MockQuestions

Situational Nursing Mock Interview

To help you prepare for your nursing interview, here are 50 situational nursing interview questions and answer examples.

Situational Nursing was updated by on May 30th, 2023. Learn more here.

Question 1 of 50

How do you handle being asked to do a nursing task you've never completed before?

Most situational interview questions are best answered using the STAR method which involves thinking about the situation, task, action and result and providing solid and thorough answers. This is not the time to say that you would jump in with both feet. The interviewer is not looking for someone who just jumps when someone says jump, but someone willing to jump with confidence and competence. Your job is to provide an answer that illustrates this difference.

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50 Situational Nursing Interview Questions & Answers

Below is a list of our Situational Nursing interview questions. Click on any interview question to view our answer advice and answer examples. You may view six answer examples before our paywall loads. Afterwards, you'll be asked to upgrade to view the rest of our answers.

Situational questions are asked so the interviewer can gain insight into your thought process, how you problem-solve, and how you communicate in the workplace. Situational nursing questions can include inquiries about drug dosages, procedures, or specific signs and symptoms of a patient and how you would proceed. Additionally, interviewers can ask how you would respond when faced with an ethical dilemma, a challenging colleague, or when abruptly put into a leadership role.

While these questions can be challenging, there are a few ways to prepare before your interview. First, think about your interview as having a chat with a friend. They ask you what you would do in a particular situation, and you respond using your knowledge and experience. Additional tips include the following:

1. Make sure you understand the question. If you are unsure how to respond, ask the interviewer to clarify.

2. Use your critical-thinking skills if asked about a situation you have not encountered in your career.

3. Use real-life examples as often as possible.

4. Practice answering these types of questions with a friend or colleague.

5. Be honest with the interviewer. If you are unsure of the answer, let the interviewer know that while you do not know the answer, you will find it after the interview.

If you would like more practice questions to review before your interview, we have many great resources at Mockquestions. Here are 50 General Nursing Interview Questions that will help you prepare for many different kinds of nursing interviews. We have specific Behavioral Nursing Interview Questions as well! For more modern virtual nursing interviews, we have HireVue Nursing Interview Questions. Additionally, we have interview questions for a Registered Nurse that will help you better prepare for your interview than just our general nursing questions.

Remember to approach your interview as if you are having a professional discussion with a friend. If you have successfully completed nursing school, you can ace your interview! Best of luck!

  • Adaptability

    1. How do you handle being asked to do a nursing task you've never completed before?

  • Communication

    2. You are talking with a patient during rounds, and the patient tells you she does not understand what the doctors tell her and she is unsure of what is going on with her health. Tell me how you respond to the patient.

  • Communication

    3. How would you explain a complex task to someone using verbal instructions?

  • Communication

    4. You were recently transferred to another unit and notice a fellow nurse consistently displaying incompetency in their work. How would you proceed?

  • Communication

    5. A coworker left her computer open with sensitive information on the screen. You are the only one in the nurses' station. How would you address this with her?

  • Communication

    6. Give an example of how you may connect and find common ground with a patient to gain understanding.

  • Communication

    7. How do you handle difficult family members who disagree with the care that the patient agreed to?

  • Communication

    8. You are caring for a young patient who is being discharged with a prescription for an inhaler. Upon asking the patient if he knows how to use the inhaler, he says, "Yes, I do." Tell me how you proceed.

  • Communication

    9. How do you handle situations in which you disagree with a doctor's orders?

  • Communication

    10. How would you change your communication style if the patient's family was having trouble understanding what you were trying to tell them?

  • Competency

    11. You are caring for a patient who is three-years-old and the physician has ordered a weight-based medication. When you look at the patient's records, you find the weight is documented in pounds. Explain how you proceed.

  • Competency

    12. A patient on your unit you are caring for has had his peripheral venous catheter in place for approximately 100 hours. The catheter looks normal and the vein is open. Tell me how you proceed with administering more IV medications.

  • Competency

    13. You are conducting intake on a patient who was just seen at your facility earlier in the week. After you enter the patient's vital signs, you see their medication list, which was updated earlier in the week. Tell me how you proceed.

  • Conflict

    14. We are work with difficult and uncooperative coworkers, at times. How do you handle uncooperative coworkers?

  • Conflict

    15. How would you handle a coworker who is habitually late, which causes you to leave work late?

  • Conflict

    16. Tell me about a time you were uncomfortable with a colleague. How did you handle the situation?

  • Conflict

    17. Describe how you handle and interact with hostile or aggressive patients.

  • Creative Thinking

    18. What are some action steps you could take to alleviate stress in patients in an ER waiting room?

  • Critical Thinking

    19. You are rounding on your patients on your inpatient unit, and as you enter an elderly woman's room, you find her sitting up and alert. Tell me what steps you take to prevent her from falling between now and the next time you round.

  • Critical Thinking

    20. You are currently in a patient's room during hourly rounds and although she is not due for another dose of pain medication for two more hours, she is complaining of increased pain. Tell me how you proceed.

  • Customer Service

    21. Everyone on your unit is busy and you requested that your unit's nursing assistants bathe one of your patients earlier today. The patient has yet to be bathed and she is upset about it. Tell me how you proceed.

