1. Why did you leave your last job as Hospice Nurse?
Stay positive regardless of the circumstances. Never refer to a major problem with management and never speak ill of supervisors, co-workers or the organization. If you do, you will be the one looking bad. Keep smiling and talk about leaving for a positive reason such as an opportunity, a chance to do something special or other forward-looking reasons.
2. What is your greatest strength as Hospice Nurse?
This is your time to shine. Just remember the interviewer is looking for work related strengths. Mention a number of them such as being a good motivator, problem solver, performing well under pressure, being loyal, having a positive attitude, eager to learn, taking initiative, and attention to detail. Whichever you go for, be prepared to give examples that illustrate this particular skill.
3. Tell me what kind of salary do you need as Hospice Nurse?
A loaded question. This is a nasty little game that you will probably lose if you answer first. So, do not answer it. Instead, say something like, That's a tough question. Can you tell me the range for this position?
In most cases, the interviewer, taken off guard, will tell you. If not, say that it can depend on the details of the job. Then give a wide range.
4. Tell me how did you become involved in this line of nursing?
I had been a nurse for about 18 years when I was introduced to hospice. At the time, most of my experience had been in emergency nursing, home health, and psychiatric nursing. Over the past 12 years, I have worked for various hospices, both in Arizona and in California. For the first nine of those years, I worked as a case manager, seeing hospice patients at their homes and in facilities. Much of the time, I worked after hours or on-call.
Often, when working nights or weekends, if a call came into the hospice, I would take the call, either manage it over the telephone, or make a visit. As patient loads grew, many hospices began to use a dedicated telephone triage nurse to take calls and, if necessary, dispatch a dedicated visit nurse or another provider, such as a social worker or CNA, to the patient's location. I began to do that job and have continued, part time or per diem, over the past few years.
5. Do you know what types of rewards come with this kind of nursing?
I like the challenge of analyzing and solving problems from a distance. The job requires me to maintain my clinical knowledge of symptom management, and to utilize a variety of psychosocial skills. It is rewarding to be able to calmly deal with a family in crisis and help them work through the situation.
Also, the flexibility is a huge plus. I am able to work from home or from anywhere I happen to be. My home, in fact is in Arizona, and the hospice I work for (and all of the patients I deal with) is in California. I have done triage while on vacation, working from my cell phone and laptop in a hotel room. As I also work another job and sometimes travel, I can continue my triage assignments at night. The triage job is very compatible with another schedule.
6. Explain me an instance when you were able to demonstrate your attention to detail?
A close friend asked me to help her prepare for a potential job of her own by quizzing her with hospice nurse interview questions. I happily did so, but during the process, noticed that she had given an answer that didn't match up with something I saw on her resume. I asked her to clarify her response, and ultimately helped her convey herself so clearly that she was offered the job. She confessed if I had not been paying such close attention to details, she would have continued to express herself inadequately, which would have likely resulted in another candidate being offered the position.
7. Why are you leaving last job as Hospice Nurse?
Although this would seem like a simple question, it can easily become tricky. You shouldn't mention salary being a factor at this point. If you're currently employed, your response can focus on developing and expanding your career and even yourself. If you're current employer is downsizing, remain positive and brief. If your employer fired you, prepare a solid reason. Under no circumstance should you discuss any drama or negativity, always remain positive.
8. Explain me how you work under pressure as Hospice Nurse?
In my previous job as a Labor and Delivery nurse, we sometimes experienced sudden surges of patients into the unit. Since we could not turn away pregnant patients undergoing labor, I learned strategies to manage these surges. I would multi-task between patients while ensuring that I was still prioritizing. I would write down the things that must be prioritized within the L & D unit and carry out the tasks. Because of this, during some really busy shifts, we were able to handle up to 30 patients.
9. Tell us why did you choose your specialty area of nursing?
Whether the area of specialization is ER, Occupational Health, Community Health, ICU or any other, the key to answering interview questions about your nursing career choice is to be very specific about why you chose it. What influenced you in your choice? How did you explore your options? Highlight how your strengths are best utilized in this area and how it suits your personal competencies.
10. Tell me how would you know you were successful on this Hospice nurse job?
I am sure that I was successful. I have dreamt to work for your company and I can do anything to make my dream become true. And I am really interested in this job, for my passion not for money.
11. Explain me what kind of training does this type of nursing require?
Hospice training is essential. Many hospices offer a fairly intensive orientation and on-the-job training. There is also a great deal of continuing education available from organizations such as the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association. A core curriculum and certification is available.
There is no specific training for telephone triage, as it relates to hospice, but substantial experience as a hospice nurse case manager is very helpful.
12. Tell me any less agreeable aspects or challenges?
As in any job, there are frustrations. The phones get busy at times. Since the goal is always to give each caller my undivided attention, I sometimes need to budget my words carefully.
Dealing with staff can sometimes be difficult. As a triage nurse, every time I call someone, I am asking them to do something-to work. Often, people in the field are stretched pretty thin and they must cringe when they see my number on their caller ID. Sleep deprivation can also be a problem. My body has adjusted over the years and I can wake up easily and fall back asleep quickly. Fortunately, I can get by with multiple short naps through the night.
