8.If hired here, how would you gain the trust and respect from our physician team?

9.How do you plan to continually grow and learn as a nurse practitioner on our team?

10.What type of nursing tasks do you find least desirable, or most challenging?

11.What do you know about our organization and what interests you in a practice here?

12.Why should we hire you over any other nurse practitioner for this role at our organization?

13.Tell us about your community involvement. How would this translate to this nurse practitioner role with our organization?

14.Tell me about a crisis situation you faced at work. How were you a part of the solution?

15.If offered this role as a nurse practitioner with our organization, do you have any salary requirements?

16.If hired at our organization, how could we keep you motivated as a nurse practitioner?

17.What accomplishment during your career do you believe was the most difficult for you to achieve?

18.Do you have any restrictions on your RN or NP license?

19.As a nurse practitioner, how do you stay current on new practice innovations?

20.When you suffer a setback as a nurse practitioner, how does that emotionally affect you and your work?

21.Tell me a little bit about yourself.

22.Describe the work ethic you would bring to our organization.

23.How do you handle conflict in the workplace?

24.How would you rate the communication skills that you would bring to our team as our next nurse practitioner?

25.How would you rate your performance in this interview so far?

26.Are you familiar with the scope of practice you would be permitted to have as a nurse practitioner with our organization?

27.If hired as our next nurse practitioner, would you bring the ability to work independently to our team?

28.Talk about a situation where you had to deal with a patient or family member that was upset. How did you handle that situation?

29.We expect our nurse practitioners to be open and adaptive to change. When was the last time you had to use new methods, equipment or procedures in your work? How did you handle that situation?

30.Have you ever had a time where you couldn't complete all of your necessary tasks in a given day or shift? How did you handle that situation?

31.Are there any procedures that you are looking to forward to performing in this role as our next nurse practitioner? Are there any that you wouldn't care to perform?

32.At our organization, we put a great amount of focus on the patient experience. How would you help ensure a positive experience for all patients that you work with here?

33.If hired as a nurse practitioner here, how would you gain our physician staff's trust and respect?

34.What is an issue in the current healthcare system that you would like to see change?

35.If hired as our next nurse practitioner, what is your availability to work nights, weekends, and holidays?

36.Are you comfortable being the lone advanced practice medical professional on duty?

37.What experience do you have and what do you enjoy about working with the geriatric population?

38.Tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult family member of a resident.

39.What experience do you have treating patients with memory impairment or dementia?

40.How do you care for patients who cannot communicate?

41.If you saw a nurse aide failing to follow safety precautions, what would you do?

42.What types of hospital units do you have experience working in?

43.How do you handle a disagreement with a physician?

44.What is your experience level and understanding of HIPAA?

45.How do you handle a patient who is agitated?

46.How do you feel about treating people who may have committed violent crimes?

47.How do you maintain healthy boundaries with your patients?

48.What are some unique challenges you find working in a correctional facility?

49.Since many inmates are confined in close quarters, how do you prevent and stop the spread of illness among the population?

50.What responsibilities do you anticipate in this role?

51.If an adult patient came into the office and you suspected abuse, what would you do?

52.Tell me about your typical day.

53.Do you have experience providing care through telemedicine (virtual appointments)?

54.As a new nurse practitioner at our clinic, what are some challenges you anticipate?

55.How do you handle a situation where you feel like you have too many patients on your schedule?