Top 7 Chief Nursing Officer Interview Questions to Ask

The chief nursing officer (CNO) is the highest level nursing position at a hospital. As a member of the executive team, they’re typically responsible for overseeing nursing practice across an entire department or facility. When hiring for this role, it’s important to ask thoughtful chief nursing officer interview questions to identify candidates who have the experience and drive needed to be a successful leader.

To help you find the best person for your organization, we’ll outline seven essential CNO interview questions and tips for evaluating your candidate’s answers. Need help finding applicants to interview? Prepare a targeted job description to attract the right candidates. For more insights, you can also explore current CNO job openings and learn what top traits other facilities are looking for.

Below you’ll find a downloadable CNO evaluation form that can help you stay organized during your next round of interviews.

Chief Nursing Officer Interview Questions

The role of the CNO often requires years of experience. However, the type of experience that candidates have can vary — ranging from departmental management to executive leadership. Here are seven key questions that can apply to CNOs with varying levels of experience and can easily be adapted to each candidate’s specific background.

1. What makes you the right CNO for our organization?

This is a great question to open with because it evaluates whether the candidate is confident in their leadership abilities and can articulate how they fit into your organization. Since CNO candidates can come equipped with diverse experiences, this allows them to provide an elevator pitch of their skill set as it relates to the role.

What to listen for:

• Understanding of how to apply their personal skill set and expertise to the CNO role
• Indication that the candidate has researched your facility’s mission, goals, and values

Potential follow-up questions:

• What initially inspired you to pursue a nursing career?
• What are some of the most important values you acknowledge as a nursing leader?

2. What do you think are some of the biggest challenges that nurses are facing today?

All nursing leaders are expected to have a strong grasp of industry trends that impact nursing care. This question gauges whether a candidate is knowledgeable about current challenges in the profession and their attitude toward addressing them.

What to listen for:

• Understanding of current market trends and industry-wide issues
• Ability to articulate how issues impact nursing practice and care delivery

Potential follow-up questions:

• How have you worked to tackle some of these challenges in previous roles?
• How do you stay up-to-date with changing care standards and regulatory guidelines?

3. Tell me about a time when you implemented policy changes that improved nursing care.

As the CNO will be responsible for making big-picture decisions across a facility, they should have ample experience implementing nursing policies and protocols. Institutional policy making should be addressed in at least one of your chief nursing officer interview questions, and answers should demonstrate past success.

What to listen for:

• Clear example of how the candidate has taken initiative to improve care in previous roles
• Sound process for identifying issues, strategizing, and implementing effective changes

Potential follow-up questions:

• What are some of the challenges you’ve faced when implementing a new policy, and how did you overcome them?
• What strategies have you used to measure the effectiveness of your policy changes?

4. If you were our new CNO, what initial steps would you take to evaluate and address the needs of our nursing staff?

It’s important to assess how your candidates will get up to speed with your organization’s needs, especially if you’re interviewing external applicants. This question invites a candidate to share their initial approach to planning priorities and building a connection with the workforce.

What to listen for:

• Emphasis on the importance of listening to staff and utilizing effective feedback tools
• Understanding of how to use staff feedback and engagement to make improvements

Potential follow-up questions:

• How do you promote a culture of transparency and honesty among staff and leaders?
• As CNO, you will often have to juggle multiple issues at a time. What’s your process for prioritizing initiatives?

5. How do you foster interdisciplinary collaboration between different healthcare professionals?

Since interdisciplinary teamwork is crucial to nursing leadership, questions and answers should also touch on the importance of working with different disciplines. The CNO will have to collaborate with other executive leaders, such as the chief medical officer, to ensure that their initiatives are aligned with the goals of other departments.

What to listen for:

• Demonstrated experience in collaborating with different departments and disciplines
• Effective strategies to promote communication and shared goals between various teams

Potential follow-up questions:

• Tell me about a time that you had to address a conflict or disagreement in the workplace and how you handled it.
• Why is interdisciplinary collaboration so important in healthcare?

6. How do you promote continuous learning and innovation among nursing staff?

One of the primary responsibilities of a CNO is to ensure nursing care is informed by the latest evidence-based practices. This is one of the best chief nursing officer interview questions for assessing a candidate’s commitment to helping staff develop their skills and knowledge.

What to listen for:

• Understanding of how to keep staff up-to-date with evidence-based practice, industry trends, and regulatory changes
• Examples of strategies or initiatives that can motivate and engage staff in innovation

Potential follow-up questions:

• How do you get buy-in from nurses when implementing new career development initiatives?
• How do you utilize new technologies to streamline advancements in nursing?

7. How do you balance patient care needs with financial sustainability and operational efficiency?

As a member of the C-suite, a CNO must be adept at balancing competing priorities. This question evaluates a candidate’s decision-making skills and their ability to allocate resources in a way that aligns with all of the organization’s goals.

What to listen for:

• Understanding of how to navigate competing demands within a hospital system
• Examples of how the candidate has managed resources without compromising patient care

Potential follow-up questions:

• How do you involve nursing staff in your operational decision-making process?
• What’s your experience with managing financial budgets and allocating resources?

Find a Leader Who Can Confidently Lead Your Organization

Want to ensure you’re asking your chief nursing officer interview questions to the right people? IntelyCare can help connect you with high quality talent faster. Post to our nursing-only job board today and reach a nationwide network of nursing professionals who are ready to advance their careers.