How to Answer: Tell me about the greatest challenge you have faced in your nursing career? How did you overcome it?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Nursing job interview.
47. Tell me about the greatest challenge you have faced in your nursing career? How did you overcome it?
How to Answer
Nursing is a very challenging career, and there are many instances where nurses are faced with changing situations and/or working environments. The interviewer is asking this question to determine what types of challenging situations the candidate has faced in their careers and what actions they have taken to overcome the challenges. The types of challenges that can be used in the candidate's answers include but are not limited to: task management, complex patients, technical or systems issues, coworker conflicts, and/or conflicts with patients and family members. The candidate can successfully answer this question by providing an example of a time in their career where they faced a challenging situation and providing a detailed explanation of the steps they took to overcome the situation.
Written by Elisabeth Walter
1st Entry Level Example
"When I was new in my nursing career, it took me a significant amount of time to complete patient assessments. It seemed like no matter what, it would take forever for me to fill out the patient information on the assessments. Being a perfectionist, I would spend too much time on the details and would end up getting behind on all my other daily tasks because of the amount of time I was spending on the assessments. In order to overcome this, I had to take a step back, and while I still recognized that these details were important, I moved more quickly through the entire routine of collecting the information, so I could balance my daily tasks and better care for may patients."
Written by Elisabeth Walter
2nd Entry Level Example
"My greatest challenge as a nurse has been learning to work with with the various Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems that are used at the facilities in which I have been employed. I have never had a problem with my clinical skills, but adapting to the different EHR systems, such as EPIC and Cerner, has been a significant challenge for me. However, I have been able to overcome these challenges by attending supplemental training sessions offered by my employers and taking detailed notes during each training session. By taking these detailed notes, I was able to have something to go back to and reference when I was unsure of what to do."
Written by Kelly Burlison on March 17th, 2019
1st Experienced Example
"The greatest challenge I have faced in my nursing career thus far is when I transitioned from working in an outpatient family medicine clinic to a position as an inpatient floor nurse at the local hospital. This transition was extremely challenging, as caring for patients who are hospitalized required me to utilize much more of my nursing expertise than my previous job as an outpatient nurse. While this transition was very difficult at first, and there were many days that I wanted to quit, I persevered by staying calm, patient, and confident and studying up on my nursing skills so I could provide the best care I could to my patients."
Written by Ryan Brunner
2nd Experienced Example
"As a nurse who has spent the last 10 years working on a critical care unit, I haven't been able to keep up to speed on caring for patients in a family practice setting. Knowing that I'd be looking to make this transition down the road, I've picked up extra shifts at my current employer in the Family Medicine clinic and have worked the outpatient side of things when I could to get back up to speed. At this point in my career, I'm ready to make my way back to the outpatient setting for the remainder of my career and re-hone my skills there to be the best nurse that I can be."
Written by Ryan Brunner
3rd Experienced Example
"I have faced many challenges throughout my nursing career, as this is not an easy job and should not be taken lightly; but I think the biggest challenge I have faced is when I was transferred from the adult medicine unit to the pediatrics unit at the clinic I was working at a few years ago. While I welcomed this transfer, I was not prepared for how difficult the transition would be. With the transition, my responsibilities had significantly increased, and I was suddenly accountable for administering and understanding the pediatric vaccines. Because the pediatric vaccine schedule is so complex and time-sensitive, it was very overwhelming for me at first. I handled this situation by attending supplemental training courses and workshops to quickly familiarize myself with the different vaccines and the pediatric vaccine schedule, so I could quickly assimilate into my new role."
Written by Kelly Burlison on March 17th, 2019
4th Experienced Example
"So far, the greatest challenge I have had in my nursing career came when caring for patients with pacemakers and implantable cardio-defibrillators. The challenge for me was in learning all the details about the cardiac devices and learning how to independently test the patients' devices during their office visits to ensure everything was functioning appropriately. In addition to completing the testing, I had to be able to interpret all of the data from the device. When I first began in this area of nursing, it was extremely challenging for me because it was completely new to me. My preceptor, thankfully, had decades of knowledge in this area of nursing and was very thorough and patient with me while I learned and asked questions. She also held weekly morning meetings with the NPs before the clinic opened, where they discussed in great detail the device's functionalities and how to interpret the data. With the approval of my supervisor, I came in early on those days to help give myself additional learning opportunities. In the end, it was very beneficial and helped me to learn cardiac devices much quicker. Within a year my skillset had grown so much that I was able to become a preceptor for the department."
Written by Tabitha Cumpian on January 31st, 2023
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About the Author
I began my healthcare career when I was a sophomore in high school and became an STNA (state-tested nursing assistant) at a local long-term care facility. I then went on to work as a nursing assistant at a local hospital and home healthcare agency. During that time, I pursued my Bachelor's in Business Administration: Human Resource Management and transitioned to working for one of the largest long-term care and post-acute rehab companies in the country. I supported the talent acquisition function, and in the span of 8 years, I screened and interviewed over 1,500 nurse aides, LPNs, and RNs.
I hold a very special place in my heart for nurses, as it's often a thankless and tiresome job. Not everyone is cut out to be a nurse, and I have great respect and admiration for those that choose this career path. As a content writer and interview coach for MockQuestions, my goal is to help you prepare and succeed in your upcoming interview. This article offers interview tips and advice along with 50 practice interview questions and answer examples to help you better understand what to expect and prepare for interview day! Wishing you the best of luck!
Learn more about Jaymie Payne