Questions for the Nurse Practitioner School Interview
An advanced-level health care worker, a nurse practitioner gives both general and specialized care to patients. People get a nursing license and work experience before going to school to become nurse practitioners. Getting ready for the school’s entrance interview is a good idea if you want to go to school for this career. In this article, we list 35 of the most common questions asked during interviews for nurse practitioner school.
In general, questions for school interviews to become a nurse practitioner
Some of the questions nurse practitioner school interviewers may ask are meant to help the admissions office learn more about you and how you work. Here are some common interview questions:
- Tell me about yourself.
- Do you worry about any of the tasks you might have to do as a nurse practitioner?
- What about this show do you like?
- What can you add to what we have planned?
- How do you take care of it?
- Why do you want to become a nurse with advanced skills?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
- What is it about you that makes you ready for success?
- Would you rather work alone or with other people?
- Tell me about the people you’ve worked for or learned from in the past.
Questions about work and history from the past
You need an associate’s or bachelor’s degree and some general knowledge about patient care to get into a program to become a nurse practitioner. During your interview, admissions officers may ask you these questions to find out if you have the following experience and education:
- How can you keep up with what’s happening in medicine?
- Tell us how you found out what you did.
- Tell me about a patient who was difficult to deal with.
- How do you teach people about their conditions and how to care for themselves?
- Tell me about a time when you were in charge at work.
- Which kind of patient do you like taking care of the most?
- What kinds of health problems do a lot of people in that group have?
- Tell me what you’re most proud of at work.
- What do you do when things change at work?
- How do you use your listening skills to help people?
In-depth questions
Admissions officers at nurse practitioner schools will ask you detailed interview questions to make sure you know what it means to be a nurse practitioner. With these questions, you can show what you know, what you care about, and what you’ve done. Here are some specific questions that the admissions officer may ask you during your interview:
- How do you make sure people are okay?
- What do you think about how health care is being changed?
- What is the most important health problem you want to solve, and why?
- How do you feel about terms like “midlevel provider,” which are sometimes used to describe nurse practitioners?
- Can you describe the differences between a doctor, a nurse, and a nurse practitioner?
- How much do you know about using technology in medicine?
- What would you do if you saw a coworker not following health and safety rules?
- What do you think is the hardest thing about working in health care?
- What steps do you take to stop the spread of germs and infections?
- What do you have to do to follow HIPAA?
Interview questions with examples
Sample answers can help you get ready for your interview for nurse practitioner school. This can help you feel more comfortable and sure of your answers during the interview. Think about how these people answered interview questions to help you think of your own answers and reflect on your own life:
What makes you want to go to school now?
This question could be asked to see how serious you are about going to school. Since many people who are studying to be nurse practitioners also work as registered nurses, this question can also help you figure out if you are ready to do both jobs. You might want to say in your answer that you are ready to take on more responsibility and have a lot of experience.
Here’s what I mean: “I decided that now is a good time to continue my nursing education because I have three years of clinical experience and have learned how to deal with patients, work with my coworkers, and keep my personal and work lives in balance. I’m happy with what I’m doing now, but I’m ready to take on more responsibility for a career that I can be even more passionate about than what I’m doing now.”
Are you worried that you don’t have the right skills or that you won’t do well in this program?
You have a lot of responsibilities as a nurse practitioner, so interviewers often want to know if you’re sure you can handle them. This question gives you a chance to show that you know yourself and can take criticism. It also lets you talk about any problems with your application and give helpful background information. Try to be positive and explain how you’ll handle any problems in your answer.
Here’s what I mean: “Even though I’m sure I can do well in this program, it was sometimes hard for me to keep a high GPA in college. But when I saw that my GPA was going down, I changed how I studied, which helped me get a good GPA in my last two semesters of college. I still study this way because it helped me get my RN certification. I also want to put them to use in this program.”
What do you want to learn how to do really well, and why?
At the beginning of their training, nurse practitioners usually choose a specialty, such as care for newborns, emergency care, or family practice. Interviewers often ask about these areas of expertise to make sure you have given your choice a lot of thought. Try to say in your answer what attracted you to the specialty in the first place. You should also be able to show that you know what the main point is.
Here’s what I mean: “As a registered nurse, I’ve seen that some patients need a lot of care because they are usually only treated for their symptoms and illnesses, not the reasons why they are sick. I think it’s best to look at a patient’s health as a whole, so I’m focusing on holistic care. I think about a patient’s social and mental health as well as their physical health when I treat them. This can help a person live a long and healthy life.”
How would you act if you and a doctor had different ideas about how to treat a patient?
There may be different ideas among healthcare workers about how to treat a patient. This question could be asked by the person in charge of admissions to make sure you know how to act professionally in this situation. Try to show that you can work well with other professionals in your answer. Also, showing that you are honest, polite, and willing to stand up for your patient can help.
Here’s what I mean: “The first time I met a patient, they told me they were a single parent. Once they found out they had a common illness that could be treated, the doctor gave them an antibiotic that made them sleepy. Knowing this, I asked to talk to the doctor alone and told them that, as the main caretaker, I was worried about this side effect happening to the patient. We were able to come up with the best plan for the patient’s care after a short talk.”
How would you respond if a patient asked for more painkillers after taking the maximum amount?
Pain affects different people in different ways. Interviewers for nurse practitioner schools often want to make sure that candidates know how to give pain medicine the right way. Try to show how well you can talk to people and how well you understand how medicine works in your answer.
Here’s what I mean: “When a patient wants more pain medicine than is allowed, I try to be understanding and comforting. First, I try to understand their pain and tell them I can’t give them any more painkillers until a certain time. I also tell them that it might take a little longer for the medicine to work. Lastly, I try to deal with pain without taking medicine. If a patient had a headache, for example, I might dim the lights in their room.”