For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to help people, so I'd say I'd always considered caring professions. However, my mother's fight with cancer was very long, and my role as her caregiver caused me to research the hospice nurse specialization and realize it was really where I wanted to focus my efforts. I came to that conclusion about halfway through nursing school.
I believe that everyone should learn from his or her mistakes. I always try to consult my mistakes with my kith and kin especially with elderly and experienced person.
I enrolled myself into a course useful for the next version of our current project. I attended seminars on personal development and managerial skills improvement.
15. Explain me what you know about our institution?
ABC Medical Center is currently the country's leading chemotherapeutic treatment center for children. Its mission of providing the best treatment options for the greatest benefit of children's wellness made me interested to establish my career here.
About a year ago, I was caring for a lady who was within hours of the end of her life after dealing with a form of skin cancer that is very hard to treat. She was extremely anxious because she was estranged from her family and did not want to die alone. I assured her that I'd be by her side when the moment came, and she wouldn't have to worry about her fear coming to pass. I sat with her for about an hour after she expressed he anxiety to me, and by the end of the conversation, she was much more at ease.
I have been with my current company for a year and a half, but have done telephone triage for about three years. I chose this company because I was familiar with many of the people involved in its start-up and I was offered an opportunity to participate in the growth. Over the past year and a half, the patient census has doubled.
18. Basic Hospice nursing interview questions:
☛ Do you think you are overqualified for this position?
☛ Have you done this kind of work before?
☛ How did you prepare for this work?
☛ How long would you stay with our company?
☛ Are you planning to continue your studies?
Talk about specific work related experience for the position you're interviewing for. Think of actual examples you can use to describe your skills. Be clear in understanding the responses.
19. Phone Based Hospice nursing interview questions:
☛ Who was your favorite manager and why?
☛ Can you describe a time when your work was criticized?
☛ Tell about a time that you had to adapt to a difficult situation.
☛ What are the qualities of a good leader?
☛ What has been your biggest professional disappointment?
20. Video Based Hospice nursing interview questions:
☛ How have you changed in the last five years?
☛ Situation in which you had to arrive at a compromise.
☛ What was the most important task you ever had?
☛ What were the responsibilities of your last position?
☛ How did you react when faced with constant time pressure?
Be prepared to discuss in detail and with examples your five or six main attributes. This is the time you make advantage of the list of questions you have prepared earlier.
If you can come up with an example that relates to the position you're applying for that would be even better.
21. Behavioral Hospice Nurse Job Interview Questions:
☛ Tell me about the first time you lost a patient. What has changed in your reactions since?
☛ Tell me about a time you felt great satisfaction about your job
☛ Describe a time you had difficulty getting the patient's family to accept their upcoming death. How did you manage?
☛ Recall a time a patient started panicking. What did you do?
☛ Have you ever had to deal with conflict between a patient's family members about the patient's condition? Did you take part in it and what was your role?
22. Difficult Hospice Nurse Job Interview Questions:
☛ How do you handle stress?
☛ Why did you choose hospice?
☛ How would you handle a difficult family member?
☛ Are you willing to take call after hours?
☛ Hospice deals allot with death and dying. How will you handle this on a daily basis?
☛ What do you say to a patient when they ask you if they are dying?
☛ How do you organize your day?
☛ Describe a past issue you had with either patient or coworker and how did you work through that conflict?
☛ A family member confesses they were so stressed, they took one of your patients ativan to take the edge off. What do you do with that information?
☛ Hospice is one of the few team approaches in Medical care. How would you cope if the famiy or if a patient just didn't seem to get the whole philosophy of hospice.... and continuely asked about chemo, blood work, labs, xrays etc??
☛ What is your perception of hospice?
☛ You walk into a patients home, and they just passed away. A frantic family member is calling 911 and you know for sure the patient is a DNR what do you do?
☛ Describe something you have done to provide patients or family with stellar service? Out of the box sort of approach?
☛ A family member asks you for your phone # so they can call you directly during business hours. WHat do you say?
☛ Describe a good death...
23. Communication skills based Hospice nursing job interview questions:
☛ Describe a recent unpopular decision you made.
☛ Do you have the qualities and skills necessary to succeed in your career?
☛ What is a typical career path in this job function?
☛ What type of work environment do you prefer?
☛ What's most important to you in a new position?
24. Competency Based Hospice nursing interview questions:
☛ What was the most stressful situation you have faced?
☛ If you were hiring a person for this job, what would you look for?
☛ What were your annual goals at your most current employer?
☛ Why did you decide to pursue this career?
☛ Did you feel you progressed satisfactorily in your last job?
25. Behavioral Hospice nursing interview questions:
☛ What kinds of situations do you find most stressful?
☛ Describe a situation where you had to plan or organise something.
☛ What do you like and dislike about the job we are discussing?
☛ Give me an example of a high-pressure situation?
☛ What kind of events cause you stress on the job?
