Commonly asked Mental Health Nursing interview questions

If you are applying for mental health nursing positions, you might want to prepare by reviewing typical interview questions that commonly arise. This can help you to feel confident and ready to demonstrate your skills and experience to be a standout candidate. In this blog, we explore 5 commonly asked mental health nursing questions, and how you could approach them in an interview.

1: Why do you want to work as a Mental Health Nurse?

How to answer: When answering this question, it is crucial to convey your passion about Mental Health Nursing, rather than simply stating that you hold a degree in the field as this will not be enough to impress the interviewer and set you apart from other candidates. You should demonstrate your enthusiasm and eagerness to make a positive difference to the lives of vulnerable individuals, as well as giving an explanation as to why this is important for you to do so. By doing this, you will be able to establish yourself as a proficient and compassionate candidate for the position.

2: What are the biggest risks that you can encounter working as a Mental Health Nurse?

How to answer: To impress the interviewer, it is important to begin by demonstrating your understanding of the complexities that come hand in hand with the position you’re applying for. This means showcasing your knowledge and understanding of the various challenges and responsibilities that can be faced by Mental Health Nurses. Additionally, it can be useful to provide examples of scenarios you’ve encountered in the past that demonstrate your ability to handle challenges and risks when they occur. By doing so, you will be able to give the employer confidence that you have the necessary experience and skills to excel in the role.

3: What is the most effective approach to dealing with difficult patients?

How to answer: When asked how you approach situations when dealing with difficult patients, it is crucial to demonstrate your ability to remain calm and professional when situations become challenging. Providing structure to your answer, as well as highlighting a past experience that you may have encountered, will help you to provide the interviewer with a clear answer. You could begin your answer by explaining the scenario and the type of situation you were dealing with. You can then progress your answer by adding detail on the steps you took when dealing with the patient and describe what the positive outcome was, and the impact it had on the patient.

4: How would you approach this situation?

Typically, a scenario type question will be included within an interview. It is important that when this type of question does arise that you don’t panic and take time to conduct a well-considered answer. The purpose of this type of question is test your ability to think on the spot and adapt to situations when they arise, which is an essential skill when working as a Nurse.

How to answer: Start your answer by providing a clear and concise explanation on the process that you would take when dealing with the scenario. Talk the interviewer through the steps that you would take to handle the situation, explaining why you would do this and how this would help. Finally, make sure that as you answer this question you highlight the rationale behind your decision-making process.

5: How well do you work under pressure?

How to answer: When answering this question it is important to be honest and provide specific examples to support your answers. You could start by acknowledging a time when you thrived under pressure, providing the interviewer with an overview on the situation you were dealing with, how you handled it and the outcome. It would also be useful to mention any particular strategies you use to manage stress or pressure as this will help to highlight to the interviewer your ability to stay calm and focussed when challenging situations arise, which is an essential quality that’s needed when working as a Mental Health Nurse.

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