Top 7 Urgent Care Nurse Interview Questions to Ask
Urgent care nurses provide first-line treatments to patients with minor illnesses or injuries. These experienced and specialized nurses are in high demand, which means finding a qualified professional for your open position can be challenging and time consuming.
Asking job candidates the right urgent care nurse interview questions is the first step to filling your vacancy. To help you get started, we’ll review seven example interview questions — and answers to listen for — so that you can choose the right candidate for your organization.
If you’re still looking for candidates to interview, start by creating a well-written urgent care nurse job description. Need more insights to help you connect with today’s nursing professionals? See how other organizations are reaching out to candidates by reviewing the urgent care nurse positions currently on our job board.
Urgent Care Nurse Interview Questions and Answers
Patients often present to urgent care facilities with issues like broken bones, respiratory infections, burns, and cuts. They seek quick and efficient treatments to get them back to normal. Nurses who care for these patients often require years of clinical experience and need to be familiar with the signs and symptoms of a variety of illnesses and conditions.
How can hiring managers ensure that the nurse they hire has what it takes? These seven urgent care nurse interview questions and answers can help you get a better understanding of a nurse’s passion, drive, and clinical experience so that you’re well informed when making your candidate selection.
1. What made you interested in urgent care nursing?
Most nursing interviews will start off with an introductory question to better understand a nurse’s personal and professional background. While it seems basic and generic, open-ended questions like this one reveal key clinical experiences and personality traits necessary for success in urgent care nursing.
What to listen for:
- Personal and professional experiences that inspired the candidate to pursue urgent care
- Genuine passion and interest in providing first-line treatment to patients
Potential follow-up questions:
- Why are you interested in working at our facility?
- What values do you bring into your work as a nurse?
2. Can you describe three attributes of a high-quality urgent care team?
Shifts in urgent care centers are fast-paced and unpredictable, and teamwork is necessary to ensure safe patient care. Not all nurse candidates will have experience working in an urgent care facility, but all nurses have been part of a team. Encouraging interviewees to share stories of times they’ve contributed to effective teamwork during their career can help highlight relevant skills and build rapport during an interview.
What to listen for:
- Ability to communicate effectively with multidisciplinary team members and willingness to ask for help
- Knowledge of standard communication practices, such as handovers and delegation
Potential follow-up questions:
- Tell me about a time you went above and beyond to help a colleague.
- Have you ever had a disagreement with a team member? How did you resolve it?
3. How would you educate a patient who is unwilling to follow the recommended treatment regimen?
A single urgent care clinic can treat hundreds of patients of all ages, genders, and socioeconomic backgrounds each week. Urgent care nurse interview questions like this should reveal a nurse’s patience, compassion, and communication skills.
What to listen for:
- Empathy and understanding toward each patient’s personal challenges
- Ability to tailor education and teaching to each patient’s needs and preferences
Potential follow-up questions:
- What strategies do you use to ensure a patient understands their care instructions?
- How do you involve families in patient education and teaching?
4. Describe your experience triaging patients during or after a community accident.
Now, we’ll dive into more challenging urgent care nurse interview questions that reveal a candidate’s preparedness and expertise by assessing time management, prioritization, and critical thinking skills. Nursing interview questions like this — and answers candidates may give — can help facility managers determine whether the interviewee is the right person for the job.
Nurses with emergency room, patient transport, and rapid response experience have all participated in patient triage. This question allows nurses who haven’t worked in urgent care to show off their skills and abilities.
What to listen for:
- Understanding of how to categorize patients according to injury severity
- Ability to make sound decisions under pressure and prioritize treatment for patients most likely to survive
Potential follow-up questions:
- Tell me about a time when you had to make a difficult decision during a triage.
- What strategies do you use to stay calm under pressure?
5. What would you do if you noticed signs of abuse or neglect during a patient assessment?
Studies reveal that 88% of patients suffering trauma or neglect came into contact with a healthcare provider during their mistreatment. While some patients may not be willing to disclose abuse directly, offering trauma-informed care is essential to providing high-quality urgent care.
Nurses are mandatory reporters of abuse, which means they’re required by law to notify law enforcement when mistreatment or abuse is suspected or confirmed. However, it’s important that nurses approach these issues with a sensitive and caring manner to gain the trust of patients looking for care.
What to listen for:
- Understanding of mandatory reporting laws and trauma-informed care principles
- Examples of how candidates have helped ensure the safety and wellness of patients (e.g., providing resources for housing, food, and transportation)
Potential follow-up questions:
- How do you balance mandatory reporting duties with patient confidentiality?
- What follow-up steps do you take to ensure a patient’s safety after reporting potential abuse or neglect?
6. Have you previously served in any leadership roles?
Leadership qualities are desired in professionals of all clinical specialties. Nurses who are dedicated to process improvement, mentorship, and clinical excellence often step up for leadership roles — these are the clinicians you want on your team.
Don’t disqualify candidates who might not have the specific experience you’re looking for. Nursing leadership can be demonstrated in a variety of ways, and isn’t limited to roles like “charge nurse” or “team leader.”
What to listen for:
- Examples showcasing ambition and dedication to improving patient care (e.g., developing unit-based training or quality improvement initiatives)
- Passion for guiding, teaching, and mentoring other colleagues
Potential follow-up questions:
- How would you describe your mentorship style?
- What unit-based accomplishment are you most proud of?
7. How do you care for yourself after a long shift?
Nurse burnout is a major concern for facility leaders, and evidence suggests that the key to healthcare employee retention and satisfaction is work-life balance. Ending with this question lets you finish on a lighthearted note, giving your nurse candidates an opportunity to have a bit of fun. Show them that you want to get to know them as a full person, not just for what they can provide to your patients and facility.
What to listen for:
- Healthy coping strategies (e.g., exercise or creative outlets)
- Hobbies or passions that motivate candidates outside of work
Potential follow-up questions:
- What advice would you give to new nurses to help them manage stress?
- Do you have any other questions for me?
Need to Find High-Quality Nursing Professionals Today?
It’s important to ask well-structured urgent care nurse interview questions when hiring healthcare professionals for that role. Sometimes, attracting the right candidates is the toughest part. Save yourself time and effort by posting your open nursing positions on our job board — we can help you reach a wide array of top-tier candidates when you need them most.