Hospital registered nurse interview questions

What this hire must get done

Write the scorecard before you interview, then hire against it. Set the bracketed targets from your own numbers.

What to tell candidates before the interview

Say the hard parts plainly. People who wouldn't stay drop out early, and the ones who stay knew what they signed up for.

• Say plainly that nurses here float between the ER and the unit whenever census shifts, and that a night can bring a trauma and a swing bed patient's evening care in the same hour.
• Give the posted schedule: [12-hour day or night shifts], [your weekend rotation], [your holiday rotation] and call-back, with the pay for each.
• Describe the night team: [how many] RNs on nights, plus LPNs and techs, with the provider [on site or on call].
• Name the checks that follow an offer and when they happen: license verification, [your background check], and any health screening or drug test your state allows, given to every new nurse in the role.

How to run the interview

1. Same questions, same order. Ask every candidate the questions below and the same follow-ups. It is the only way to compare people fairly.
2. Two interviewers. An owner or manager and someone who does the work. Take notes on what the candidate says, not on how you feel about them.
3. Score right after each answer. 5 sounds like the strong answer, 3 like the mixed one, 1 like the weak one. Use 2 and 4 for answers in between.
4. Rate alone, then compare. Compare candidates question by question, and talk only after everyone has scored. Big gaps are worth a conversation.

1. Situational · Setting priorities

   At [3] a.m. the ER is yours alone. You're with a toddler who has a fever when a man walks in with chest tightness. Walk me through your first [five] minutes.

   It shows whether they triage fast, use the help they have, and come back to the patient they left.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you ask the LPN or tech to do, and what do you want reported back?
   • When do you call the provider, and what do you say?
   • How do you make sure the toddler isn't forgotten?

   5Strong

   Triages the new arrival right away with [ESI or your triage system], starts what your chest pain standing orders allow, and calls the provider early. Gives the LPN or tech a defined task for the toddler and what to report, then goes back to reassess.

   3Mixed

   Sees the chest pain first and calls the provider, but leaves the toddler with no one assigned and no plan to recheck.

   1Weak

   Finishes with the toddler before triaging the new patient, or waits for the provider before starting standing orders.

2. Situational · Recognizing a change

   A pneumonia patient admitted this afternoon is breathing faster and seems more confused than at handoff. Vital signs aren't due for another hour. Take me through your next steps.

   This is the moment a small-hospital nurse earns their pay: catching the change and getting the right people moving.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you look at first, and what do you compare it with?
   • What do you say when you call the provider?
   • What would make you call for more help right away?

   5Strong

   Goes to the bedside now, assesses and takes vital signs, compares with the handoff, calls the provider with an SBAR and a clear request, activates your rapid response or emergency team when its criteria are met, then rechecks and charts.

   3Mixed

   Assesses and calls the provider, but gives a loose report with no clear request, or doesn't say what would make them call again.

   1Weak

   Waits for the scheduled vital signs, or charts the change without calling anyone.

3. Behavioral · Speaking up

   Tell me about a time a provider's answer didn't match how worried you were about a patient. What did you do?

   In a rural hospital the provider is often on the phone, not at the bedside. You need a nurse who will say it again, more clearly, and then go up the chain.

   Follow-ups

   • What exactly did you say on the first call?
   • What made you go further, and to whom?
   • How did it turn out, and what would you do differently?

   5Strong

   Names the patient's situation and the facts given in SBAR. Said the concern again in plain words, such as with TeamSTEPPS CUS language, then went up the chain of command per policy. Charted it and stayed professional.

   3Mixed

   Raised the concern twice, but stopped there when nothing changed and left it for the next shift.

   1Weak

   Has never pushed back, or went around the provider without telling them.

4. Behavioral · Speaking up

   Tell me about a medication error or near miss you were part of. What happened after you noticed?

   Errors happen. You want the nurse who reports right away and changes a habit, not the one who hides it.

   Follow-ups

   • How was it caught?
   • Who heard about it from you, and when?
   • What changed afterward, for you or for the unit?

   5Strong

   Owns their part, told the provider and charge nurse right away, filed a safety report, helped find what in the process let it happen, and changed a habit.

   3Mixed

   Reported it, but tells it mostly as someone else's fault or the system's, with a vague lesson.

   1Weak

   Says they've never been part of one, or didn't report it.

5. Technical · Medication safety

   At [3] a.m. the on-call provider gives you a phone order for a medication, and the dose looks wrong to you. No pharmacist is in the building. Walk me through what you do.

   It tests read-back, speaking up and knowing who to ask overnight, without asking them to recite a dose.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you say to the provider?
   • Who else can you check with at this hour?
   • What do you chart, and what do you report?

   5Strong

   Reads the order back, says plainly what worries them and why, checks with [your on-call or remote pharmacist] or your drug reference, holds the dose until it's cleared up, goes up the chain if it isn't, and charts and reports per policy.

   3Mixed

   Reads it back, questions it and holds the dose, but if the provider won't change it, isn't sure who to call next or what to chart.

   1Weak

   Gives it as ordered because the provider said so, or holds it without telling anyone.

6. Situational · Medication safety

   At shift change the count for a controlled drug is off by one. The nurse going home says it's probably a charting mistake and asks you to sign so they can leave. What do you do?

