Top 7 LPN Interview Questions to Ask

The budget’s approved and the positions are posted. Now all you need to do is find the right LPN to join your staff. As a hiring manager, you know that hiring a nursing professional means more than just getting someone in for an interview. You also want to be sure your candidate is the right fit for your facility and will stick around for a while.

We’ll share the most effective LPN interview questions to help you land the perfect match. Use this interview guide to fix staffing shortages and minimize turnover. Seeking other industry insights to boost your recruitment strategy? Take a look at how other organizations are advertising their LPN openings on our job board to see how you can make your facility stand out.

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Why Hire an LPN?

Licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) provide basic nursing care to patients. They assume full care of patients in the long-term care setting and may provide care with restrictions in the acute care setting.

Many healthcare facilities have turned to a team nursing care model in response to staffing shortages, which creates a shared responsibility between RNs and LPNs. With a reduced number of RNs at the bedside, team nursing allows patients to get more direct care. It’s a major patient safety plus — shown to reduce metrics like pain scores and restraint usage.

In the next decade, employment is expected to grow by 3% for LPNs. Stay ahead of the trend by adding a valuable nurse to your team today.

7 LPN Interview Questions and What the Answers Say

Attracting candidates for your licensed practical nurse opening starts by creating the perfect LPN job description. After receiving plenty of applicants, it’s time to prepare your practical nursing interview questions so that you can compare candidates’ experience, skills, and professional recommendations.

Here are the most effective LPN interview questions to find the right nurse for your facility.

1. Why are you interested in working as an LPN at our facility?

As a hiring manager, you want to know which aspects of the LPN role appeal to the nurse. This question gives the candidate a chance to explain how their skills align with the job duties and why they’re a fit.

It also gives you a sense of their commitment to the role. Are they looking for the next hospital to call home? Avoid turnover by hiring a nurse who has a genuine interest in joining your staff.

If you’re interviewing a new grad, LPN interview questions like this give them a chance to provide insight into their passion for nursing and their career goals.

What to listen for:

• Personal experiences that motivated candidates to apply for the role
• Interest and commitment to performing LPN duties with your facility’s patient population

Potential follow-up questions:

• What’s your favorite part about working with this clinical population?
• What made you decide to become an LPN?

2. What are some personality traits that your patients would use to describe you?

As frontline healthcare providers, LPNs spend a lot of time with the individuals they care for. Asking “tell me about yourself” LPN interview questions, but from the point of view of a patient, can give you insights into their style of caregiving.

LPN job interview questions aimed at revealing patient-nurse dynamics can help you determine if the nurse’s approach would fit in at your facility. Be alert to body language and tone of voice, which may tell you a lot about the candidate’s experiences with direct patient care.

What to listen for:

• Signs that the candidate has developed a positive and productive rapport with patients in the past
• Personal attributes and characteristics that align with the delivery of high-quality nursing care

Potential follow-up questions:

• Why do you think that patient would describe you in that way?
• Can you give me an example of a time you displayed that characteristic while delivering patient care? What was the outcome?

3. What are your long-term nursing career goals?

It’s important to hire nurses who are goal-oriented and consider their career outlooks. Ask LPN job interview questions that give nurses the chance to discuss their vision of a successful nursing career. As the interviewer, be ready to give feedback on how you can help them meet their goals.

What to listen for:

• The candidate’s plans for gaining new nursing skills and advancing in the profession
• Signs that the candidate’s career goals fit with what you can offer

Potential follow-up questions:

• What types of healthcare training opportunities have you participated in previously?
• Is there an area of nursing that you hope to specialize in?

4. Tell me about a time when you had a heavy patient assignment and felt overwhelmed. How did you handle it?

Scenario-based LPN interview questions allow your candidate to relay an event that happened in the past, the action steps they took, and the outcome. LPN scenario interview questions can shed light on how a nurse might perform in similar situations. Encourage new grads to use an example from nursing school if they get stuck on this question.

What to listen for:

• An ability to problem-solve, think critically, and perform safe nursing care under stress
• Understanding of the importance of teamwork and utilizing appropriate resources

Potential follow-up questions:

• How did your decision affect the patients in your assignment?
• How did you communicate with other members of the healthcare team?

5. Describe a time when your patient’s condition changed rapidly and you had to adjust your care plan. What was the outcome?

Nurses face multiple decisions in each shift — ones that affect patients’ lives. Find out whether your candidate is prepared to think independently, even when under pressure, and follow the appropriate chain of command.

This is an example of a behavioral interview question. It helps you dig into a nurse’s soft skills like initiative and communication, and may also tell you about their knowledge of disease processes and nursing interventions. It’s important to choose interview questions for LPNs that give you a sense of their clinical judgment in addition to hands-on nursing skills.

What to listen for:

• Candidate shows initiative while using sound clinical judgment
• Knowledge of the LPN scope of practice

Potential follow-up questions:

• How did your decision-making affect the patient’s condition?
• If you were in a similar situation, would you make that decision again?

6. How would you handle complaints from a patient’s family about the care you provide?

Nurses care for families almost as much as their patients. As a hiring manager, you want to be sure your candidate is prepared for family interactions.

Encourage the nurse to give examples of how they’ve resolved conflict with families in the past. This variety of practical nursing interview questions may give you an idea of the nurse’s underrated traits, such as emotional intelligence and integrity.

What to listen for:

• Ability to “read the room” and empathize with others’ emotions
• Strong communication skills and understanding of how to de-escalate situations

Potential follow-up questions:

• Why did you choose to handle the complaint in that way?
• What did you learn from that interaction?

7. What makes you the best candidate for this nursing position?

Give your candidate an opportunity to highlight their unique strengths, skills, and experiences with one or two open-ended interview questions. For LPNs facing high competition, this is a chance to set themselves apart from other qualified candidates. What unique skills do they bring to the team?

What to listen for:

• Any other nursing skills or experience the candidate has that make them a great fit for the role
• Enthusiasm and a positive attitude about the opportunity to be an LPN at your facility

Potential follow-up questions:

• Why do you think that skill set would benefit the patients you care for?
• What makes you a great fit for our team of providers?

Preparing for the LPN Nursing Interview

Questions and answers allow both the employer and potential employee to gather information. Remember that a conversation is a two-way street: As you prepare to interview a nurse, be ready to answer questions yourself. As the interviewer, you may be asked specific questions about your management style and the facility.

During the LPN nursing interview, questions that may be directed to you include:

• What are my job duties in this role?
• Who will I be reporting to?
• How long is orientation?
• What is the nurse-to-patient ratio?
• Are there opportunities for career growth in this role?

The interview process is a good time to clarify expectations for both the hiring manager and the candidate. Remember to cover expectations about scheduling requirements, pay, and unit-based policies.

Find Qualified LPNs to Interview Today

Are you too busy running a unit to actively find potential candidates who can answer your LPN interview questions? IntelyCare’s job board can help you reach a nationwide network of qualified nursing professionals with ease. Find out more today.

IntelyCare writer Katherine Zheng, PhD, BSN, contributed to the research and writing of this article.