Operational Ward Nurse Interview Questions & Answers:

1. Tell us why did you choose nursing as your career?

Don't tell them- “I like it” They know nursing is not easy and most nurses don't like it all the time , Give them a real explanation for what, or who inspired you to become a nurse.

2. Tell us would you consider yourself a patient person?

Absolutely. At CENTAUR my supervisor would typically assign clients who needed someone who is calm, patient, and understanding. I got a lot of the erratic clients who were easily angered or depressed clients who need a lot of care and support. My calm patient demeanor would pacify their anger or pain.

3. Tell us what is your greatest strength as Ward Nurse?

I'm detail oriented; Highly organized; punctual; good at creating and planning I'm dedicated- I become invested in the population and company I work for. I take the initiative to develop myself in whatever area I lack. When I started working at CENTAUR I didn't know a lot about HIV so I starting following social media sites on HIV, I attended events and forums on HIV, subscribed to HIV magazines. I even put on a HIV awareness event in my community. I wanted to fully understand my clients experience and what they face. I volunteered for events for my company.

4. Tell us what do you find difficult about being a nurse?

Do tell them- Nursing can be a little stressful at times but you feel you do a pretty good job of caring for your patients and balancing everything. If you can give an example of multi- tasking, that you find it stressful at times but you are used to it and you have a system in place that allows you to deal with stress. This lets the nursing manager know that you are aware of the difficulties with nursing but that you do everything you can to overcome them.

5. What are your career goals as Ward Nurse?

Obtain licensure by September 2016, obtain CAP certification, become Qualified supervisor. I'm interested in leadership/program development. I have an interest in hospital setting; this is usually the beginning point before a client transitions to further care so its critical that they receive proper referrals and become invested in their recovery to increase chances of ongoing stabilization.

6. Explain me what experiences do you have dealing with mentally ill patients?

My mother has worked with special needs children at a high school for about eight years. I would hear her stories and see how some days it would be a challenge for her. Meeting them I was very careful but nice.

7. Can you tell us what do you know about our organization?

Central Florida Behavioral Hospital is emergency receiving facility that opened in 2008. The company has a trauma informed philosophy that focuses on client learning to be self sufficient, providing hope, empowerment, connection, and hope. The mission of the company is to provide service that clients would recommend to their families and friends, physicians prefer to refer, and staff feel proud to represent. Serve from children to mature adults. There are 9 units serving children/adolescents, co-occuring disorders, affective disorders, mature adults, general adult, persistent mental illness, shock therapy, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient. Open 24 hours a day and accept referrals and walk-ins.

8. Tell us how do you handle stressful situations as Ward Nurse?

I try to step back and calm myself down first, reach out to my peers/supervisor for support then think of a plan to address the problem. I make sure to react to situation and not to stress. EX: When we switched to new documentation system it was extremely stressful, there were aspects of the system we didn't understand, we had to transfer old notes/billing from older system while maintaining normal daily duties. We didn't fully understand how to do some things. It was insane and I felt extremely overwhelmed. I met with my supervisor and expressed how I was feeling, cried, and that made a huge difference. After getting past the emotions I was able to just accept what couldn't be done at the moment and accomplish would I could get done, ask right questions and got answers, etc.

9. Please tell us what have you done in the past year to better yourself as a Psychiatric Aide?

Attended trainings (LGBT trainings, motivational interviewing, leadership training, etc), work with supervisor on assertiveness, make my own personal goals and challenge myself to achieve them. Role play.

10. Explain me about a difficult situation you've had in the past and how you dealt with it?

Do tell them- Your professional strengths and challenges you have overcome in a positive way. An experience you had a work or nursing college, or a volunteering experience you had.

Don't tell them- About your personal life or knock-down-drag-outs you've had with others, make it relevant to your work.