  • Customer Service

    22. Tell me a time when you went above and beyond for a patient.

  • Diligence

    23. You are assisting a physician to perform a procedure when you are asked to retrieve a bottle of acetic acid that can be used on the patient. After retrieving the bottle from its normal location, what do you do before passing it to the physician?

  • Diligence

    24. You just finished preparing IV medications for a patient, and you thoroughly washed your hands before doing so. As you enter the patient's room with the medication, describe the first thing you do to prevent patient infection.

  • Discovery

    25. Describe a situation where it may be appropriate to use humor in the workplace.

  • Discovery

    26. What kinds of review questions do you ask yourself after dealing with a difficult and challenging patient situation?

  • Discovery

    27. How would you handle someone asking you for medical advice or diagnosis validation outside the workplace?

  • Leadership

    28. Describe a time when you had to step into a leadership role.

  • Management

    29. How would you handle a situation in which nursing leadership were to reject an idea you pitched to streamline your job?

  • Operational

    30. You are preparing medication in your unit's med room when you are paged to the nurse's station. You plan to immediately return to the med room, which you can see from the nurse's station. Do you lock the door upon leaving the med room?

  • Performance Based

    31. Your patient, who has just returned from surgery, now has multiple tubes and lines that you did not insert. You need to administer a drug into her central line, but are having a hard time finding this tube. As you are in a rush, tell me how you proceed.

  • Performance Based

    32. You are caring for a patient on your inpatient unit, and after making a call to the physician hospitalist on staff for support, you learn that the patient's medication regimen needs to be changed. Tell me the first steps you take.

  • Problem Solving

    33. During your shift in the ER, a patient presents with bruising from a fall. Her male companion answers questions for her, and she barely gives eye contact. What do you do in this situation to get the patient to answer independently?

  • Problem Solving

    34. You are caring for a patient on your inpatient unit who is bedridden and unconscious. When the patient came to you, they already had a bedsore. How do you prevent this from happening again?

  • Role-Specific

    35. Describe a time when you did not provide the type of patient care you normally would. What could you have done to improve care?

  • Role-Specific

    36. You are caring for a patient on your unit who is now resting well but has tried to get up and fallen multiple times over the past couple of days. As you prepare to leave the patient's room, do you restrain her to prevent her from falling again?

  • Role-Specific

    37. You are caring for a patient and the physician has ordered an IV medication for them. You have collected the medication and the supplies needed to administer the IV. Tell me how you will proceed from this point.

  • Role-Specific

    38. In your inpatient unit, you are caring for a patient who is still weak from surgery. Upon reviewing physician orders, you see the patient is to get up and walk two laps in the hall. Tell me how you would proceed.

  • Scenario Based

    39. How would you handle a patient that assumes a 'helpless' role, does not do what is necessary for their treatment, and asks you to do certain tasks that they could and should perform for themselves?

  • Scenario Based

    40. You have a coworker with a large following on TikTok, who brags constantly about her followers. One day you notice a video of her with one of her patients in the background. What would you do in this situation?

  • Scenario Based

    41. You are caring for a patient on your inpatient unit who is taking a turn for the worse. You decide you need to call the hospitalist physician. Tell me how you will proceed.

  • Scenario Based

    42. You are alone in an elevator with two nurses from another floor who are talking about a patient. How would you respond?

  • Scenario Based

    43. You are working phone triage for your physician practice when a patient calls asking for advice as he is having chest pains. Tell me what you direct the patient to do.

  • Situational

    44. How would you handle a patient who is trying to manipulate you in some way or talks about the other shift to you?

  • Situational

    45. If you have too many things on your to-do list, how to you decide which to do first and which to postpone?

  • Situational

    46. What tools or techniques do you use to remember difficult information or instructions given verbally only?

  • Teamwork

    47. You are nearing the end of your 12-hour shift on your inpatient unit and you are exhausted from caring for eight high-acuity patients. As your colleague arrives to relieve you, tell me how you proceed.

  • Tough

    48. Your coworker forgot to sign off that she gave Tylenol as a PRN before she punched out and calls you from the car. She asks you to initial that it was given so nobody gives it again. What do you do?

  • Tough

    49. Have you ever caught a coworker stealing? If so, how did you handle it? If not, what would you do if you saw a colleague stealing?

  • Tough

    50. How do you handle ethical or philosophical differences with a patient?

  • About the Author

    I began my career in emergency medical services (EMS) over 30 years ago, working as a Firefighter-Paramedic, EMS Captain, Mental Health Technician, ER Technician, EMT and Paramedic Adjunct Instructor, and EMS Educator. During my career, I had the privilege of serving on over one thousand interview panels to help various organizations choose the right candidate for the job.

    I have created curricula and training materials to prepare candidates for interviews and held mock interview courses for all types of healthcare professionals. My interview experience includes hiring emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firefighters, nurses, medical assistants, home health aides, and physician assistants.

    As a coach and contributor for MockQuestions, I am excited to help you navigate your upcoming nursing interview. While these situational questions assess your critical thinking and communication skills, interviewers also ask these questions to gain insight into your personality to determine if you will be a good fit with the company culture. Remember to be relaxed and be your authentic self. Best of luck in nailing your interview!

    Learn more about Krista Wenz