by Brita Long
As team leaders, charge nurses are expected to possess attributes and skills beyond that of a registered nurse (RN) to effectively run their unit. They will likely have many of the same hard and soft skills as an RN such as excellent patient care skills, great time management, good bedside manner, flexibility, and critical thinking.
But assessing charge nurse candidates may require hiring managers like you to ask more detailed interview questions to get a firm understanding of whether they are the right fit.
Let’s take a look at some interview questions for charge nurses to add to your list as you prepare for your next meeting with a candidate.
Before We Begin, What Is a Charge Nurse?
Charge nurses are leaders that oversee a nursing team for a specific unit, department, or wing. They ensure that nursing functions within their group run smoothly and efficiently. They’re often responsible for things like delegating and overseeing nursing assignments, coordinating team schedules, monitoring patient activity, and facilitating the supply and demand of medications.
The specific functions of a charge nurse can vary by healthcare facility, but the day-to-day role may include things like managing admissions and discharges, patient assignments, clinical resources, emergencies, and escalations. They also provide guidance and support to help staff through challenging situations as they arise.
Like staff nurses, charge nurses are generally patient-facing while nurse manager roles are (typically) mainly administrative working in an office environment versus a clinical setting. For anyone considering this role, it can be an ideal match for someone who enjoys leading a team while still being hands-on with patient care.
Outstanding charge nurses will keep their units running smoothly by anticipating and solving problems before they arise and advocating on behalf of their clinical nursing team.
According to AllHeart.com, nursing hierarchy from “bottom to top” is commonly: CNAs and nursing aids, LPNs, staff nurses, charge nurses, nursing managers, directors of nursing, and then chief nursing officers (CNO).
RELATED: Strategic Interview Questions for Nurses
Example Charge Nurse Interview Questions
You can find a complete list of strategic interview questions to ask nurses, but here are a few more that may help you as you prepare to interview charge nurse candidates for your medical facility.
Due to their unique responsibilities, it may be helpful to ask interview questions that evaluate the candidate for:
- Ability to juggle a variety of challenges and needs
- Flexibility to respond to changing priorities or shift tasks, schedules, or priorities
- Consistent and clear communication with leaders, colleagues, patients, and other individuals
- A knack for problem-solving and decision-making
- Resourcefulness
- Advocacy
1. Walk Me Through Your Resume
It’s standard to ask an interviewee to describe themselves and their prior work performance. A qualified candidate should have no problem sharing the highlights of their work experience and recounting accolades they’ve received. It gives the candidate the opportunity to showcase what they’ve done, where they’ve gone above and beyond, challenges they’ve faced at work, or explain any gaps in their resume at the beginning of your conversations.
It also gives you some insights into an individual’s level of self-awareness, interpersonal skills, and ability to navigate conflict.
2. Tell Me About a Time When You Mentored, Helped, or Led Another Nurse
The answer to this question can help you understand a candidate’s prior leadership experience, the impact of their actions, and how they assess and mitigate emergent situations.
They can use this opportunity to highlight moments when they’ve taken the lead if this is the first time they’re interviewing for this type of position. An experienced charge nurse that’s moving teams could use this question to talk about their mentorship skills and leadership approach.
Follow up questions could include things like, “How would you describe the relationship between a charge nurse and the nurses under their charge?” or “What does being a mentor mean to you?”
3. How Do You Balance Clinical Care with Administrative Tasks? What Is Your Plan to Ensure Responsibilities Are Met?
Multitasking and organizational skills are often seen as keys to success as a charge nurse. The candidate would ideally be able to monitor all unit tasks, delegate when appropriate, and dedicate enough time to patient care and routine admin.
The interviewee could take this as an opportunity to talk about how they prioritize tasks and use their team to meet the needs of the patients, staff, department, and facility. For many hiring managers in healthcare, this question could be helpful to see how the candidate balances the clinical aspect versus the administrative necessities of the charge nurse’s responsibilities.
4. How Do You Handle Pressure Situations?
Nurses have stressful jobs, and it’s important to evaluate how a candidate navigates the pressure. This is a chance for candidates to highlight successful coping strategies that have worked for them in the past, such as fighting burnout as a nurse, creating healthy habits for de-stressing after work, or motivating their team through rough patches.
Other variations of this question could be, “Describe how you handle stressful shifts” or “How have you managed a high-pressure situation in the past?” Or “Share a time when you experienced conflict with a fellow nurse or charge nurse. How did you handle the situation?”
5. Describe a Tough Nursing Decision You Have Had to Make in the Past Year
Charge nurses are required to make difficult decisions on behalf of their units, so this question may help you better understand their ability to handle tough situations. This gives them the opportunity to discuss their critical thinking skills, especially under pressure, while still prioritizing patient safety and team wellbeing.
RELATED: Hiring Nurses During a Staffing Shortage
Other Questions to Ask in a Charge Nurse Interview
- What are the qualities of a good nurse leader?
- What are some of the challenges you face as a nurse leader?
- Share a time when you had to implement a change within a nursing team or healthcare organization. How did you navigate?
- What is your process for handling patient complaints about the care that your team provided?
- Tell me about a time when an emergency occurred while you were in charge. What was your first response, and what steps did you take to mitigate the issue?
- What are the three most important skills a charge nurse should possess?
- What communication skills do you think are most important for a charge nurse to have?
- Have you ever had to deal with a challenging patient? Describe your process for remaining calm and professional at all times.
- Tell me about a time when you stayed calm during a high-pressure emergency. What was your process for handling it?
- Did you have any mentors as a nurse? What did you learn from these individuals?
- Describe your leadership style when in charge of other facility staff members.
- How do you approach planning and prioritizing work on days when you’re extra busy?
- Tell me about the greatest accomplishment you’ve achieved as a healthcare professional.
Find the Right Charge Nurse for You
Nurses are the lifeblood of any healthcare team, and hiring the right charge nurse can be vital to the entire unit’s success. These strategic charge nurse interview questions are designed to help hiring managers come prepared for interviews so the role can be filled by the right candidate swiftly and effectively.
Find your next charge nurse with Insight Global today.
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