INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 
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1. Why did you decide on a career as a nurse?  
I have always had caregiver/nurturer character traits. I took care of younger siblings growing up. I enjoyed babysitting in 
high school and college. I also loved taking care of animals. 
In high school I enjoyed biology and anatomy and physiology.  
Those things together pushed me toward the field of nursing 
 
 
2. What do you find rewarding about this job? 
 
The most rewarding part of my job is being part of a diverse team that treats the evolving needs of premature and sick 
infants, who enter the world with widely varying degrees of illness, symptoms, and complications, while providing 
education, and support to their families and caregivers, helping them navigate through what can be a very stressful 
experience. Due to ​the length of time that some of our patients need to remain in the hospital, we often develop lasting 
relationships with these families and their sick and or premature infants. Along this journey, it is so rewarding to celebrate 
their accomplishments and see them overcome setbacks. After discharge, they sometimes visit, send pictures and updates, 
and some return to an annual picnic we have for NICN graduates so we can see how they have changed and progressed. 
  
 
3. How do you handle the stress of the job? 
 
I would say for a long time, I did not engage in healthy ways of dealing with the stress of the job. I used to eat comfort 
foods to elevate my stress. Pizza, chocolate, any kind of pasta, especially macaroni and cheese, sweet coffee drinks and fried 
foods were some of my favorites. I also watched a lot of television as a form of escape. Over the past two years, I have 
focused on healthier more efficient ways of coping with stress. I changed my diet and I now use exercise as my primary 
outlet for stress. I try to do some form of activity every day, especially after a stressful shift. I have tried some yoga to focus 
on breathing and release of tension.  
 
4. What are your greatest/weakest skills as a nurse? 
 
I feel like my greatest skills as a nurse involve patience, being a good listener,   
being a patient and family advocate, flexibility, willingness to learn from others, commitment to my patients and families, 
the enjoyment of supporting and teaching others, an ability to get along with most people, and a love for what I do as a job. 
 
I would say my weakest skills would be: Working in a specialized area of the hospital for 30 years has narrowed my skill set, 
and made me less willing to try a different area of nursing, difficulty with time management, not being able to leave work 
behind when I go home, not being as assertive as I would like to be in certain situations. Not taking time for myself to relax 
and recharge. 
 
 
5. What is the hardest part about being a nurse? 
 
I would have to say it would be the death of a patient, especially an infant. It is so hard, because you can give your support 
and provide resources but you can’t take the distress and pain away. It comes with the realization that sometimes despite all 
of the caring, incredibly talented and intelligent medical professionals, technology, available equipment, medications and 
procedures, there are sometimes things that can’t be cured, treated or fixed. These situations have taught me to not take 
anything for granted and cherish every moment. 
 
 
6. What are your experiences working with other nurses? 
  
I work in a unit in the hospital that employs over 130 nurses, all with varying degrees of experience. The unit is composed 
of newly graduated nurses to nurses who have over 35 years of experience! Some of the nurses in the unit have always 
worked in the NICN. Some of them have had older pediatric experience and a few have had some adult experience after 
school, before coming to the NICN. It can be a challenge to adjust to so many different personalities and find your voice in 
such a large group. I have learned over the years that it is our differences that make us stronger as a whole. We are all 
talented and good at different things, and given the opportunity can teach each other new, possibly more efficient ways of 
doing things or handling different types of situations. It is so important to be helpful, open to change and suggestions and 
be willing to embrace constructive criticism You learn very quickly that you have to work as a team to get everything done 
and make sure everyone is cared for.  
 
 
7. Describe a time you had to deal with a difficult patient and how you handled that. 
 
I cared for a patient over an extended period of time that had an extremely complicated and long medical course. The 
patient had been very sick and spent a very long time in the hospital. The difficulty I ran into was the family was trying to 
gain some control in a very stressful situation. They wanted things done a certain way and when the plan deviated, they 
would become very upset and frustrated. They struggled with having many different nurses caring for their child and not 
having consistency. 
We tried to make the situation better for them, by developing a caregiver calendar to keep the nurses as consistent as 
possible and have familiar faces for them to interact and be comfortable with. We also scheduled more frequent care 
meetings to let them discuss their frustrations and give additional input into the care of their child. Over time this did help 
to give some control back to the family, and alleviate some of their fear and distress. 
 
