Nursing interview questions

NHS interviews for band 5 staff nurse posts usually mix clinical scenario questions, safeguarding, questions on raising concerns and accountability, and values-based questions linked to the NHS Constitution and the trust’s own values. Many trusts also set a short drug calculation or numeracy test on the day, sometimes with a literacy task. The panel is typically a ward manager or matron and a senior nurse, sometimes with a practice educator.

Clinical scenario questions

These test how you prioritise and when you escalate. Common ones:

• “You come on shift and one of your patients has a drop in blood pressure and a raised respiratory rate. What do you do?”
• “You have four patients needing something at the same time. How do you prioritise?”
• “A patient is refusing their medication. What do you do?”
• “How would you manage a patient at risk of falls?”

For a deteriorating patient, use a structured approach and say it out loud. Assess using ABCDE (airway, breathing, circulation, disability, exposure), calculate the early warning score your trust uses, escalate to the nurse in charge and the medical team using SBAR (situation, background, assessment, recommendation), and document. Panels want to hear that you would not wait and that you know the escalation route.

For prioritisation, explain your reasoning: clinical risk first, then time-critical tasks, then everything else. Say who you would delegate to and what you would ask for help with.

For refusals, talk about capacity, finding out why, explaining the risks, respecting an informed decision, documenting it and informing the prescriber.

Safeguarding and raising concerns

Expect a question like “You notice bruising on an older patient that does not match their explanation. What do you do?” or “A colleague comes on shift smelling of alcohol.” The answer covers protecting the patient, recording what you see factually, reporting to the nurse in charge and following the trust’s safeguarding procedure, which includes involving the safeguarding team.

For concerns about colleagues or standards, panels want to know you would speak up. Mention your duty to raise concerns under the NMC Code, the trust’s policy, and the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian. Telling the nurse in charge straight away is the first step. Say what you would do if nothing changed after that.

Values and motivation

Every NHS interview includes values-based questions. Examples:

• “Tell us about a time you delivered compassionate care.”
• “Describe a time you maintained a patient’s dignity.”
• “Why do you want to work on this ward?”
• “What does good care look like to you?”

Use real examples from placements or work, in the STAR format. For “why this ward”, read about the speciality and the trust and say something specific: the patient group, a preceptorship programme, a development opportunity. The NHS values-based interviews guide goes through the values in detail.

Professional questions

• “What does accountability mean for a registered nurse?”
• “How do you keep your practice up to date?”
• “What would you do if you made a medication error?”

For a medication error: check the patient and keep them safe, inform the nurse in charge and the prescriber, complete an incident report, be open with the patient under the duty of candour, and reflect. Panels want honesty and learning, and they mark down answers that suggest hiding or minimising a mistake.

For CPD, mention revalidation with the NMC and give an example of something you have learned recently and how you used it. Our guide to NMC revalidation explains the requirements.

The drug calculation test

Many trusts test numeracy on the day, especially for newly qualified nurses and international recruits. Questions usually cover tablets, liquid medicines, injections and infusion rates, plus unit conversions between grams, milligrams and micrograms. The formula most nurses learn is: what you want, divided by what you have, multiplied by the volume it comes in.

A hypothetical example: a patient is prescribed 500 mg of a medicine that comes as 250 mg in 5 ml. 500 divided by 250 is 2, multiplied by 5 ml gives 10 ml.

Practise until conversions are automatic, and check every answer against common sense. The trust sets the pass mark, and it is often high because errors in real practice can harm patients.

Questions to ask and what happens next

Good questions for a nursing panel cover preceptorship, supernumerary time for new starters, the skill mix on a typical shift, and training opportunities. Our list of questions to ask at the end of an interview has more.

If you are successful you will receive a conditional offer, usually on band 5 for a staff nurse post in England. The current figures are in our NHS band 5 guide. Pre-employment checks include references, an enhanced DBS check, occupational health clearance, right to work and confirmation of your NMC registration.