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 Krista Wenz on May 30th, 2023. Learn more here.

Question 37 of 50

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.

How to Answer
1st Answer Example
2nd Answer Example

Before starting an IV and administering the medication, in this situation, the nurse should look in the patient's electronic health record and review the physician's medication order to verify they have the correct medication, dosage, and administration duration. This is a safety protocol that is standard in nursing practice to prevent medical errors, as administering the incorrect medication, incorrect dosage, and/or incorrect duration can have dire consequences to the patient. The interviewer is asking this question to assess the candidate's understanding and regular practice for such precautions. To effectively answer this question, the candidate should indicate that they would verify the medication, dosage, and administration duration by reviewing the order in the electronic health record. A more successful answer to this question could include examples of how the candidate prevented a colleague from committing a medical error by reminding them to review this information, helped develop training materials on the matter for their unit, or even helped change protocols to improve compliance and patient outcomes.

"Before I did anything to the patient, I would go to the patient's electronic record and verify the drug name, the dosage, and the administration duration. This is so important because so many times, nurses are busy or get distracted and accidentally grab the wrong medication, dosage, or set the incorrect administration duration. A couple of years ago, we had several new nursing graduates working on my unit, and we had several medical errors related to this issue take place. Because I am so passionate about this issue, I helped my supervisor develop training materials to help remind my colleagues to verify these medication elements before they administer IV drugs. While these materials did not eliminate medication errors, they helped reduce them."

"Before administering the IV medication, I would check the patient's wristband and/or verbally confirm the patient's name and date of birth with the patient. Then I would verify the medication order in the patient's electronic medical record, ensuring that the medication, dose, route, and duration all matched the information that I have."

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How to Answer: 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.

Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Situational Nursing job interview.

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.

How to Answer

Before starting an IV and administering the medication, in this situation, the nurse should look in the patient's electronic health record and review the physician's medication order to verify they have the correct medication, dosage, and administration duration. This is a safety protocol that is standard in nursing practice to prevent medical errors, as administering the incorrect medication, incorrect dosage, and/or incorrect duration can have dire consequences to the patient. The interviewer is asking this question to assess the candidate's understanding and regular practice for such precautions. To effectively answer this question, the candidate should indicate that they would verify the medication, dosage, and administration duration by reviewing the order in the electronic health record. A more successful answer to this question could include examples of how the candidate prevented a colleague from committing a medical error by reminding them to review this information, helped develop training materials on the matter for their unit, or even helped change protocols to improve compliance and patient outcomes.

Written by Kelly Burlison on June 3rd, 2019

1st Answer Example

"Before I did anything to the patient, I would go to the patient's electronic record and verify the drug name, the dosage, and the administration duration. This is so important because so many times, nurses are busy or get distracted and accidentally grab the wrong medication, dosage, or set the incorrect administration duration. A couple of years ago, we had several new nursing graduates working on my unit, and we had several medical errors related to this issue take place. Because I am so passionate about this issue, I helped my supervisor develop training materials to help remind my colleagues to verify these medication elements before they administer IV drugs. While these materials did not eliminate medication errors, they helped reduce them."

Written by Kelly Burlison on June 3rd, 2019

2nd Answer Example

"Before administering the IV medication, I would check the patient's wristband and/or verbally confirm the patient's name and date of birth with the patient. Then I would verify the medication order in the patient's electronic medical record, ensuring that the medication, dose, route, and duration all matched the information that I have."

Written by Kate Buckley on January 10th, 2023

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About the Author

Krista Wenz

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