It’s natural to wonder what your interview questions might look like so you can be mentally prepared for them and not just ‘wing it’ at the moment, especially when the interview is to work in the healthcare industry. If you’re a nurse prepping for your interview, you definitely need to take a look at these nursing interview questions.
Nursing interview questions are generally based on three areas of interest; patient care, adaptability, and teamwork. So, these are the key points you need to be prepared for. But of course, there are several interview questions drafted from these three points. The nature of NHS interview questions is categorised according to the NHS bands.
In case you aren’t familiar with how the NHS nursing bands work, here’s a quick recap:
- NHS band 5 nurses are newly qualified nurses.
- NHS band 6 nurses are specialists in nursing.
- NHS band 7 nurses are nurse practitioners.
- NHS band 8 nurses are chief nurses.
- NHS band 9 nurses are nurse consultants.
So, this is the general difference between the various nursing bands of NHS. Whichever category you fall in, your NHS interview questions will be based accordingly.
NHS Nursing Interview Questions!
Now that you have an idea of how your interview questions might be categorised, you should take a look at a few NHS competency-based interview questions. These practice nurse interview questions will help you with your preparation!
1. Introductory Questions
This might be an obvious one, but this is among the most important factors in judging a candidate. Questions like; Tell us about yourself, and introduce yourself, need to be answered confidently and honestly. Don’t exaggerate anything, be truthful and clear about your skills. Most importantly, don’t be nervous.
These questions are meant to judge a lot of different characteristics about a candidate, their honesty, achievements, and, importantly if they’ll be the right fit in your work environment. So, prepare yourself for this question as much as you can. Practise in front of the mirror if you have to!
2. Analysis Questions
Up until now, these questions are standard for all nursing bands. Whether you’re a band 5 nurse or a band 7 nurse, you should expect these questions in your NHS nursing interview questions.
This particular set of questions is used to evaluate a candidate’s character as an employee. These are commonly asked questions in the form; what are your biggest weaknesses? The interviewer looks for honesty and confidence in your answer more than the actual answer. You need to assure the interviewer that even though you believe that these are your weaknesses, your job won’t be affected by them.
3. Competency Questions
Of course, the interviewer will ask detailed questions that relate to the candidate’s competency. These are nursing interview questions specifically focused on evaluating your nursing knowledge.
You can expect the interviewer to start from the 6Cs of nursing. This particular set of questions might be asked to every nursing band, but for band 6 and band 7 qualified nurses, the questions might be more detailed. For instance, how do you demonstrate the 6Cs? The actual interview questions might be termed differently, but they’ll be based on testing your nursing knowledge.
Based on what you’re specialisation is, NHS job interview questions can include midwifery interview questions, clinical governance interview questions, and even interview questions for mental health nursing.
4. Work Ethic Evaluation Questions
One of the most important aspects interviewers look for in a candidate is their work ethic and how well they can work in a team. These questions are used to evaluate your team-building skills, leadership skills, and other various employee characteristics that they consider important.
These questions might be termed; have you ever had a conflict at work? If so, how did you handle it? Of course, there might be different variations of this question, but the goal is to determine the candidate’s work ethic and to judge their ability to work in a team.
5. Patient Care Questions
As you might expect, this particular series of questions is an essential part of your nursing interview! Patient care is the entire focus of healthcare, and every nurse has to be passionate about it. This is what your interviewer will look for, how well you can handle a situation when it comes to patients.
The actual questions might be asked in different manners. For instance, have you ever dealt with a difficult patient or a close one? If so, tell us how you handled it.
So, these were our top nursing interview questions that are going to help you get your desired job! Our goal was to help you prepare for your NHS job interview and help you understand the various topics your interviewer will deem critical.
Primus Recruitment has years of experience in helping healthcare professionals find the perfect job for them. Get in touch with our healthcare recruitment company now.
