Do you have nursing management or leadership goals?
Even if you do not have any clearly defined management or leadership goals or are trapped in the thought pattern that management equals charge nurse, have a well-thought out answer to this question prepared. All nurses should have clear leadership goals, because at any given moment you may be in charge of a code, a shift, a unit, or a patient's changing condition. Even if you do not aspire to run the hospital, you must know how to lead yourself and run your shift. Interviewers are seeking candidates who can take charge when necessary, and to do this well the individual must know how to lead themselves and others.
"Right now I do not have any clear management goals as I have recently graduated from nursing school. I am very interested in learning about management and leadership and would be interested in any committees that I could participate in and learn. I have lots of ideas, and would love to be in a brainstorming group and I am very interested in the management dynamics of the organization. I feel that I need to focus on being a new nurse right now but I am definitely open to joining leadership groups to learn and meet new people."
"I have been a nurse for several years and have held some supervisory duties from time to time. While I don't mind being a people manager, I really prefer teaching and mentoring. I have found that I enjoy mentoring students in clinical rotations and also new grad nurses. I always feel rewarded by being a SME that the team can come to when they need technical support on our platforms and equipment and also in areas of processes and procedures."
"I have worked as a floor RN, and in recent months I have stepped into a supervisor role from time to time when there are supervisor call-outs. I would like to move into a more full-time supervisory role with goals of eventually becoming a unit manager. I enjoy leading others, improving processes that impact patient care, providing staff education, and doing clinical admin tasks. I don't want to get away from patient care completely, so a supervisory role would provide a good balance of patient care and people leadership as I continue to pursue my goals."
"In the past, I have worked as a nursing supervisor. I greatly enjoyed this role because it gave me the opportunity to oversee many nurses and help to gather a big picture of my unit and areas for possible growth and work process improvements. In the future, I hope to be able to use the skills I learned from that position here as well."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
Yes
Cindy's Feedback
Great! Details about why management or leadership is a goal, what steps you'll take to reach those goals, and what position you'd like to hold are all good ways of showing your desire to grow.
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