Nursing Interview Tool: Skills, Questions & Evaluation

Introduction: The Role of Nursing and Core Competencies

Nursing plays an integral role in the daily lives of countless individuals. As defined by the International Council of Nurses, nursing is "the profession and practice of providing care for the sick and infirm." Populations around the world — and in Japan in particular — are aging quite rapidly. Baby Boomers, individuals born between 1946 and 1964, are reaching retirement age and, as this demographic grows older, they typically become more prone to illness and other detrimental health conditions. As a result, the importance of nursing in the coming years will be even more profound.

Nursing, in one form or another, helps alleviate feelings of hopelessness and loss of control that occur during periods of confusion and illness. Nurses are not only knowledgeable about specific diseases and the nuances that accompany them, but they are also skilled communicators. Communication is imperative in many respects, as individuals seek clarity within the context of an uncertain world. Nurses help facilitate a healthy exchange of information with already distressed individuals. This is particularly important because nurses can help guide decisions that will ultimately serve as precursors to very consequential choices on the part of caregivers. Furthermore, communication is essential in the current information age. Nurses provide truth and clarity at a time when the information individuals encounter is often unreliable. The nursing profession helps mitigate this by providing information that can literally help save lives.

In addition to practical knowledge and communication skills, nurses must possess strong problem-solving abilities. Throughout the course of their careers, nurses will inevitably encounter numerous problems — often simultaneously and without warning. A nurse must first be able to delegate tasks to subordinates while simultaneously addressing more specialized, job-specific problems. Finally, a nurse must be able to plan effectively and coach others through team-based involvement. The healthcare profession is built on teamwork. Each individual within a facility brings a skill set unique to their role, and it is essential that these skill sets mesh to create synergy and cohesiveness. Effective coaching and planning on the part of the nurse provides a means of assessing team strengths while minimizing weaknesses. Through the coaching process, a culture of continuous improvement is fostered throughout the entire organization.

Behavioral Interview Questions by Skill Area

For each key characteristic or skill, the following questions are designed to require candidates to provide concrete examples of their abilities. Asking "what have you done in this situation" is an effective starting point for behavioral interviewing.

1) Teamwork: Provide an example in which you collaborated in a team environment. What was your role on the team? How did you work together on a solution that benefited the team as a whole?

2) Communication: Provide an example in which you influenced a team to make a decision. What tactics did you use? How did you present the information?

3) Delegation: Provide an example in which you delegated tasks to others for the benefit of the team. How did you decide which individual would receive which task? Did you follow up with that individual? What was the outcome?

4) Knowledge: Tell me about your nursing training and credentials. What attracted you to the profession? How familiar are you with current developments in the field?

5) Coaching: Provide an example in which you helped develop a member of your team. What specifically did you do? What was the outcome?

6) Planning: Tell me about any leadership positions you held in school or in your professional career. Did you have to meet deadlines? How did you plan to meet those deadlines?

Reflections from Conducting a Sample Interview

From the standpoint of the interviewer, I learned how difficult it is to assess an individual's merits in an independent and objective manner. In my personal experience, certain biases emerged during the interview process (2). For example, when the interviewee shared similar interests with me, I instinctively viewed him more favorably. In retrospect, those shared interests had very little bearing on his potential performance in the position. In fact, similar personal interests could actually be a detriment to job performance if they distracted the candidate from professional responsibilities. Nonetheless, I perceived them positively, which made me more likely to favor an otherwise inferior candidate.

I also found it quite difficult to distinguish fact from exaggeration during the interview. A skilled orator can easily mask a lack of genuine work experience with the ability to present inflated claims persuasively. In such instances, it was very difficult to probe beneath the surface without concrete evidence on which to base my assessment. For example, the interviewee claimed numerous leadership positions — roles that are certainly desirable, as they suggest a transferable and relevant skill set. However, upon closer examination, it was difficult to determine precisely what the candidate's role had actually been within those positions. In some instances, the candidate appeared to embellish the functions of his role, which would be difficult to verify through further research regardless. The only information available to me as an interviewer was the candidate's own account, which — as I discovered — is often exaggerated.

Because of this, I believe more interviewers should place greater emphasis on letters of recommendation, personal contacts, and professional references. These forms of verification provide a more unbiased assessment of a candidate's true merits relative to a position. They can also surface information or facts that were omitted during the interview itself.