1. Tell us what are necessary qualities for a nurse to possess?
The answer to this question will reflect your work priorities and what characteristics you feel to be most important.
"Over time, I have seen that excellent communication is first and foremost, whether I am comforting a patient or discussing treatments with a doctor. Another important quality is organization. In such a sensitive environment, one mistake could be the difference between life and death.Lastly, patience is essential to possess. You must be a people person and be able to endure any possible turn of events."
2. Explain me a time when you felt overwhelmed with your work or patient-load. What did you do?
Give a specific example of a time you were overwhelmed. Explain step-by-step the actions you took to overcome this feeling and to focus on the task at hand.
3. Please explain me a time you provided effective patient or family education?
Tell a story about a time when you knew your patient or family retained your teachings. How did you know that you effectively communicated the piece of education?
4. Please explain about a time you failed. How did you deal with this situation?
Share a story about when you experience failure. Talk about your feeling and why you felt that you failed. Discuss anything positive that came from this failure? What did you learn from failing? What might you do differently now?
5. Tell us what is the most difficult part of being a nurse?
This can be a tricky question to answer because you want to be honest and genuine, while still showing that you love your job.
"I absolutely love being a nurse, but as with all jobs challenges will cross my path. The hardest part of being a nurse is seeing a patient in pain or unhappy and being limited in the extent I can comfort them. The reality is that as a professional I can only do so much. However, I realize this helps me so that I do not become too emotionally invested in my patients."
Talk about a time your facility changed. Maybe they were acquired by another facility. Perhaps they transitioned to a new computer system. Describe the change and the steps you took to adapt to such change.
7. Please explain a time when you had not communicated well. How did you correct the situation?
No one is perfect, we all have flaws. Discuss a time when you experienced miscommunication at work. What were the circumstances? How did you know you did not communicate well? What did you learn? What were the results?
8. Explain me how would you handle a patient that constantly complains about pain?
There is bound to be a difficult patient so you need to know how to handle such a situation. Use your past experience to show how you have previously overcame a similar circumstance.
"It all comes down to reassurance and proper care. This reminds me of a patient I had a few years ago. She told me about the excruciating pain she was experiencing several times.My first thought was to make sure we were doing our jobs right so I conferred with the attending doctor to ensure the patient's pain was being managed in the most effective way possible. Then, I listened and empathized with my patient while simultaneously reassuring her we were doing everything possible to ease her discomfort."
Tell a story about a family who was happy with your care. What did you do in particular that they were pleased with? How did you know they were happy? What were the results of this situation?
Tell a story about a time when others were relying on your medical expertise. Talk about the specific circumstances and words you used to ensure that they understood the language. What did you talk about? What was the result?
11. Tell us why do you want to be a Mental Health nurse?
We're looking for people who can explain clearly and with conviction why they want to be a mental health nurse. We are interested in people who want to work with people rather than a person's fascination with how the brain works. Avoid general statements such as ‘I want to help people' and tell us how you might like to help people and how you may have helped people in the past. Give examples how you do this and how you match the requirements of the role.
Make sure to explain the situation in detail including both perspectives (the patient's family and yours). Never talk bad about patients or their family. Take ownership if you indeed did something wrong. Share any positives that came from this - what did you learn? What would you do differently now? How did you turn this into a positive?
Share a specific story about a patient. Explain how you assessed the pending problems. Describe step-by-step the actions you took to prevent the problem. What was the result of your actions?
14. Explain me what is one professional accomplishment that you are most proud of and why?
Tell a story about one of your most noteworthy accomplishments at work. What was the accomplishment? What steps did you take to achieve it? Who else was involved in this accomplishment? What happened as a result of the accomplishment?
15. Explain me what do you know about our Mental Health Nursing degree?
This is an important one to get right. You are asking to come on a course for the next three years of your life. That's some commitment so we want to be assured that you understand what it is that you are committing yourself to. We're looking for people who are serious about a career in mental health nursing and are fully aware of the commitment it requires. We expect you to have researched the course at this University, attended an Open Day and thought about how you plan to manage the academic and personal demands of the course. Talk positively about why you want to study here and what you're interested in learning.
