This “Nursing Interview Questions and Answers” guide will help you develop insightful questions to assess the candidate’s fitness for your organization. The traditional method of interviewing a candidate is to ask questions that illuminate their strengths, weaknesses, and past accomplishments. However, this approach falls short of accurately evaluating a leadership candidate in today’s rapidly evolving healthcare environment. Download the 14-page guide here.
As you undoubtedly know, healthcare has undergone unprecedented transformational changes. Evaluating a candidate’s ability to succeed in today’s job is no longer enough. It’s essential to determine a candidate’s ability to deal with the unanticipated challenges of the future. This leadership ability is more elusive and challenging to assess and requires a different approach to candidate interviewing.
This guide develops a healthcare-specific line of inquiry into a candidate’s leadership abilities. The sections in this guide include:
- Emerging Challenges – a list of questions that address some leadership skills essential for success during transformational change. These skills include Decision Making, Solving Complex Problems, and Managing Change,
- Questions Behind the Interview Question – provides a second set of more complex questions. Each question includes a discussion of how to evaluate candidate responses,
- Swimming Upstream – helps you assess candidates who have had setbacks in their career progression, and
- More Questions to Ask – includes a list of additional questions to consider asking each candidate.
Use this guide to develop a list of specific questions that address the opportunities and challenges of your organization and the position you wish to fill.
Asking insightful questions is the best way to learn if a candidate is qualified. The interview questions you ask should determine if they possess the right skills, knowledge, and experience to succeed in your organization.
Emerging Challenges
Questions in this section are related to challenges that have emerged from the transformational changes in healthcare.
Develop a list of detailed questions specific to your organization’s transformational changes. Discuss the acceptable responses you would like to hear from the candidate for each question with your Interview Team. Encourage followup questions from the candidate to get a in-depth understanding of their potential contribution to your organization.
As you compare candidates, keep in mind that some candidates are very outgoing and engage with others quickly and easily. Other candidates are more low-key when you first meet them but frequently warm up after a second or third conversation. These candidates could be perceived as aloof when, in reality, they are just shy.
Is the candidate ready to address transformational changes in your organization? Here are some questions to consider asking.
Solving Complex Problems
Expect the candidate to offer in-depth answers to questions that concern solving complex problems in healthcare. Here are some sample questions:
- “Tell me about the most complex problem you faced brought about by healthcare reform and improvements in technology. Provide two specific examples.”
- “What has been the greatest problem you encountered adjusting a goal in response to an emerging healthcare trend? Describe your thought process and provide an example.”
- “Our existing process for _____ is ______. Based on your prior experience, what would you suggest to improve our process?”
- “Do you consider yourself a transformational leader? Why?”
- “Describe how you walk with one foot in Fee-for-Service and the other in Population Health Management. What were the three most complex implementation challenges you have faced?”
- “Describe the most difficult problems you faced aligning primary care providers to the new care delivery model.”
- “Describe the challenges you addressed when integrating clinical practices.”
- “Describe the last non-healthcare process or methodology you identified, analyzed, and adapted to healthcare.”
- “What tactics have proven to improve HCAHPS? Describe the coaching you have received or provided to others.”
- “Describe your experience with Magnet certification or re-certification.”
- “Implementation of a policy of transparency and adopting organizational changes involves including patients, their families, and the community. How have you been involved in these policy and organizational changes? Provide an example.”
- “Does your organization utilize Lean or Six Sigma? Describe the processes or areas you are addressing with these methodologies.”
- “Have you the support you need to be successful? Provide examples.”
Sections in this Guide
The sections in this guide cover the entire hiring process and include:
- Emerging Challenges – Solving Complex Problems, Managing Change, and Decision Making Skills,
- The Questions Behind the Interview Question – what is the question truly about,
- Swimming Upstream – evaluating candidates with career setbacks,
- More Questions to Ask – exploring candidate thoughts and motivations,
- The Interview Wrap-Up – where does the interview process go from here, and
- In Closing – final thoughts.
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