Behavioral questions are commonly used in nursing interviews. An example is: “Describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult patient and how you handled it”.
To answer these questions, consider using the STAR method.
S – Situation – Describe the situation. Think of one specific situation and be as specific as possible about the details.
T – Task – What goal were you working towards? What were you aiming to accomplish? For example, to calm the patient down.
A – Action – Describe the action that you took. Be as specific as possible and focus on what you did by using “I” statements. For example, “I communicated with and listened to the patient.”
R – Result – Explain the outcome and anything that you learned from the situation. Would there be anything that you would do differently next time?