   Counts that don't match can mean a charting slip or drug diversion. The answer shows whether they'll hold the line with a tired coworker.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you say to the other nurse?
   • Who do you call, and when?
   • What happens if it's still off after you look?

   5Strong

   Won't sign a count that's wrong. Both nurses stay to recount and check the records and wastes, call the charge nurse or house supervisor and pharmacy, and file a report per policy if it doesn't resolve.

   3Mixed

   Won't sign, keeps both nurses there and calls the supervisor, but then treats it as the supervisor's problem: doesn't help check the records and wastes or ask what report gets filed.

   1Weak

   Signs to let the nurse go, or fixes the record without reporting it.

7. Behavioral · Handoffs and transfers

   Walk me through the last patient you sent to a bigger hospital, from the decision to the moment the ambulance pulled away.

   The last real transfer shows what they actually do, not what the textbook says.

   Follow-ups

   • What did you give the receiving nurse in report?
   • What did you check before the patient left?
   • What slowed it down, and what did you do about it?

   5Strong

   Confirmed the accepting physician and bed, gave a nurse-to-nurse SBAR report, sent records and images, checked lines, medications and paperwork against the checklist, charted condition and time at departure, and updated the family.

   3Mixed

   Covers report and records, but left the checklist or the family update to someone else without checking it got done.

   1Weak

   Describes handing the crew a stack of paper with no report, or can't recall a transfer in detail.

8. Situational · Handoffs and transfers

   You're halfway through evening medications on the unit when the house supervisor floats you to the ER for a trauma. What do you do before you walk away?

   Floating fast without dropping a patient is a daily skill in a critical access hospital.

   Follow-ups

   • Who takes your patients, and what do you tell them?
   • Which patient do you worry about most, and why?
   • What do you tell the supervisor?

   5Strong

   Gives a fast SBAR on each patient to the RN taking over, flags who is unstable and what's due, makes sure an RN owns the assessments, tells the supervisor what's pending, and goes.

   3Mixed

   Gives each patient's report to the RN taking over, but doesn't flag which patient worries them most or tell the supervisor what's left undone.

   1Weak

   Leaves without a handoff, or refuses the float with no safety reason.

9. Technical · Directing the team

   Tonight you have an LPN and a tech with you on the unit. How do you split the work between them and yourself?

   Delegation rules come from each state's board of nursing. You want a nurse who knows the RN keeps the judgment and still answers for the patient.

   Follow-ups

   • What would you never hand off, and why?
   • How do you know the person can do the task here?
   • How do you check on what you delegated?

   5Strong

   Keeps assessment, care planning and judgment calls. Delegates only stable-patient tasks the person is checked off for and your state allows, says what to report and when, and checks the results.

   3Mixed

   Delegates sensible tasks, but doesn't set what to report back or when they'll check in.

   1Weak

   Hands off an assessment or an unstable patient, or delegates nothing and falls behind.

Work exercise: case discussion with an SBAR call

Give each finalist a made-up chart: an inpatient whose vital signs are trending the wrong way, with new confusion and fresh lab results. In [15] minutes, they say what they'd do first, then phone an interviewer acting as the on-call provider, who brushes off the first call. Then they give a transfer report to a second interviewer. Your nurse manager or a senior RN scores it. Nothing hands-on: skills checks belong in a simulation lab, only where your policy allows.

Use made-up materials, never real customer work, and keep it to the time shown. Follow your own safety rules for anything hands-on.

Reference check questions

Tell finalists you'll call a former manager, and get their permission first. Ask about what they did, not whether they were nice.

• Tell me about a time they called a provider or a rapid response early. Was their judgment sound?
• How did they do on medication safety, like scanning, counts and catching errors?
• What did the nurses who took over from them say about their handoffs and charting?
• Would you hire them again, and would you put them on nights?

Questions to skip, and what to ask instead

Ask only what the job needs. Questions that touch age, health, family or pay history can break federal, state or local law, even when you mean well.

• SkipDo you have any health problems that would keep you from lifting patients?

  AskRead every candidate the same list of duties: [lifting, turning and transferring patients with lift equipment and a coworker, and chest compressions]. Then ask whether they can do these duties, with or without reasonable accommodation.

• SkipAre you planning to have kids? Nights are hard with a baby.

  AskThis job is [12-hour nights, every third weekend and a holiday rotation]. How would that schedule work for you?

• SkipWhat did your last hospital pay you?

  AskThis role pays [the hourly rate plus night, weekend and holiday differentials]. What pay do you need to take this job?

Common mistakes when hiring a hospital registered nurse

• Treating the license as the check

  An active license shows the nurse met the board's requirements. It says nothing about judgment at [3] a.m. Verify the license and any discipline through Nursys, then let the case discussion and references test the rest.

• Hiring a one-unit specialist for a floating job

  A strong ICU or labor and delivery nurse from a big hospital may dislike floating between the ER and swing bed patients. Ask about floating directly, and listen for whether they want it.

• Skipping the speaking-up questions when you're short

  When nights are open, it's tempting to hire anyone with a license. At night here, few people can catch a mistake, so the nurse who stays quiet is the risk you can least afford.

Hospital registered nurse interview FAQ