Top 7 Trauma Nurse Interview Questions to Ask

Trauma nurses specialize in treating patients with severe injuries, often working in fast-paced settings such as the emergency department or trauma centers. These nurses are tasked to help patients recover from life-threatening events, so they must be highly skilled in managing critical conditions while providing appropriate psychosocial support. Given the intricacies of this specialty, it’s crucial to ask the right trauma nurse interview questions when hiring for this role.

Writing a thorough job description will help you attract a pool of qualified nurses (and searching our job board for trauma nurse positions can help you in that endeavor), but the interview is where you’ll really get a sense of the values that each candidate embodies. To help you narrow down the best person for this role, we’ll outline the top seven interview questions you should ask when it’s time to hire your next trauma nurse.

Trauma Nurse Interview Questions

Trauma nurses work in various acute care settings, so you’ll want to ensure your interview questions differ from more general emergency department nurse interview questions. Here are seven questions that will help you evaluate the essential qualities of a trauma nurse.

1. What inspired you to become a trauma nurse?

Trauma nursing is a very niche specialty, so individuals will likely have a personalized reason for pursuing it. This question is a strong opener because it allows the candidate to walk through their resume and discuss their experiences and motivations in a more personal light.

What to listen for:

• Genuine passion or interest in helping patients through critical situations
• Past work or personal experiences that motivated them to pursue trauma nursing

Follow-up:A great follow-up question would be to ask the candidate about their past experiences working in fast-paced environments or treating severe injuries. Even if they’re new graduates, they may be able to share experiences from their clinical rotations during school.

2. How do you prioritize care tasks while working with multiple trauma patients at a time?

Trauma nurses work in fast-paced environments, so it’s important to have at least one of your trauma nurse interview questions touch on prioritization skills. Candidates may need to see multiple trauma patients at a time and should understand how to deliver safe care under pressure.

What to listen for:

• A candidate’s ability to prioritize care based on clinical indicators, such as the ABCDE (airway, breathing, circulation, disability, exposure) approach
• Acknowledgement of other important soft skills such as teamwork and communication

Follow-up: One follow-up question you could ask is what a candidate would do if they were ever conflicted on which patient to attend to first. This can assess their ability to reach out for help or make quick decisions when necessary.

3. What steps do you take to keep your team informed about your care process?

Teamwork and communication are both essential as a trauma nurse. Keeping the entire team informed can have a large influence on the outcomes of a patient in need of urgent care.

What to listen for:

• Understanding of how to convey information in a concise and effective manner, such as the SBAR (situation, background, assessment, recommendation) method
• Indicators of knowing how to prioritize the most relevant information under pressure

Follow-up: One follow-up question you could ask is what a candidate would do if miscommunication occurs. Mistakes are bound to happen occasionally, and it’s important for candidates to be able to maintain composure and address them professionally.

4. How do you handle angry or upset family members who are stressed about the situation their loved one is in?

Trauma nurses will have many difficult conversations with patients and their families. This question evaluates whether candidates are able to remain professional and maintain composure and empathy when addressing family members who may be feeling stressed.

What to listen for:

• Ability and willingness to acknowledge, listen to, and understand families’ concerns
• Strong approach to balancing family’s needs and ensuring urgent patient care tasks are taken care of

Follow-up: A great follow-up question to ask is what a candidate would do if family members became combative. It’s important for candidates to know when to seek additional help and take measures to protect themselves if a situation escalates.

5. Walk me through how you would assess a trauma patient upon their arrival to a unit.

As a trauma nurse, being able to conduct swift assessments under pressure is crucial for the safety and well-being of trauma patients. This question assesses whether a candidate has the knowledge or experience to make quick assessment decisions and prioritize care.

What to listen for:

• Clinically sound, systematic processes for assessment (such as the ABCDE approach)
• Details on how a candidate would examine and document a head-to-toe assessment

Follow-up: You can follow-up by asking a candidate what they would do if they noticed something that needed immediate attention during their assessment. This can give you a sense of how they might address the most critical aspects of a patient’s intake.

6. What are some potential complications that can arise in trauma patients and what’s your process for monitoring them?

There are many potential complications that can arise in patients who are in critical condition, and trauma nurses should understand what these are and how to address them. It’s important to have trauma nurse interview questions (and answers) that address a candidate’s overall clinical knowledge and approach to monitoring patients throughout their stay.

What to listen for:

• Understanding of common complications such as infection and hemorrhage
• Ability to monitor signs of these potential complications to help prevent further harm

Follow-up: To get a better sense of how a candidate would react if a patient was experiencing complications, you can follow up by asking them what they would do if they noticed signs of an infection or hemorrhage.

7. Tell me about a time when you had to advocate for a patient’s needs.

The care process for a trauma patient moves at a very fast pace, and sometimes a patient’s needs may be overlooked. This question allows you to get a real-world example of how a candidate speaks up for their patients in situations like this.

What to listen for:

• Willingness to respectfully confront team members when necessary
• Ability to deliver patient-centered care and prioritize patient’s needs in difficult situations

Follow-up: One follow-up question you could ask is what a candidate would do if they had conflicting opinions with their team members. This allows you to evaluate their ability to resolve conflicts with others and remain professional in a high-pressure environment.

Find Qualified Trauma Nurses to Interview Today

Recruitment can be an arduous process, especially for an in-demand profession like nursing. Struggling to find applicants who can answer your trauma nurse interview questions? Connect with high quality candidates faster by joining IntelyCare’s nationwide, nursing-only job board.