Tell me about your experience supervising or mentoring other nurses.
In the profession of nursing, there is much opportunity for nurses to mentor their peers or advance into leadership positions where they will supervise their colleagues. The interviewer is asking this question to assess the candidate's experience in mentorship and/or supervision to determine how these skills could potentially be utilized at your organization. To successfully answer this question, the candidate should provide an example of a time in which they supervised their colleagues or mentored another nursing professional. If the candidate does not experience supervising or mentoring other nurses, a supervision or mentorship experience in another setting would suffice.
"I just recently finished nursing school, so I have not yet had the opportunity to formally supervise or mentor other nurses in a professional position. However, since I was a career changer and went back to nursing school after I had an established career, many of my peers in school were younger than me, and they looked up to me for advice. Because I believe in helping others, I helped these academic colleagues and mentored them while we were in school and while we were doing our clinical rotations. While this mentorship experience is not directly connected to a job, I feel like I will be able to use this experience at your organization."
"Throughout my nursing career, I have held a couple of supervisory positions, in which I supervised entire teams of nurses, and was responsible for hiring and firing, scheduling, and ensuring everyone was able to grow and achieve their goals. While I am willing to take on these types of positions, I do not prefer them; however, I do enjoy mentoring young nurses who are recent graduates of nursing school. Many experienced nurses are threatened by new nurses, but I enjoy taking them under my wing and helping them grow, and I hope there are opportunities to mentor new nurses at your organization if I have the opportunity to join your team."
"While I am not seeking a supervisory position at this point in my career, I have over fifteen years of experience supervising nursing teams. Because of my experience with creating schedules, coaching employees, addressing performance issues, and handling other supervisory responsibilities, I am able and willing to fill in for the current supervisor when needed. I am always willing to use my supervisory skills to help out when needed, but because of personal obligations, right now, I am not interested in taking on a full-time supervisory role."
"I have not yet held a supervisory position in nursing as of yet, but I have mentored many of my colleagues when they first join the team. Mentoring has been one of the greatest joys of my career, and it has been an absolute pleasure seeing my mentees find their own success in their careers. One of my mentees, Marie, just applied for a new job within the company and obtained a supervisory position, and I couldn't be happier for her! Because I have been so successful at mentoring others, I think I would be a great supervisor, and I hope that there are opportunities to move into a supervisory role one day at your organization."
"Throughout my career so far, I have not held a supervisory position. However, I have mentored fellow coworkers. I was the primary preceptor for a very specialized outpatient department. After walking new hires through a rigorous orientation program, there was still consistent learning that occurred every day. Although team members were officially considered independent, I remained their mentor as they continued learning a little more each day. At the beginning of each orientation, I always worked to develop a good rapport with my coworker so that they felt comfortable working with me and would be willing to ask questions so they could learn."
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Anonymous Answer
I have been responsible for employee counseling and reports, conflict resolution, and bringing teams together to accomplish goals. I maintained an open-door policy, trust, and mutual respect. I was supportive of my direct reports' decisions as long as they aligned with company policy and procedures. I have served as a mentor to employees and supervisors. A good mentor is patient, provides guidance, and sets a good example. Mentorship fosters self-confidence and leadership.
Rachelle's Feedback
Excellent! It sounds as though you have a great deal of mentorship and leadership experience. You mention many fantastic qualities of a leader and mentor. In the end, it would be great if you include measurable examples of how you have emobdied these qualities in the past.
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