16. Tell us how do you deal with stress on the job?
In the field of nursing, you can come across many obstacles that may be stressful. The interviewer wants to gauge how you handle tense situations in a fast-paced environment. Show them that you persevere in tough situations.
"I think knowing what the job entails and being prepared allows you to be better equipped when stressful situations do arise. Honestly, a little stress is expected in our field. If I feel like I am getting to the point of being stressed out, I will take a few deep breaths and remind myself why I got into nursing in the first place. Although there may be a few trying moments here and there, the impact nurses have on people's lives is well worth it."
Give an example of a time you had to prioritize your tasks quickly. Explain your thought process in details and why you chose to complete the duties in such order.
Describe the circumstances and actions step-by-step. What happened to make you feel proud? What was your role? Who was involved? What was the result?
I always listen thoroughly to the feedback I receive and incorporate it into my actions moving forward. However, if it seems the superior does not have a complete understanding of a patient's treatment or status, I respectfully respond in ways that make it clear I don't let my pride, nor fear of speaking up, interfere with my goal of providing the best possible care.
20. Can you explain what motivates you as a psychiatric nurse, even during the toughest shifts?
My motivation as a psychiatric nurse comes from a deep desire to do the very best I can in every situation I'm faced with. That often means calming agitated patients on a daily basis, but I even had my inner drive to succeed before getting my first job. I tirelessly studied psychiatric nurse interview questions so I was well prepared for what I was asked, in a situation that was very stressful for most of my nursing school peers.
Talk about a specific instance when you went out of your way for your job or for a patient. What were the circumstances? Why did you choose to take the action? What did you do? What were the results?
Tell a story about a hostile patient and your step-by-step actions. What was the patient doing that was hostile? How did you react? How did you feel? What procedures did you follow to interact with the patient? What was the result of your actions?
Explain the conflict surrounding the situation. Who was involved? What was your role? Did anything positive come from this? What did you learn?
Tell a story about a time when you did not know the answer. Explain step-by-step the action you took to find the information. Talk about the result of your actions.
Talk about a time when you successfully relied on written (or typed) communication. What were the circumstances? What was being discussed? How did you ensure success?
Be honest and talk about the most difficult component of nursing. Maybe it's working with a specific patient population. Or, acting in a leadership role. Whatever it is to you, always make sure to talk about the steps and actions you've taken to cope with the difficulty.
Mental health nursing isn't simply about sitting down with people in one-to-one situations and counselling them. We work with people across all age groups with many different needs and problems. Show that you have an understanding of what it is that mental health nurses do. What sort of environments do we work in? What sort of things might we do by way of helping people? Have an appreciation of current issues in the news such as anti-stigma campaigns, the effect of living in society with a diagnosis.
Absolutely. Throughout my career as a psychiatric nurse, I've been supportive of nurses who are just entering the field. Even in nursing school, I helped friends study psychiatric nurse interview questions before they met with hiring managers in hopes of getting their first jobs. Peer mentoring helped me get where I am today and I want to reciprocate.
Most nurses encounter difficulties while working. Talk about a time when you felt dissatisfied with your work. What were the circumstances and what happened? What was your role? Why did you feel dissatisfied? What would you do differently now? What did you learn?
Tell a story about a specific time when you had a difficult time getting a patient to agree to something at work. What was the situation and what did they need to agree to? What specific actions did you take to get them to agree? What was the result?
Explain step-by-step how you've performed in a similar situation. What specific words and terminology did you use? How did you know that the individual understood your explanation?
About a year ago, on the night of my fifth wedding anniversary, I had to cover a shift for a coworker who suddenly got ill while tending to patients. Pitching in meant I had to tell my spouse we would need to shift our dinner plans to the next night when I was off. Although this initially caused disappointment, there was also a mutual understanding that if I did not cover that shift, the entire department would have struggled. Thanks to my decision, the department was able to continue delivering top-quality patient care, which was ultimately recognized by the nursing supervisor.
Talk about a time when you decided to take the initiative to complete a task or make an important decision. What was your motivator? What action steps did you take? What were the results of your actions?
Talk about the patient's care and why they needed much of your time. What was the illness, trauma or injury? How did you ensure that this patient received quality care? How did you manage your other patients?
Tell a story about a patient you worked within a similar situation. What step-by-step actions did you take to obtain the information from the patient? What were the results of your actions?
