Tell me about yourself.

Ninety seconds: your qualification and registration, where you have worked and in which units, one thing you handled well, and the role you are applying for. Not your family background.

Why did you choose nursing?

Give a specific origin rather than a sentiment. Avoid "I want to serve people", which every candidate says and which tells the panel nothing.

What is the role of a staff nurse?

Direct patient care, assessment and monitoring, medication administration, documentation, assisting procedures, patient and family education, and coordination with the medical team, within the scope of practice.

What are the qualities of a good nurse?

Clinical competence, vigilance, communication, composure under pressure, and honesty about errors. The last one is the answer most candidates leave out and the one that matters most to a ward in-charge.

What is the nursing process?

Assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation. It is the structured method behind every care plan.

What is a nursing diagnosis, and how is it different from a medical diagnosis?

A nursing diagnosis describes a patient's response to a health problem and what nursing can address, for example impaired mobility. A medical diagnosis names the disease.

What is a nursing care plan?

A documented plan setting out the nursing diagnoses, goals, planned interventions and evaluation criteria for a specific patient.

What is evidence-based practice?

Making care decisions from the best available research evidence combined with clinical expertise and patient preference, rather than from habit.

What is the scope of practice, and why does it matter?

The set of activities a nurse is qualified and authorised to perform. Acting outside it is unsafe and indefensible, no matter who instructed it.

What is the Indian Nursing Council?

The statutory body that regulates nursing education and practice standards in India, with state nursing councils handling registration.

What is your registration status?

State the state council registration and validity factually. Have the certificate with you.

What is continuing nursing education, and why is it required?

Structured ongoing learning to maintain competence. Many state councils link re-registration to credit points.

What are the normal ranges for adult vital signs?

Temperature about 36.1 to 37.2 degrees Celsius, pulse 60 to 100 per minute, respiration 12 to 20 per minute, blood pressure around 120/80 mmHg, and oxygen saturation 95 to 100 percent.

What is tachycardia and bradycardia?

Tachycardia is a resting adult heart rate above 100 per minute. Bradycardia is below 60.

What is tachypnoea and bradypnoea?

Respiratory rate above 20 per minute and below 12 per minute respectively in an adult.

What is hypertension as currently classified?

Persistently elevated blood pressure. Stage 1 and stage 2 thresholds differ slightly between guidelines, so state the guideline you are quoting.

What is orthostatic hypotension?

A drop in blood pressure on standing, typically 20 mmHg systolic or 10 mmHg diastolic, causing dizziness and fall risk.

Where can you palpate a pulse?

Radial, brachial, carotid, femoral, popliteal, posterior tibial, dorsalis pedis, temporal and apical.

What is a pulse deficit?

The difference between the apical and the radial pulse rate, indicating that some cardiac contractions are not producing a peripheral pulse, as in atrial fibrillation.

What is pulse oximetry, and what limits its accuracy?

Non-invasive measurement of oxygen saturation. Accuracy is affected by poor perfusion, cold extremities, nail polish, motion, severe anaemia and carbon monoxide poisoning.

What is the Glasgow Coma Scale?

A neurological scale scoring eye opening, verbal response and motor response, from 3 to 15. Below 8 generally indicates the need for airway protection.

What is a pain assessment scale?

Tools to quantify pain: the numeric rating scale, the visual analogue scale, the Wong-Baker faces scale for children, and behavioural scales such as FLACC for non-verbal patients.

What is a head-to-toe assessment?

A systematic physical assessment from head to lower limbs covering each system in order, performed at the start of a shift and when a patient's condition changes.

What is intake and output charting, and why does it matter?

Recording all fluid in and out over a period. It is the primary bedside measure of fluid balance and it drives clinical decisions in cardiac, renal and post-operative patients.

What is the normal adult urine output?

Around 0.5 to 1 millilitre per kilogram per hour, roughly 1,500 millilitres in twenty-four hours.

What is oliguria and anuria?

Oliguria is reduced urine output, generally below 400 millilitres in twenty-four hours in an adult. Anuria is effectively no output.

What are the rights of medication administration?

Right patient, right drug, right dose, right route, right time, right documentation, and increasingly right reason, right response and right to refuse.

How do you identify a patient before administering a drug?

Two identifiers, typically name and hospital number from the wristband checked against the chart. Never the bed number alone.

What are the common routes of administration?

Oral, sublingual, intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous, intradermal, topical, transdermal, inhalational, rectal, ophthalmic and otic.

What are the intramuscular injection sites?

Ventrogluteal, deltoid, vastus lateralis and dorsogluteal. Ventrogluteal is preferred for volume in adults; vastus lateralis is used for infants.

What is the Z-track technique and when is it used?

