Hospice Nurse Interview Questions & Answers


Hospice Nurses are registered nurses who provide care for terminally ill patients. They work with patients, their families and other healthcare professionals during the final stages of life.

Whether you're a job seeker preparing to be interviewed for the role of Hospice Nurse or an employer preparing to interview candidates for Hospice Nurse position, these Hospice Nurse interview questions will help you prepare yourself for the job interview session.

Hospice Nurse Interview Questions

Below are a list of some skill-based Hospice Nurse interview questions.

  1. Tell me about the first time you lost a patient. What has changed in your reactions since?
  2. Tell me about a time you felt great satisfaction about your job
  3. What's your approach to preparing families for the death of a loved one?
  4. Can you explain your steps in preparing a patient care plan?
  5. Can you describe your experience with patient management software?
  6. What advice would you give junior hospice nurses on their first day?
  7. How would you determine whether to commence or abstain from CPR?
  8. Are you comfortable working with patients who are terminally ill?
  9. What are some of the most important qualities for a hospice nurse to have?
  10. How would you handle a patient who is refusing to eat or drink?
  11. What is your process for documenting your care and communicating with other medical professionals?
  12. When is it appropriate to call a patient’s family members to the bedside?
  13. Describe your process for comforting a patient who is grieving.
  14. Which types of care do you enjoy providing the most?
  15. What do you think is the most important thing that hospice nurses can do for patients and their families?
  16. How often should care providers perform certain tasks, such as repositioning a patient?
  17. There is a disagreement between the patient and care providers about whether or not they can walk on their own. What is your process for making a decision?
  18. In your opinion, what does a peaceful death look like?
  19. Can you tell me about a time when a patient and family member disagreed over a care plan and how this was resolved?
  20. Do you mind giving me an example of a time when you displayed compassion during your work?
  21. What are the key differences between routine and general inpatient care?
  22. The role of a hospice nurse can be very emotionally demanding. What drew you to this career?
  23. One of the patients under your care starts complaining constantly. How do you deal with this?
  24. Imagine a patient dies suddenly when their family isn’t around. What do you do about the patient and how do you inform their relatives?
  25. Envisage that a DNR patient just died and a panicked caregiver tries to perform CPR on them. What would you do?
  26. Provide an example of a time when you provided emotional support to a patient and their family.
  27. What role does a hospice nurse play in the overall hospice care team?
  28. If a patient’s family members have different opinions on how to approach the patient’s care, how would you handle the situation?
  29. What would you do if you noticed that a patient’s care providers were neglecting to perform certain tasks, such as repositioning the patient?
  30. Do you have experience working with hospice patients who have dementia?
  31. Describe a time you had difficulty getting the patient’s family to accept their upcoming death. How did you manage?
  32. Recall a time a patient started panicking. What did you do?
  33. How would you deal with a family member who tried to convince the patient to continue treatment that stopped at the patient’s request?
  34. What would you do if you suspected that a family member was stealing from the patient’s medication?

Hospice Nurse Interview Questions and Answers

Every interview is different and the questions may vary. However, there are lots of general questions that get asked at every interview.

Below are some common questions you'd expect during Hospice Nurse interviews. Click on each question to see how to answer them.

  1. What is Your Salary Expectation?
  2. Tell Me About Yourself
  3. Are You a Leader or a Follower?
  4. Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Job?
  5. What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment?
  6. What is Your Greatest Strength?
  7. What is Your Greatest Weakness?
  8. Why Should We Hire You?
  9. Do You Have Any Questions for Us?
  10. Why Do You Want This Job?