 
8. How do you deal with someone who isn’t satisfied with your patient care? 
 
This question is a hard one for me. I take my work very seriously and approach it each shift with the intention of doing the 
best job for all of my patients, so when someone is not satisfied, it really bothers me. I have to step back and consider the 
situation and the stress they are under. The reality is that the patient and their families are the focus and priority. Identifying 
and developing the right care situation for them is the most important task. 
The first step would be for me to try and have a discussion with the individual to see if there was a misunderstanding, or a 
way for me to resolve the issue on my own. If that was not satisfactory, the hospital has policies in place for reporting care 
issues that families are informed of when they are oriented to the unit. They can speak to the person in charge for the night, 
then it moves to the nurse manager, then the divisional manager and can continue up the leadership ladder until a solution 
can be reached. 
Families also have an opportunity express their concerns or give feedback through a discharge survey. 
 
 
9. How do you feel your nursing education prepared you for a nursing career? 
 
I completed 4 years of college, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at 
Charlotte. College gave me a solid knowledge base to work from when I entered the profession, but I had a lot to learn 
applying it to a clinical setting. In school we were given small assignments in the hospital and an instructor who was always 
available for questions. When I started my job in the NICN I received an orientation to the unit over about 16 weeks where 
I was paired with and instructed by an experienced nurse as to how things needed to be done in the unit. When I was finally 
on my own after orientation, I was initially very overwhelmed by the responsibility and the workload. I remember crying 
often, and wondering if I was going to be able to stick it out. In the beginning the job felt very scheduled and task oriented. 
It often felt like there just wasn’t enough time to get everything done. It was all about learning policies, working with many 
different people and how to complete certain tasks. I also realized what I learned in school was just the foundation. I had so 
much more to learn and experience. Slowly over time, the tasks and some of the situations became more and more familiar 
and I had time to really think about what I learned in school and I was able to apply that to what I was doing at the bedside. 
 
 
10. What do you do to keep current with medical findings and practices? 
The hospital has policies in place for the number of continuing education hours each nurse must have yearly to maintain 
their staff position. 
The North Carolina Board of Nursing has continuing education requirements for nurses to maintain their licensure, which 
must be completed every two years.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Continuing Competence  
Licensure & Listing​Continuing Competence​ Continuing Competence Requirements 

Continuing Competence Requirements 

ALL Continuing Competence requirements must be met before renewal or reinstatement licenses 
will be issued.  

NO grace periods and NO exceptions will be granted. 

(One of the following will be required)  

● 15 Contact Hours of continued education and 640 hours of active practice within previous 2 years 
● National Certification or Re-certification by a National Credentialing Body recognized by the 
Board 
● 30 Contact Hours of continued education 
● Completion of a Board-Approved Refresher Course 
● Completion of a minimum of two (2) semester hours of post-licensure academic education related 
to nursing practice 
● 15 Contact Hours of continued education and completion of a nursing project as Principal 
Investigator or Co-Investigator to include statement of problem, project objectives, methods, date 
of completion and summary of findings 
● 15 Contact Hours of continued education and Authoring or Co-Authoring a nursing-related article, 
paper, book or book chapter 
● 15 Contact Hours of continued education and developing and conducting a nursing continuing 
education presentation or presentations totaling a minimum of five contact hours, including 
program brochure or course syllabi, objectives, date and location of presentation, and approximate 
number of attendees 

Renewal​ – If a nurse cannot demonstrate that he or she met the requirements, his or her license will be 
placed on ​INACTIVE STATUS​ starting at 12:01 a.m. on the first day after a nurse’s renewal date until 
compliance with the Continuing Competence requirement is met. 

Reinstatement​ – License will not be issued until all Continuing Competence requirements have been met. 

https://www.ncbon.com/licensure-listing-continuing-competence-continuing-competence-requirements  

I also studied for and passed a specialty certification exam for NICN nurses that requires you to do knowledge evaluation 
test every 3 years and then seek out continuing education hours to strengthen the weak areas in your knowledge base. 
 
In addition I have to maintain yearly CPR renewal requirements as well as yearly neonatal resuscitation program 
requirements (NRP). 
My unit has a yearly, mandatory, hands on education day covering equipment, current care and new care processes used in 
the unit. 
The hospital and unit also require us to complete a list of online modules, every year, which cover policies and procedures, 
within the hospital and specific units. We have mandatory education throughout the year when policies are changed or 
updated, or when we are beginning to use a new piece of equipment. Yearly, I must attend 1 hour of family centered care 
education. I must also complete one in-service, and belong to one unit committee​. 
 
11. Would you become a nurse practitioner or doctor if you had the opportunity?  
 
I would say that I wish I had investigated the possibility of an advanced degree when I was younger and not so far removed 
from my college years. Perhaps before I had a family. 
I enjoy being at the bedside working with patients and families on a consistent basis. I feel like you lose some of that 
relationship when you move into a NNP or Physician role. I would say at this point in my career and life that is not 
something that I would consider.