Getting an idea of what drives a person to work in nursing, let alone as a charge nurse, gives you a sense of how that candidate will perform on the job. Is the work personal, or is he or she simply viewing it as job security with decent pay and benefits? For example, a candidate may have faced a loved one’s illness. What to look for in an answer:

• Desire to help others
• Personal connection to the profession
• Disposition for leadership

The charge nurse is accountable for the administrative responsibilities of his or her purview. At the same time, however, he or she is also responsible for continuing to perform the same clinical care duties as every other nurse under his or her authority. The abilities to prioritize, manage one’s time, delegate and stay organized are essential to achieving this balance. What to look for in an answer:

• Prioritization, time-management and organizational skills
• The ability to delegate specific tasks
• Keeping the big picture in mind while concentrating on individual tasks

A charge nurse is responsible for more than overseeing day-to-day operations. He or she must also oversee how the spontaneous crises that crop up regularly are handled. Nurses deal with difficult patients all the time, and the charge nurse is ultimately accountable for how the nurses under him or her respond. If necessary, the charge nurse should seek assistance from the doctor or higher-ups. What to look for in an answer:

• Compassion and respect for others
• Confidence and the ability to keep calm in a crisis
• Willingness to ask for help when needed

A charge nurse is far more than a manager or supervisor. He or she is also a mentor to those nurses, bringing his or her wealth of knowledge and prior experience to bear to help each one of them excel in their nursing roles and careers. A charge nurse should be willing to teach, coach, counsel and guide the other nurses—not be an authoritarian. What to look for in an answer:

• Strong listening and communication skills
• The desire to teach and guide others
• Patience and empathy

While a charge nurse’s responsibility is to the patient primarily and the other nurses under his or her charge secondarily, a patient’s family must be respected, or they can cause a host of problems that could end up interfering with the patient’s best care. Ultimately, it is the charge nurse who should handle family concerns as he or she represents authority, and by addressing the issue him or herself, the other nurses are free to continue their duties caring for patients. What to look for in an answer:

• Accountability and responsibility for any issue
• Diplomacy and creative problem-solving skills
• Humility when assessing a situation

Charge nurses are responsible for keeping operations running and resolving problems with both staff and patients. Charge nurses need to be able to balance a caring, team-oriented mindset with the need to handle urgent medical situations efficiently. This question shows the candidate's awareness of the toll that nursing can take while still targeting essential actions for maintaining workflows. Interviewers can assess how the candidate responds to issues as they develop and learn more about their nursing philosophy. A successful answer should include:

• Empathy
• Focus on the patient
• Problem-solving