Band 6 Nurse Interview Questions and Answers (NHS, 2026)

Match tasks to competence and patient risk, not to convenience. Give a clear instruction with what to report and when, check back through the shift, and keep the tasks that need registered nurse judgement. Under the NMC Code you remain accountable for the decision to delegate.

At the start of each shift I look at who is working with me and what they are signed off to do. For example, I will ask an experienced HCA to take observations on stable patients, help with washing and record fluid balance, while I keep the patient whose condition is changing. I say exactly what I want to be told, such as any NEWS2 score of 3 or more in a single parameter or anything that just does not look right. Last winter a newer HCA took a set of observations on a patient who had a higher respiratory rate than earlier. She told me straight away because I had asked her to, and we escalated. I check in every couple of hours, I do not delegate anything I would not be happy to explain to the NMC, and I make it easy for people to say they are not sure.

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Describe a structured plan: assess acuity, escalate the staffing risk early to the site manager or matron, reallocate so the sickest patients have the most experienced nurses, agree the essential care, and record the risk. Check in through the shift and say what you hand over at the end.

I would begin by getting a clear picture: how sick everyone is, any discharges or admissions expected, and the skill mix I actually have. I would escalate straight away to the matron or site manager, because they may be able to move a nurse from a quieter area or book bank staff, and I would complete an incident report so the unsafe staffing is recorded. Then I would reallocate so the sickest patients have the most experienced nurses, use the healthcare assistants for the tasks they are competent in, and agree with the team what essential care is: observations, medicines, pressure area care and fluids. I would take a patient group myself if needed, check in every hour, make sure everyone gets a break, and at handover tell the next shift what is outstanding.

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Say what you saw in the trend, what you did first, and how you escalated with SBAR including the specific request. Then show you stayed involved: you prepared the patient, kept observations frequent, followed the response up and recorded it. Finish with the outcome and what you changed.

On a late shift a post-operative patient's NEWS2 went from 2 to 6 within an hour, with a rising respiratory rate and falling blood pressure. I reassessed straight away, sat her up, started oxygen according to our policy and repeated the observations. I used SBAR to phone the registrar rather than waiting for the junior doctor to come back from theatre: day one after bowel surgery, NEWS2 of 6 and rising, I think she is developing sepsis or bleeding, I need her seen within thirty minutes and I am starting fluids as prescribed. While I waited I checked IV access, got the sepsis pathway ready and asked an HCA to take observations every fifteen minutes. She was reviewed, given fluids and antibiotics and stabilised overnight. At handover I told the night team the trend and asked for the outreach team to follow her.

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The patient comes first: check them, tell the doctor and follow your medicines error policy. Be open with the patient, complete the incident report with the nurse rather than for them, and support them without blame. Then look for the system cause so the whole ward learns.

My first priority is the patient, so I would go with the nurse to check the patient straight away, take a set of observations and establish what was given, how much and when. I would inform the doctor so they can review the patient and decide any treatment or monitoring, and follow the trust's medicines error policy. The patient, and their family if appropriate, need to be told openly what happened, which is our professional duty of candour. I would complete the incident report with the nurse, not for them, so they understand the process. Afterwards I would thank them for coming to me quickly, talk it through without blame and agree any extra supervision. If the error pointed to a system problem, such as similar-looking medicines stored side by side, I would raise it so the ward learns from it.

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Define it in one sentence: the system through which an organisation stays accountable for improving quality and keeping care safe. Then prove you take part in it with one real example of audit, incident learning or evidence-based change, with a measured result, and say how a Band 6 keeps the loop going.

To me clinical governance is how we make sure care is safe and keeps getting better, rather than relying on individuals having a good day. On the ward it shows up as audit, reporting and learning from incidents, evidence-based practice and training. For example, our audit of falls showed that most happened at night in patients who needed the toilet. I helped introduce hourly intentional rounding overnight with a simple checklist, and I ran short sessions for the night team on why we were doing it. When we re-audited three months later night-time falls had dropped, and we shared the results at the ward meeting. As a Band 6 I would see it as part of my job to keep that loop running: spot a problem, measure it, change practice and check that it worked.

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Be open and honest quickly: tell the patient and family what happened in plain words, apologise, explain what you know and what is being done, and say what happens next. Report the incident, tell the senior team and keep the patient's family updated. Candour does not wait for the investigation.

A patient's antibiotic was given three hours late because the dose was missed at handover. As the nurse in charge I checked the patient first, told the doctor so they could review the effect, and then asked the patient's daughter and him to come to a quiet room. I said what had happened in plain words: the dose was late, it was our mistake, I was sorry, and the doctor had reviewed him. I explained what we were doing to put it right and to stop it happening again, and I offered to update them the next day. I completed the incident report, told the ward manager so she could follow the trust's duty of candour process, and made a note in the records. At the next team meeting we agreed that missed doses are now checked as a specific line at handover.

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Keep it about the patient. Say what you saw, how you put it calmly with the evidence, what you did when you were not reassured, and the outcome. Show that you can disagree respectfully and keep the working relationship afterwards.

A patient of mine with a chest infection was due to be discharged in the morning, but overnight her oxygen requirement had gone up and she was more confused than her usual baseline. On the ward round the junior doctor still wanted to discharge her. I explained my concerns using the observation trend and her daughter's account of her normal level of confusion, and asked if we could hold the discharge until the registrar had reviewed her. He was not keen, so I said politely that I was not comfortable with the plan and escalated to the registrar, keeping the junior doctor informed. The registrar found her pneumonia was worsening and started IV antibiotics. We talked it through afterwards and it did not affect our working relationship. Disagreeing is fine if it is about the patient, backed by evidence and done respectfully.

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Describe a structured, supportive approach: a proper welcome, clear goals from their preceptorship plan, supervised practice that builds up gradually, specific feedback and regular check-ins. Add how you would notice a person who is struggling quietly, and who you would involve if you had a concern.

I remember how overwhelming my first months felt, so I would start with a proper welcome: a ward tour, introductions and who to go to on every shift. For a newly qualified nurse I would agree the goals from their preceptorship document in the first week and give them a patient group that stretches them without overloading them. I would work alongside them at first, then let them lead with me observing, and give specific feedback at the end of each shift on one or two things to build on. I would meet them regularly to review progress and ask how they are coping emotionally as well as clinically, because that is when people struggle quietly. If I had concerns about their competence or wellbeing I would raise them early with the ward manager so we could put in extra support.

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