Displacing the skin laterally before an intramuscular injection so the track seals on release. It is used for irritant drugs such as iron preparations.

What is the maximum volume for an intramuscular injection in an adult?

Generally up to three millilitres in a large muscle, and less in the deltoid or in a thin patient.

What angle is used for subcutaneous, intramuscular and intradermal injections?

Forty-five to ninety degrees for subcutaneous, ninety degrees for intramuscular, and ten to fifteen degrees for intradermal.

What are high-alert medications?

Drugs with a high risk of significant harm when used in error: insulin, heparin and anticoagulants, concentrated electrolytes such as potassium chloride, opioids, chemotherapy and neuromuscular blockers. They require independent double-checking.

Why is concentrated potassium chloride never given as an IV push?

It causes fatal cardiac arrhythmia. It must always be diluted and infused at a controlled rate.

What are look-alike, sound-alike drugs?

Medications whose names or packaging are easily confused, managed with tall-man lettering, separate storage and independent verification.

How do you calculate a drip rate?

Volume in millilitres multiplied by the drop factor of the set, divided by the time in minutes, giving drops per minute.

Calculate: 1,000 millilitres over 8 hours with a 20 drop set.

1,000 multiplied by 20 divided by 480 minutes, which is about 42 drops per minute.

How do you calculate a dose when the stock strength differs from the ordered dose?

Desired dose divided by stock strength, multiplied by the stock volume.

What is a narcotic register, and how is it maintained?

A controlled record of every controlled drug received and administered, with balance verified and countersigned at each shift change by two nurses.

What do you do if a medication error occurs?

Assess and stabilise the patient first, inform the doctor immediately, document factually, complete an incident report, and monitor. Concealing an error is the one response that is always indefensible.

What do you do if a doctor's order is illegible or seems wrong?

Do not administer. Clarify directly with the prescriber, and if you still believe it is unsafe, escalate through the nursing hierarchy. An order you do not understand is an order you cannot safely give.

What is a verbal or telephone order, and how is it handled?

Accepted only in urgent situations, written down, read back to the prescriber for confirmation, and countersigned within the hospital's specified time.

What is an adverse drug reaction, and what do you do about it?

A harmful unintended response at normal doses. Stop the drug if indicated, inform the doctor, provide supportive care, document, and report through the pharmacovigilance system.

What is anaphylaxis, and what is the immediate nursing action?

A severe, rapid-onset allergic reaction with airway compromise and circulatory collapse. Stop the trigger, call for help, secure the airway, give intramuscular adrenaline as per protocol, high-flow oxygen, IV fluids, and position the patient supine with legs raised unless breathing is compromised.

What is insulin sliding scale?

A prescribed schedule giving short-acting insulin doses according to measured blood glucose at defined intervals.

What are the signs of hypoglycaemia, and what do you do?

Sweating, tremor, palpitations, confusion, hunger, and reduced consciousness. If conscious and able to swallow, give fast-acting oral glucose. If not, IV dextrose or glucagon as per protocol, then recheck.

What is the difference between DKA and HHS?

Diabetic ketoacidosis presents with hyperglycaemia, ketosis and acidosis, usually in type 1. Hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state presents with severe hyperglycaemia and dehydration without significant ketosis, usually in type 2.

What are the five moments of hand hygiene?

Before touching a patient, before a clean or aseptic procedure, after body fluid exposure risk, after touching a patient, and after touching patient surroundings.

What is the correct duration for handwashing and for alcohol rub?

About forty to sixty seconds for soap and water, and twenty to thirty seconds for an alcohol-based hand rub.

What are standard precautions?

Precautions applied to every patient regardless of diagnosis: hand hygiene, PPE as required, safe injection practice, respiratory hygiene, safe handling of sharps, linen and waste, and environmental cleaning.

Interview Preparation· August 12, 2026

100+ Staff Nurse Interview Questions and Answers

100+ staff nurse interview questions and answers for hospital and government nursing jobs in India: clinical fundamentals, vital signs, medication administration, infection control, emergency care, ICU and ward scenarios, ethics and the HR round.

By Rohit Goyal

Founder, ResumeGuru · NRI Resume Strategist

A staff nurse interview in India has three layers. Clinical fundamentals, which everyone is asked. Scenario questions about what you would do in a specific ward situation, which is where candidates are separated. And the professional and HR round about shifts, ethics and why this hospital.

This set covers all three, across general ward, ICU, emergency, paediatric and maternity contexts, plus the questions that come up in government nursing recruitment. Clinical protocols vary by institution, so answer with the principle and then say you would follow the hospital's own protocol, which is the answer a nursing superintendent wants to hear. Use it with the interview preparation guide.